Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Ashgabat on Thursday for a two-day official visit at the invitation of Turkmenistan President Serdar Berdimuhamedow, the Prime Minister&rsquo;s Office (PMO) said in a statement.&nbsp;During the visit, the prime minister will participate in a high-level forum marking the International Year of Peace and Trust 2025, the International Day of Neutrality, and the 30th anniversary of Turkmenistan&rsquo;s status as a permanently neutral state.&nbsp;According to the PMO, Sharif will also hold bilateral meetings with President Berdimuhamedow and engage with other world leaders attending the forum to advance Pakistan&rsquo;s regional cooperation agenda.&nbsp;The statement noted that Pakistan-Turkmenistan ties continue to strengthen across multiple sectors.&nbsp;Earlier in April, both countries reaffirmed their commitment to the timely completion of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project, a key regional energy initiative.&nbsp;That commitment was reiterated during a meeting between Pakistan&rsquo;s Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and President Berdimuhamedov in Ashgabat.

Foreign Affairs

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrives in Turkmenistan to attend high-level neutrality and peace forums, hold bilateral meetings, and push regional connectivity and TAPI energy cooperation initiatives

Pakistan PM to push energy cooperation, connectivity goals in Ashgabat talks

ISLAMABAD: The World Health Organization (WHO) has commended Pakistan&rsquo;s progress toward achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC), with the agency&rsquo;s representative in Islamabad calling for continued partner and donor support to help the country further strengthen its health system.&nbsp;In a report released on World Health Day, WHO Representative to Pakistan Dr. Dapeng Luo highlighted the government&rsquo;s commitment to expanding quality health services, noting that Pakistan has made &ldquo;notable milestones&rdquo; in improving national health indicators.&nbsp;Last week, WHO hosted a dialogue under the theme &ldquo;Health: It&rsquo;s on the Government,&rdquo; bringing together senior officials including the Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Health, Dr. Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath.&nbsp;Representatives from the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, the Benazir Income Support Program, the Sehat Sahulat Program (SSP), and other national institutions also participated.&nbsp;According to the report, Pakistan&rsquo;s UHC Index has risen significantly, moving from 40 in 2015 to 52.7 in 2022.&nbsp;Dr. Luo praised the government&rsquo;s efforts, saying the achievements reflect &ldquo;Pakistan&rsquo;s commitment to strengthening its health system and ensuring better care for its people.&rdquo;&nbsp;He encouraged continued collaboration with partners to help the country reach its 2030 UHC target, emphasizing the importance of sustained investment and coordinated action.&nbsp;The dialogue also showcased major national achievements, including the successful expansion of the Sehat Sahulat Program, which now provides health coverage to 190 million people.&nbsp;Launched in 2016 to support families below the poverty line, SSP was expanded between 2020 and 2021 to move Pakistan closer to universal health coverage, the report noted.&nbsp;Participants reaffirmed their commitment to advancing UHC as a national priority, highlighting the importance of accessible, equitable, reliable, and high-quality services for all citizens.&nbsp;National guidelines launchedThe report further detailed the launch of comprehensive national guidelines and training program designed to strengthen reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health across the country.&nbsp;&ldquo;In Pakistan, around 4 million pregnant women and newborns receive health care services from the public and private sectors each year,&rdquo; the report said.&nbsp;Dr. Luo underscored the importance of continued progress in this area, stating: &ldquo;Improving the lives of these mothers and newborns is essential to ensuring good health for all. No real sustainable development can be achieved without healthy mothers and newborns.&rdquo;&nbsp;The report also noted that International Universal Health Coverage Day aims to promote the need for strong and resilient health systems that &ldquo;work for everyone, no matter who they are, where they live, or how much money they have.&rdquo;

Health

WHO praised Pakistan’s progress on Universal Health Coverage, noting major improvements, expanded health services, and rising UHC indicators, while urging stronger partner support to meet 2030 targets and sustain nationwide healthcare reforms

