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What’s eating Pakistan’s mangoes?

Fruit sellers at roadsides and bazaars are bracing for Pakistan’s yearly mango madness. Their baskets are filled with the early Sindhri crop for now as they wait for the Punjab Langra and Dusehri, soon to be followed by the Chaunsa and Anwar Ratol. This year’s season arrives with as much anxiety as anticipation. Fluctuating temperatures, erratic rain and hailstorms early in the year, the period critical for flowering, fruit set and ripening, have damaged orchards across Punjab’s mango belt, covering Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan and Bahawalpur divisions in the south and Sahiwal, Faisalabad, Sargodha and Lahore in the central and northern parts of the province. The prolonged stagnation after last year’s floods weakened root systems and stressed trees already battered by climatic shocks. These setbacks, coupled with uncertainty in export markets amid tensions surrounding the US-Iran-Israel conflict, have kept growers, contractors and traders on the edge over the season’s fragility. “I can s...
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China's Xi lands in North Korea for rare visit, hails 'invincible friendship' with Pyongyang

China’s President Xi Jinping hailed an “invincible friendship” with Pyongyang as he arrived in North Korea on Monday, his first trip abroad this year after hosting back-to-back summits in Beijing. China, Washington’s chief geopolitical rival, has been North Korea’s main trading partner by far for decades and a key source of diplomatic and economic support for the country hit by multiple international sanctions. Military officers lined a red carpet as an Air China plane carrying Xi arrived for his first visit since 2019, video from Xinhua showed. A banner that read “We warmly welcome Comrade Xi Jinping” and hailing the two countries’ “unbreakable friendship” hung below Chinese and North Korean flags at the airport. Xi made the trip after hosting US President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin separately in Beijing, and as North Korea’s nuclear talks with Washington remain deadlocked. The White House said last month that Xi and...
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Woman, daughter set ablaze by husband, brother-in-law in Sahiwal

SAHIWAL: A woman and her daughter suffered severe burn injuries after her husband and brother-in-law allegedly doused them with petrol and set them ablaze in Shadman Colony on Friday afternoon. Rescue 1122 shifted the injured mother and daughter to Sahiwal Teaching Hospital for treatment. Eyewitnesses said the fire also destroyed household furniture and utensils before the suspects fled the scene. Reports said Sobia Parveen, sister of complainant Muhammad Bilal and a resident of Vehari City, married Shaban Bhatti of Chak 65/5-L, Tehsil Sahiwal, around 15 years ago. The couple has five children. Police said domestic violence had reportedly persisted throughout the marriage, with Sobia allegedly subjected to frequent abuse and severe beatings by her husband and brother-in-law. A few months ago, she left her husband’s home due to the continued violence and started living in a rented house near Shadman Chowk along with her children. She had been working as a domestic help to support the...
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MoU signed with Saudi Arabia, local partners for 140-acre Karachi waterfront development

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and local partners have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore the development of a maritime business district on prime Karachi Port Trust’s (KPT) waterfront land, the maritime affairs ministry said on Saturday. In a statement, Maritime Affairs Minister Junaid Anwar Chaudhry said the MoU was signed between KPT, Saudi Business Council–Najd Gateway Holding Company, Arif Habib Dolmen REIT Management Limited (AHDRML), and the Pakistan Corporate Consortium. The proposed project would be built on a 140‑acre KPT site on Karachi’s MT Khan Road and is intended to transform the area into a major commercial and maritime hub, the minister said. The development is envisaged to include modern commercial infrastructure aimed at attracting investment, generating employment, and supporting urban development, he added. “This strategic collaboration is a transformative opportunity to unlock the full potential of KPT’s waterfront assets and position Pakistan as a ...
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North Korea to build 10,000-ton destroyer, state media says before Xi visit

North Korea plans to build a 10,000-ton destroyer and develop secret underwater weapons, state media said on Saturday, ahead of a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Rodong Sinmun newspaper, reporting on a Thursday naval test supervised by leader Kim Jong Un, said he ordered the navy to deploy the destroyer Kang Kon and another 5,000-ton warship, the Choe Hyon, as soon as possible. The newspaper did not give further details. It is the first time North Korea has mentioned a plan to build a 10,000-ton destroyer, said Hong Min, a senior analyst at South Korea’s Institute for National Unification. Kim may be seeking to showcase the country’s military capabilities ahead of Xi’s visit on Monday and Tuesday, Hong said. The North Korean leader said Pyongyang must enhance its naval capabilities to deter a nuclear war, while calling for powerful military capabilities across land, sea and air, the newspaper said. Xi is making his first visit to North Korea in nearly seven years as...
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'I thought I would perish': Everest survivor recounts ordeal

A Nepali mountaineer who survived nearly a week on Mount Everest said he “chewed ice” to stay alive, as he recovered in a hospital after a miraculous rescue that stunned the climbing community. Dawa Sherpa, 57, disappeared in brutal conditions on the upper slopes of the world’s tallest mountain on May 30 during one of the final climbs of the spring season. With few climbers still on the peak and his oxygen exhausted, relatives had given up hope and begun ritual mourning prayers, believing he had died on the mountain. “I didn’t think I would be alive,” he told BBC Nepali on Friday from his hospital bed. “I thought I would perish this way. I didn’t get lost. As the oxygen ran out, I fell behind. After the oxygen finished, I couldn’t walk.” Left stranded in freezing temperatures near Everest’s “death zone”, where oxygen levels are critically low, Dawa Sherpa said he survived for days with almost no food or water. “I didn’t eat anything for the first two days. Then I began chewing ...
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