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Emails reveal Indian carmakers' fuel contamination worries before public retreat

Hours after India made public assurances last week that its ethanol-blended petrol was safe, the country’s main auto lobby withdrew a complaint about fuel contamination it had sent to the government a week earlier. The group said some figures needed more checks. But separate communications between industry executives, reviewed by Reuters , showed that in the preceding days, top automakers Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and Mahindra discussed their concerns about contamination of petrol blended with 20 per cent ethanol, called E20. Their data compiled the most comprehensive fuel testing done by the industry since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government started rolling out E20 nationwide from last year to help curb pollution and cut oil imports. With no other petrol available since April 1, consumer concerns have grown about the impact on vehicle performance. The carmakers’ emails show for the first time how they are privately worried about contaminants...
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SHC orders formation of committee to probe HIV outbreak among children at Karachi hospital

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) directed the provincial government on Thursday to constitute a committee for an “independent, impartial and comprehensive” inquiry into the HIV outbreak among children at Karachi’s Kulsum Bai Valika Hospital. A two-member SHC bench, headed by Justice Adnanul Karim Memon and comprising Justice Muhammad Jaffer Raza, issued the directive as it announced its reserved judgement on a plea seeking an independent inquiry, registration of a case and lifelong medical treatment as well as appropriate compensation for the affected children. The outbreak was initially reported late last year, following which the Sindh government carried out screening at the Sindh Employees Social Security Institution-run hospital located in Karachi’s SITE area. According to data shared by the Sindh government, at least 78 children have been found infected with HIV at the hospital while a screening in the nearby area also confirmed 120 additional cases. But Advocate Tariq Ma...
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Shooting on security personnel in Pindi: Minister says PTI leadership cannot 'absolve themselves of responsibility'

Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry on Wednesday said that the PTI could not “absolve themselves of responsibility” after a man was shot dead by law enforcement officials on Rawalpindi’s Mall Road for allegedly open firing on security forces. PTV News, quoting security sources, said the alleged assailant was a resident of Khyber district and an “active PTI member”. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar had slammed PTI’s “politics of violence” after state media reported the incident. However, the PTI had distanced itself from the incident, saying it had nothing to do with terrorism and that efforts were being made to link the party to it. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Wednesday, Chaudhry said, “For years, the PTI leadership has been told not to perpetuate the politics of hatred and anarchy.” He said that the party was told not to influence the youth with “ideas which could not be removed”. “When a young person fills his mind with such hatred and anarchy,...
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Gold rebounds towards 10-week high as markets brace for US inflation data

Gold prices rose on Wednesday, supported by reduced bets on Federal Reserve tightening next month as investors awaited key US inflation data that could reshape policy expectations. Spot gold gained 0.6 per cent to $4,391.82 per ounce by 0535 GMT. US gold futures for December delivery rose 0.2pc to $4,451.90. Bullion climbed to a 10-week high on Tuesday before hitting technical resistance at the 100-day moving average around $4,387 and closing lower for the second time this month. “The primary driver for gold is the reduction in pricing of rate hikes by the Fed,” said Kelvin Wong, a senior market analyst at Oanda. “In terms of technical positioning, we started to see a bullish break late last week above that $4,200 level, which also created a positive momentum feedback loop.” Bullion posted its largest weekly gain since January on Friday after weaker-than-expected jobs data led traders to scale back bets on US rate hikes. Traders are now pricing in a 50pc chance of a hike in Septe...
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Dar condemns Houthi attack in Red Sea after 3 Pakistanis killed, says in contact with Saudi, Yemen authorities

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar condemned on Wednesday the attack by Houthis on a commercial vessel in the Red Sea that claimed the lives of three Pakistanis and said Islamabad was in contact with the relevant authorities to ascertain further details. The attack targeted a Tanzania-flagged vessel Tihamah, causing deaths and injuries among its crew. Apart from three Pakistanis, an Indonesian was also killed in the attack. Dar said in a post on X that he had also received reports of a Pakistani getting injured in the attack. “We extend our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families,” he said, adding: “Pakistan strongly condemns the Houthi attack on a non-combatant commercial vessel.” He said, “Such attacks endanger innocent lives, constitute a violation of international law, and pose a serious threat to freedom of navigation, maritime security, and the safety of commercial shipping in the Red Sea.” Follow for m...
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HEC’s new rules on student AI use won't work

The Higher Education Commission has taken two big steps on artificial intelligence. It has notified a compulsory three-credit-hour AI course for every undergraduate and postgraduate degree in the country, starting from Fall 2026. It has also circulated a draft policy on the use of generative AI in our universities. Both steps are welcome. But the rules the draft sets for students rest on two ideas that will not hold. It bans students from submitting AI-generated work as their own, and it asks them to declare which tools they used and why. These are honest instincts. They are also unenforceable. No teacher can verify either one, and the draft admits as much when it rules, correctly, that no student may be punished on the basis of an AI detection report alone. The problem is not that these rules are wrong. It is that they aim at something we cannot see. We keep arguing about what a student may do at home, when the question we can actually answer is what we choose to grade. Start with...
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