WHO praises Pakistan’s progress, calls for stronger partner support

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan plans to explore converting up to $2 billion in government bonds and other sovereign assets into blockchain-based digital tokens through an memorandum of understanding signed Friday with cryptocurrency giant Binance, the finance ministry announced.&nbsp;In an official statement, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and Binance Co-CEO Richard Teng signed the MoU&nbsp;at the Finance Division. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao also attended the ceremony.&nbsp;The MoU&nbsp;establishes a framework for exploring potential collaboration on the tokenization and blockchain-based distribution of Pakistan&rsquo;s real-world and sovereign assets, including government bonds, treasury bills, commodity reserves, and other federally owned assets.&nbsp; Subject to applicable laws, policies, and regulatory approvals, it aims to improve liquidity, transparency, and international market accessibility.&nbsp; Binance may provide technical expertise, advisory support, training, and capacity-building to help Pakistan evaluate its blockchain infrastructure. The initiative aims to boost liquidity, transparency, and access to international markets while respecting Pakistan&#39;s regulatory framework and sovereignty.&nbsp;&ldquo;This is a very strong message &mdash; not only for Pakistan, but the entire world,&rdquo; Aurangzeb said. &ldquo;The next step for us is execution, and we are fully committed to delivering results with speed and quality.&rdquo;&nbsp;Changpeng&nbsp;called the proposal&nbsp;&ldquo;a landmark development for Pakistan&rsquo;s future,&rdquo; stating it would have &ldquo;a very big impact on the country&rsquo;s future and its technology-driven generation.&rdquo;&nbsp;The MoU is nonbinding, the ministry noted. Final&nbsp;agreements will be negotiated within six months, subject to all legal, regulatory, and policy approvals. Any future arrangement will be governed by Pakistani law and will not involve exclusivity or procurement commitments.

Economy

A memorandum of understanding between the finance ministry and Binance marks a potential shift in how Pakistan plans to access international capital markets through emerging financial technology.

Pakistan, Binance explore tokenizing $2 billion in sovereign assets via blockchain

BERLIN: Germany said Friday it had identified two Russian cyber operations, targeting air traffic control and February&#39;s general election, and that it had summoned the Russian ambassador.&nbsp;A foreign ministry spokesman said: &quot;We can now clearly attribute the cyberattack against German Air Safety in August 2024 to the hacker collective APT28, also known as Fancy Bear.&nbsp;&quot;Second, we can now state definitively that Russia, through the Storm 1516 campaign, sought to influence and destabilise the most recent federal election,&quot; he added at a press conference.&nbsp;The Russian embassy in Berlin was not immediately reachable for comment.&nbsp;The foreign ministry spokesman said that Germany &quot;would take a series of countermeasures to make Russia pay a price for its hybrid actions in close coordination with our European partners&quot;.&nbsp;Berlin would support &quot;new individual sanctions against hybrid actors on a European level&quot;, he said, without providing further details.&nbsp;Governments across Europe are on high alert over alleged Russian espionage, drone surveillance and sabotage activities, as well as cyber attacks and disinformation campaigns.&nbsp;Germany has been Ukraine&#39;s second-biggest supplier of aid since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022 and has accused Moscow of &quot;hybrid attacks&quot;, including drone flights near various European airports in recent months.

Europe

Germany said it had identified two Russian cyber operations targeting air traffic control and the February general election, summoned the Russian ambassador, and EU-level sanctions in response to Moscow’s alleged hybrid attacks

Germany blames Russia for cyberattack on air safety, election interference

LONDON: Britain&rsquo;s economy unexpectedly contracted again in October, official data showed Friday, dealing a blow to the Labour government&rsquo;s hopes of reviving economic growth. Gross domestic product fell 0.1% in October following a contraction of 0.1% in September, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement. Analysts had forecast growth of 0.1%. Manufacturing rebounded in the month as carmaker Jaguar Land Rover resumed operations after a cyberattack that had weighed on the UK economy in September. But analysts noted that businesses and consumers reined in spending ahead of Britain&rsquo;s highly expected annual budget.<figure id="isPasted"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/3167df24-30e1-4fce-a0a3-99f4aefa2b35-Untitled.jpg" alt="Untitled.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dii"><figcaption>LONDON: Pedestrians walk past the Bank of England (L) and the Royal Exchange building (back R) at Bank in central London on December 12, 2025. -- Photo by AFP/Henry Nicholls</figcaption></figure>&ldquo;Business and consumers were braced for tax hikes and the endless speculation, and leaks have once again put the brake on the UK economy,&rdquo; said Lindsay James, investment manager at Quilter. Prime Minister Keir Starmer&rsquo;s Labour Party raised taxes in last month&rsquo;s budget to slash state debt and fund public services. At the same time, Britain&rsquo;s economic growth was downgraded from next year until the end of 2029, according to data released alongside the budget. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves raised taxes on businesses in her inaugural budget last year -- a decision widely blamed for causing weak UK economic growth and rising unemployment. She returned in November with fresh hikes, this time hitting workers. Analysts said that Friday&rsquo;s data strengthened expectations that the Bank of England would cut interest rates next week.

