Regional
Pakistan bans entry to parks, zoos as air pollution worsens
Pakistan’s Punjab banned entry to many public spaces from Friday, including parks and zoos, as it sought to protect people from severe air pollution in parts of the eastern province.
The provincial capital Lahore has been engulfed in a thick, smoky haze this week and was consistently rated the world’s most polluted city by Swiss group IQAir in its live rankings, prompting the closure of schools and work-from-home mandates, Reuters reported.
The Punjab government’s Friday order placed a “complete ban on public entry in all parks … zoos, play grounds, historical places, monuments, museums and joy/play lands” until Nov. 17 in areas including Lahore.
Many parts of South Asia suffer severe pollution as temperatures drop each winter and cold, heavy air traps dust, emissions, and smoke from stubble burning – the illegal practice of burning crop waste to quickly clear fields.
Punjab last week blamed toxic air wafting in from neighbouring India – where air quality has also reached hazardous levels – for the particularly high pollution this year.
IQAir rated the Indian capital New Delhi the world’s second most polluted city on Friday, with government data indicating that farm fires in the neighbouring farming states of Punjab and Haryana were among the major contributors.
To discourage the practice which has been lower this year, India’s federal government doubled fines imposed on violators on Wednesday.
Farmers with less than two acres of land will now have to pay 5,000 rupees ($60) for violations. Those owning between two and five acres will pay 10,000 rupees and farmers with more than five acres will pay 30,000 rupees, the environment ministry said.
United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived in Islamabad on Friday on his first official visit to Pakistan, at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Geo News reported.
He was received by Prime Minister Sharif and senior officials, with his aircraft escorted by Pakistan Air Force jets upon entering Pakistani airspace. The UAE president is accompanied by a high-level delegation.
According to Pakistan’s Foreign Office, the visit aims to review bilateral relations and discuss regional and international issues of mutual interest.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has signaled that the country will continue developing missiles over the next five years, following visits to major munitions enterprises in the last quarter of 2025, state media KCNA reported on Friday.
Kim said the country’s missile and shell production sector is “of paramount importance in bolstering war deterrence,” according to KCNA.
The report said Kim ratified draft documents on the modernization of key munitions enterprises, which will be submitted to a major ruling party congress expected to be held in early 2026. The congress is set to outline North Korea’s development plan for the next five years.
KCNA’s report follows Thursday’s disclosure that Kim oversaw the construction of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered submarine alongside his daughter, widely seen as a potential successor, as well as the test-firing of long-range surface-to-air missiles.
Turkish authorities have detained 115 suspected Daesh members they said were planning to carry out attacks on Christmas and New Year celebrations in the country, the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office said on Thursday.
Istanbul Police obtained information that Daesh members had planned attacks in Turkey, against non-Muslims in particular, during Christmas and New Year celebrations, the prosecutor’s office posted on X, Reuters reported.
The police raided 124 places in Istanbul, capturing 115 of the 137 suspects they were seeking, the statement said. Several pistols and ammunition were seized, it said.
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