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Smuggled dinosaur fossils return to Mongolia after two decades

Mongolia has recovered a rare dinosaur skeleton and a trove of fossils illegally exported two decades ago, authorities said Wednesday, concluding years of efforts to return the palaeontological treasures. The collection includes a Tarbosaurus bataar skeleton, estimated to be more than 50 per cent intact, along with 28 groups of fossilised dinosaur remains originally found in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert, according to police. The bones had been illegally taken from Mongolia in 2006 “with the aim of making a profit”, said D. Munkhkhuyag, head of the police public relations department. A Mongolian official walks past boxes of dinosaur fossils during a handover ceremony in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, on June 11, 2026. —AFP French customs agencies confiscated the fossils between 2013 and 2015, and began returning them a year later to Mongolia under international conventions to combat the illicit trafficking of cultural heritage. Following the lengthy pro...
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PM Shehbaz approves strategic roadmap for comprehensive reforms in Pakistan Railways

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday approved a strategic roadmap for comprehensive reforms in Pakistan Railways, which includes improvements in services, digitisation, track upgradation and private-sector investment, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said. In a statement, the PMO said PM Shehbaz chaired an important meeting on reforms in Pakistan Railways in Islamabad on Thursday, adding that the prime minister approved the strategic roadmap for comprehensive reforms in the railways sector. The PMO stated that the meeting was given a detailed briefing on the strategic roadmap and targets for comprehensive reforms in Pakistan Railways. “The roadmap includes targets to increase market share in both passenger and freight sectors,” the statement said, while highlighting the key points. “Improvement in railway services, enhancement of network capacity and financial sustainability will be the key pillars of the roadmap,” it added. Fu...
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Pakistan’s prized trout under threat as climate change, overfishing take toll

Gilgit-Baltistan region, famed for its towering peaks, vast glaciers and pristine lakes, is facing a sharp decline in its prized trout population as climate change, habitat loss and overfishing threaten the species. Its icy, glacier-fed waters provide an ideal environment for the breeding of trout, one of Pakistan’s most prized freshwater fish. In recent years, however, the trout population has drastically reduced due to a slew of climate and human-induced factors, which include habitat fragmentation, pollution, construction of hydropower projects, and, on top of all, overfishing. According to experts and officials, the trout population has been slashed by 50 per cent over the past two decades. “Climate change-induced flash floods have been destroying spawning habitats of trout in most streams and tributaries by changing sediments and gravel size,” said Farasat Ali, an official of the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) Pakistan. Speaking to Anadolu , he said the local rivers and stre...
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No survivors as Pakistan Army Mi-17 helicopter crashes near Muzaffarabad: ISPR

No survivors were reported after an Mi-17 helicopter of Pakistan Army Aviation crashed near Muzaffarabad on Wednesday during take-off “due to a technical fault”, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said. Rescue and recovery teams immediately reached the crash site. “All personnel on board embraced martyrdom. There were no survivors,” the ISPR said in a statement. “A board of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the exact technical cause of the accident,” the military’s media affairs wing said. Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir and all ranks of the army “express deep grief over the tragic loss of precious lives and extend heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families”, the ISPR said. In the last such incident reported, five personnel had died in September 2025 after an army helicopter crashed in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Diamer district after a “technical fault”. In August 2025, a rescue helicopter of ...
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May sees 'highest-ever monthly inflow' of workers' remittances at $4.3bn

Workers’ remittances were recorded at $4.3 billion in May, registering growth on both a monthly and annual basis, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday. Adviser to the Finance Minister Khurram Schehzad also shared the data on X, stating that Pakistan had recorded its “highest-ever monthly remittance inflow in history”. According to the SBP, the inflows increased by 20.2 per cent compared to April and were 15.4pc higher than the amount received in May last year. “Cumulatively, remittances reached $38.1bn during July-May FY26, up 9.2pc from $34.9bn recorded in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year,” the SBP said. It elaborated that remittances from Saudi Arabia remained the highest in May at $1,025 million, followed by $1.006.6m from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Remittances from the United Kingdom stood at $645.5m and those from the ...
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Afghanistan police crack down on anti-hijab protests in Herat

Afghan security officials dispersed a women’s rights protest in the western province of Herat on Tuesday after residents said Taliban morality police detained women accused of violating mandatory dress rules. Witnesses said one person was killed, several others were wounded and dozens of people, including women and girls, were arrested. Taliban authorities have not confirmed casualties or arrests. Sayed Masoud Hosseini, spokesperson for Herat police, told the state-run Bakhtar News Agency that the gathering in the Jebrail area had “created tensions” and disturbed public order under the pretext of opposing the hijab, which he described as a religious obligation. Witnesses said the protests erupted when officials from the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice attempted to arrest women opposing the mandatory dress requirements. Some residents said officials targeted women who were already observing the required dress code, which includes fully covering the face...
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JAAC strike: Markets, streets deserted in AJK's Muzaffarabad but no demonstrations held

MUZAFFARABAD: Shops and markets were largely shut and vehicular traffic remained minimal in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), on Tuesday as the newly proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) observed a strike. Meanwhile, AJK Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore urged a return to the negotiating table in a bid to end the tensions that have gripped the region over the past few days. During the day, Muzaffarabad’s streets were deserted, with hardly any vehicles on the roads. Meanwhile, riot police and paramilitary personnel remained deployed in the city. However, no demonstrations were witnessed in the capital city. Meanwhile, reports from Mirpur said that hundreds of people had gathered in the town’s Quaid-i-Azam stadium. “Shops are closed here and traffic is off the roads,” local journalist Sajjad Jarral told Dawn by telephone. The legal fraternity of AJK boycotted judicial proceedings on AJK Bar Council’s call to protest the alleged arrest of senio...
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