Business

Gross domestic product fell 0.1% in October following a contraction of 0.1% in September, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement; analysts had forecast growth of 0.1%.

UK economy unexpectedly shrinks in October

Sharif says Pakistan has been and shall continue to support all efforts aimed at upholding the inalienable right to self-determination of Palestinian people as well as the brave and resilient Kashmiri people.

Pakistan PM calls on world to press Kabul to curb terrorism from Afghan soil 

BANGKOK:&nbsp;Thailand&#39;s prime minister dissolved parliament on Friday, paving the way for general elections early next year as deadly border clashes continue with neighbor Cambodia. The move comes earlier than expected and just three months after Anutin Charnvirakul -- of the conservative Bhumjaithai party -- became prime minister when his predecessor was removed from office over an ethics violation. &ldquo;The House of Representatives is dissolved to hold a new general election for members of the House,&rdquo; a decree published in the Royal Gazette on Friday said. Anutin was widely expected to wait until after Christmas to dissolve parliament. &ldquo;Since the administration is a minority government and domestic political conditions are fraught with multiple challenges, the government cannot continue administering state affairs continuously, efficiently, and with stability,&rdquo; the Royal Gazette said, citing a report received from Anutin. &lsquo;Appropriate solution&rsquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;Therefore, the appropriate solution is to dissolve the House of Representatives and hold a new general election.&rdquo; The dissolution comes as fighting stemming from a decades-long territorial dispute over ancient temples has flared again on the border with Cambodia, where clashes have killed at least 20 people and displaced around 600,000, mostly in Thailand. In a statement, Cambodia&rsquo;s defense ministry said the Thai military continued to shell and fire machine guns into Cambodian territory on Friday morning. AFP journalists heard continuous artillery fire at the border on Friday, ahead of an expected call between Anutin and US President Donald Trump, who has made vocal attempts to broker peace between the southeast Asian neighbors. &lsquo;Couple of phone calls&rsquo;At the congressional ball at the White House on Thursday night, Trump claimed again to have solved eight wars. &ldquo;Although Thailand and Cambodia, I think I&rsquo;m going to have to make a couple of phone calls on Thailand, but we&rsquo;ll get that one back on track,&rdquo; he said. The two countries have blamed each other for the fresh fighting, which saw Thailand launch air strikes and use tanks against its neighbor on Monday. Evacuees at a shelter in Thailand&rsquo;s Surin province told AFP they were less concerned about who leads the new government than about who would improve their lives along the border. &ldquo;I just care that the leader, whoever that is, is someone who helps ordinary farmers like us,&rdquo; said 68-year-old Somrak Suebsoontorn. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">&lsquo;Power to the people&rsquo; </h2>Under Thai law, elections must be held between 45 and 60 days after parliament is dissolved, meaning polls are expected around the end of January or early February. Anutin said in a Facebook post late Thursday he &ldquo;would like to return power to the people&rdquo;, a signal in the kingdom that a prime minister intends to dissolve parliament. His coalition backer, the People&rsquo;s Party, said Thursday it would submit a motion of no-confidence in Anutin, claiming Bhumjaithai broke its agreement during a crucial vote on constitutional amendments. &ldquo;They said they wouldn&rsquo;t support me anymore. They asked me to dissolve the house. I just followed their request,&rdquo; Anutin told reporters Friday outside the Government House. The cannabis-championing conservative took power in September with coalition backing conditional on dissolving parliament, becoming the kingdom&rsquo;s third leader in two years. He was once an ally of the influential political clan of Thaksin Shinawatra -- who have been a dominant force in Thai politics since the turn of the century, but are increasingly faltering after a succession of legal and political setbacks. Anutin abandoned his coalition with their Pheu Thai Party this summer in apparent outrage over former Thai prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra&rsquo;s conduct during the border row with Cambodia. During his three months in office, Anutin has had to deal with the escalating military conflict, as well as attacks on scam hubs in Myanmar driving hundreds across the border into Thailand, and the death of the former queen Sirikit in October.

Asia

The move comes earlier than expected and just three months after Anutin Charnvirakul -- of the conservative Bhumjaithai party -- became prime minister when his predecessor was removed from office over an ethics violation.

