Heavy rain broke a stretch of hot weather across Rawalpindi and Islamabad on Tuesday, with the twin cities receiving around 45mm of rainfall overall — enough to bring real relief to residents, even as authorities kept drainage and traffic teams on alert throughout the downpour. How Much Rain Different Areas Received Area Rainfall Bokra 42mm Golra 36mm New Katarian 36mm Shamsabad 35mm Pirwadhai 34mm Saidpur 15mm Twin cities overall ~45mm Water Levels and Drainage Response With rainfall this significant, authorities didn’t take any chances with Rawalpindi’s flood-prone Nullah Lai. The Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) was placed on high alert,…
Author: M Awais
Punjab has banned public gatherings of five or more people across the entire province for five days, after intelligence agencies warned of possible suicide bombings, vehicle-borne explosive attacks, and targeted killings aimed at large public gatherings. What the Order Actually Covers The Punjab Home Department issued the notification on Sunday, enforcing restrictions under Section 144(6) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 — a sub-section that allows authorities to act immediately, without prior notice, when a threat is judged too urgent for standard procedure. The restrictions run from September 13 to September 17 and prohibit: Gatherings of five or more…
A team of Chinese researchers has cleared one of the biggest obstacles standing between a promising next-generation memory material and actual commercial use — pushing a chip material’s write endurance to over 10 billion cycles, roughly 100 times better than what the same material could previously handle. What Was Actually Achieved The research, led by scientists at Xidian University in Xi’an, working alongside City University of Hong Kong and Fudan University, was published Thursday in the journal Science. The team focused on wurtzite ferroelectrics — specifically aluminum scandium nitride, or AlScN — a class of materials that store data by…
China’s state-backed Global Times has accused Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei of running a “Cold War playbook” against China, after Amodei published an essay calling for a more deliberate pace of frontier AI development — the latest flashpoint in an increasingly tense US-China dispute over artificial intelligence policy. What Amodei Actually Proposed In an essay published Saturday, Amodei outlined a framework for pacing the development of the most advanced AI models, arguing the industry needs more time to manage mounting safety risks rather than racing forward unchecked. The proposal was publicly endorsed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX founder Elon…
Apple’s biggest Siri overhaul in over a decade arrives Monday, September 14, as iOS 27 rolls out as a free update. After months of beta testing since its unveiling at WWDC in June, here’s exactly what’s changing — and what you’ll need to actually use the headline features. The Big One: Siri AI The centerpiece of iOS 27 is Siri AI, Apple’s Apple Intelligence-powered rebuild of its long-criticized voice assistant. Apple says the new Siri is more personal, conversational, and capable than before, with support for natural follow-up questions, awareness of personal context, and understanding of what’s currently on your…
If you’re wondering whether your family qualifies for the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), you don’t need to travel to an office or stand in a queue to find out. The entire eligibility check can be done in under a minute, using just your CNIC — through either the official web portal or a free SMS. What BISP Actually Is The Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), also referred to as the Ehsaas Program, is Pakistan’s largest government welfare initiative, providing direct quarterly financial assistance to low-income households across all provinces. Eligibility and payments are managed through the official “8171” system,…
More than two months after first promising it, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has formally allowed individuals to pay sales tax on imported mobile phones — commonly known as PTA tax — in installments rather than as a single lump sum. There’s one important catch, though: the actual payment system isn’t live yet. What Changed The facility was introduced through a new provision added to the Ninth Schedule of the Sales Tax Act, 1990, under amendments made in the Finance Act, 2026, and formally detailed in FBR Circular No. 1 of 2026, issued on September 11. Under the new…
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ruled on the petition challenging PTI’s planned September 27 march — and rather than blocking the protest outright, it’s placed the burden squarely on provincial governments: no government resources, officials, or machinery can be used to support it. What the Court Actually Ordered A larger bench headed by IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar, along with Justice Muhammad Azam Khan and Justice Muhammad Asif, disposed of the petition with a short order carrying several specific directives: No political party or leadership has the “lawful right” to occupy public roads, highways, interchanges, toll plazas,…
An Israeli-made documentary alleging systemic harm to civilians during Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has triggered one of the most intense reactions of this year’s film festival season — winning a top prize at Venice while simultaneously drawing a forceful public rejection from Israel’s military and sharp political backlash at home. What the Film Is NAZA is directed by Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, who previously co-directed No Other Land, which won the 2025 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The film’s title references a Hebrew military term associated with the expected number of civilian casualties authorities anticipate…
Three days. Hero, zero, hero again. That’s the whirlwind 21-year-old Razaullah lived through in his first Test for Pakistan — a debut so dramatic it’s already being called one of the most remarkable in recent Pakistan cricket history. From Nowhere to the Test Squad Razaullah’s rise happened fast. A raw fast bowler from Mardan with just eight first-class matches to his name, he was one of 12 pacers invited to the PCB’s fast-bowling camp in late August after catching the eye of high-performance director Aaqib Javed during practice at the National Cricket Academy. Interim head coach Mike Hesson reportedly took…