Thai PM dissolves parliament, paving way for national elections

ISLAMABAD: The Indian environment minister&rsquo;s clarification in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) -- that widely cited global air-quality rankings are &quot;not conducted by any official [Indian] authority&quot; -- drew a sarcastic reaction from the Indian National Congress, which mocked the remarks in a post on X. India&rsquo;s major cities, including the capital Delhi, are frequently rated among the most polluted in global air quality indices.&nbsp; The Union government&rsquo;s clarification in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) on Thursday regarding global air-quality assessments sparked renewed discussion over how India evaluates its pollution levels.&nbsp; Responding to questions from Communist Party of India MP V Sivadasan, Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh of the Bharatiya Janata Party stated that no official global country-wise air-pollution ranking exists, and that widely quoted international indices, including the IQAir World Air Quality Report, WHO Global Air Quality Database, Environmental Performance Index and Global Burden of Disease metrics, are &ldquo;not conducted by any official authority.&rdquo; &#39;Only as guidance&#39;Singh noted that the World Health Organization&rsquo;s air-quality guidelines serve only as guidance, intended to help countries achieve better standards over time. He added that nations formulate their own air-quality benchmarks depending on geography, environmental factors, background levels, socio-economic conditions, and national circumstances.&nbsp; India follows its National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), notified in 2009, which specify limits for 12 pollutants; the ministry said that these are tailored to the country&rsquo;s specific conditions.&nbsp; The standards set the 24-hour permissible PM2.5 limit at 60 &micro;g/m&sup3;, which is four times the WHO&rsquo;s updated 2021 guideline. Delhi&rsquo;s air qualitySeparately, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav presented data on Delhi&rsquo;s air quality in response to another question.&nbsp; According to the government, &ldquo;Good to Moderate&rdquo; air-quality days (AQI &le;200) in the capital have actually risen from 110 days in 2016 to 200 days in 2025 (to date).&nbsp; The average AQI between January and November has improved from 213 in 2018 to 187 in 2025, and no day in 2025 has entered the &ldquo;Severe Plus&rdquo; category (AQI &gt;450), the ministry said.&nbsp; The ministry also reported that farm-fire incidents in Punjab and Haryana have fallen by around 90% in the 2025 paddy-harvesting season compared to 2022. The government said that it conducts the annual Swachh Vayu Survekshan, ranking 130 cities under the National Clean Air Programme based on the implementation of air-quality improvement measures. Congress&#39;s reaction&nbsp;The opposition quickly seized upon the government&rsquo;s responses.&nbsp; The Indian National Congress posted a sharp, sarcastic comment on X, mocking the minister&rsquo;s dismissal of global rankings: &ldquo;Our air is special kind of air. While other countries have only 20% Oxygen, we have 80% Oxygen and a little bit of Nitrogen and Carbon Dioxide. Same with our GDP, Exchange rate, and so on. Perks of electing an 8th fail as PM.&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 2;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-2" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-2&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1999105178184872004&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fsections%2F&sessionId=9c2e435bda59bbbac982e7528e199d336563d88f&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 873px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>

India

The Indian government minister tells the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) that global air-quality rankings are unofficial and that India uses its own standards; opposition party Congress posted a sarcastic comment on social media mocking the minister’s stance.

Opposition mocks Indian minister’s remarks on global pollution rankings

LOS ANGELES: French indie title &quot;Clair Obscur: Expedition 33&quot; dominated the annual Game Awards in Los Angeles, winning a record of nine categories, including best video game of the year. &quot;What a weird timeline for us,&quot; Guillaume Broche of video game studio Sandfall Interactive quipped, thanking his team as he accepted the top award. &quot;And also I want to extend thanks to the unsung heroes of this industry -- the people who make tutorials on YouTube on how to make a game -- &nbsp;because we had no idea how to make a game before.&quot; &quot;Clair Obscur,&quot; the first game from Sandfall Interactive, tells the story of a group of characters battling seemingly impossible odds in a post-apocalyptic universe with a distinctively French visual style. It was nominated in a record number of categories, winning many despite facing heavyweights like &quot;Death Stranding 2,&quot; from industry legend Hideo Kojima of &quot;Metal Gear Solid&quot; fame, and Nintendo&#39;s &quot;Donkey Kong Bananza,&quot; starring the eponymous gorilla. &quot;Clair Obscur&quot; began in 2020 as a project of Broche, a developer at French games giant Ubisoft. He brought ex-colleague Tom Guillermin on board to create the small studio in the French city of Montpellier the same year. &#39;Thank you to the players&#39;They struck a publishing deal in 2022 with UK-based Kepler, which provided funding for the project. Some 5 million copies of &quot;Clair Obscur&quot; have been snapped up since its release in April of this year. &quot;This was supposed to be a joke; I have no idea what&#39;s happening,&quot; Broche joked. &quot;Just a massive &#39;thank you&#39; to the players.&quot; The grassroots popularity of &quot;Clair Obscur&quot; has manifested in fans attending conventions and video game fairs wearing a striped mariner&#39;s shirt and red beret -- one of the most stereotypically French outfits players can equip for their characters. The action game follows a small group of characters as they seek to defeat a powerful entity threatening their home city, Lumiere, which bears a striking resemblance to Belle Epoque Paris. Inspired by Japanese games such as the long-running Final Fantasy series, the French title is a role-playing game featuring turn-based combat against monsters inhabiting the world. Its popularity was founded on the story&#39;s emotional depth and endearing characters, combined with original gameplay that introduced reactive, rhythm-based elements for parrying enemies&#39; attacks. Sandhill &quot;managed to present something really polished and go toe-to-toe with major titles,&quot; industry specialist Benoit Reinier told AFP at the time of the game&#39;s release. At just 30 people for most of its development, the team behind &quot;Clair Obscur&quot; was far smaller than typical blockbuster studios. Broche said they brought everyone from Sandhill to Los Angeles to celebrate the awards. The music of &quot;Clair Obscur&quot; stuck in many players&#39; heads and played an outsized part in their immersion into its universe. Winning categories for the game included narrative, role-playing, and music score. French President Emmanuel Macron hailed the team in May, thanking them for &quot;putting the spotlight on French-style boldness and creativity.&quot; There are also plans to bring the &quot;Expedition 33&quot; story to the big screen.

(L/R) CTO and co-founder of Sandfall Interactive Tom Guillermin, Sandfall Interactive Art Director Nicholas Maxson-Francombe, CEO, Creative Director, and Co-Founder of Sandfall Interactive Guillaume Broche and Co-Founder and Producer of Sandfall Interacti

Video Game

The game won in a record nine categories, including best video game of the year, best narrative, role-playing, and music score.

French indie 'Clair Obscur' dominates Game Awards

AHMEDABAD: &nbsp;An Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed in June, killing 260 people. Six months on, investigators have yet to provide clear answers, fueling disputes between pilots, the airline, and the manufacturer. As required by international law, India&#39;s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) published a preliminary report one month after the June 12 disaster, when the plane exploded into flames shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad in western India. That report provided some technical information, but the investigation is still ongoing. The crash&nbsp;Air India flight 171 took off at 1:38 p.m. from Ahmedabad airport with 230 passengers and 12 crew members on board, bound for London Gatwick Airport. Less than a minute later, it crashed into the buildings of a medical university campus, located a few hundred meters (yards) from the runway. Video footage shows it taking off but failing to gain altitude before crashing in a fireball. The crash killed 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground. Only one passenger survived but was seriously injured. Among the dead were 200 Indians, 52 British nationals, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian. Initial findingsThe AAIB report, published on July 12, said that the fuel supply switches for both engines were switched to the &quot;off&quot; position almost simultaneously just after takeoff. &quot;In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why he cut off the fuel supply. The other pilot responded that he did not do so,&quot; the report states. The aircraft then began to lose altitude. The report also notes that an auxiliary power unit, intended to provide power to the aircraft in the event of engine failure, deployed automatically. Less than 10 seconds later, both switches were returned to the &quot;on&quot; position. Immediately afterward, &quot;one of the two pilots&quot; managed to transmit &quot;Mayday, Mayday, Mayday&quot; before the plane crashed. The 15-page document does not mention whether the fuel switches were turned off by a pilot maneuver or due to a malfunction. Controversy&nbsp;As soon as it was published, the report met strong criticism. Pilot associations argue that the dialogue between the captain and his co-pilot, which the report merely paraphrases, suggests the possibility of human error without providing evidence. They also pointed out that the AAIB did not recommend at that stage any control measures on the aircraft or its engines &mdash; effectively ruling out the possibility of a technical failure or a maintenance or servicing defect. A war of words erupted between the families of the victims, lawyers and pilots on one side, and the airline and the manufacturer on the other. The father of one of the pilots took the case to the Supreme Court. Pushkaraj Sabharwal, 91, father of pilot Sumeet Sabharwal, said the preliminary investigation was &quot;profoundly flawed.&quot; In his petition, seen by AFP, he argued that it appeared to &quot;predominantly focus on the deceased pilots, who are no longer able to defend themselves, while failing to examine or eliminate other more plausible technical and procedural causes of the crash.&quot; Hypotheses&nbsp;British lawyer Sarah Stewart, who represents around 50 families of victims, also favors a scenario not involving the pilots. &quot;The factual information raises a troubling specter that this accident may have been caused by uncommanded fuel cutoff, suggesting a possible failure in the Boeing systems,&quot; she said in a statement. Air India CEO Campbell Wilson, in a speech on Sept. 10, said that the &quot;preliminary report indicates nothing wrong with the aircraft, nothing wrong with the engines, nothing wrong with the airline&#39;s operation.&quot; Some experts, however, seem to doubt this. &quot;There were electrical faults reported before the crash on this plane,&quot; former commercial pilot Amit Singh, founder of Safety Matters Foundation, told AFP. &quot;The narrative of the report is built in such a way that the reader tends to believe that the pilots are responsible,&quot; even though &quot;a lot of the data presented is not sourced,&quot; he said. The final report &quot;could be manipulated,&quot; he warned. Aviation expert Mark Martin goes even further, calling it a &quot;cleverly designed cover-up.&quot; &quot;Boeing did exactly the same after the 737 MAX crashes &mdash; they blamed the pilots,&quot; he said of the accidents in 2018 and 2019, noting that an investigation later found a design flaw. &quot;Boeing cannot afford to take the blame for the crash,&quot; said Martin. Contacted by AFP, the US aircraft manufacturer declined to comment.

The back of Air India flight 171 is pictured at the site after it crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025. (AFP)

An Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed in June, killing 260 people. Six months on, investigators have yet to provide clear answers, fueling disputes between pilots, the airline, and the manufacturer.

Air India crash still shrouded in mystery six months on

WASHINGTON:&nbsp;Democratic lawmakers called for US Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem&rsquo;s resignation Thursday as she defended the Trump administration&rsquo;s mass deportation program at a fiery congressional hearing. &ldquo;You promised America that you would go after the worst of the worst,&rdquo; Democratic Representative Seth Magaziner said. But the vast immigration crackdown launched under Republican President Donald Trump has swept up veterans of the US military, their relatives, pregnant women, children and even some American citizens, Magaziner said. &lsquo;Problems&rsquo; with Noem&rsquo;s leadership&nbsp;&ldquo;There are many problems with your leadership but the biggest problem is this: You don&#39;t seem to know how to tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys,&rdquo; he told the House Homeland Security Committee hearing, which was interrupted by demonstrators on several occasions.<figure id="isPasted"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/52d941e5-29a9-4c99-9b91-6f44631f6938-ICE-raids.jpg" alt="ICE-raids.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dii"><figcaption>NEW ORLEANS: A US Customs and Border Patrol agent takes a photograph of a vehicle during operations in Kenner, Louisiana, on December 8, 2025. -- Photo by AFP/Adam Gray</figcaption></figure>The panel&rsquo;s ranking Democrat Bennie Thompson said Noem has &ldquo;diverted resources from critical Homeland Security agencies and programs to carry out an extreme immigration agenda.&rdquo; &lsquo;Racial profiling&rsquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;Black and brown Americans in particular, have been racially profiled, detained and locked up,&rdquo; Thompson said. &ldquo;So rather than sitting here and wasting your time and ours with more corruption, lies and lawlessness, I call on you to resign,&rdquo; he said, echoing a call Democrats have made for months as ICE has raided major cities.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1999140391094833242&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fsections%2F&sessionId=9c2e435bda59bbbac982e7528e199d336563d88f&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 648px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>In June, after Senator Alex Padilla was tackled and cuffed at a press conference Noem held in Los Angeles, Senator Elizabeth Warren and others demanded she step down. &lsquo;Potentially impeachable actions&rsquo;In Thursday&#39;s hearing, Representative Delia C Ramirez told Noem &ldquo;your options are limited. Either you&rsquo;re going to resign, Trump&rsquo;s going to fire you, or you will be impeached.&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1999186500353700081&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fsections%2F&sessionId=9c2e435bda59bbbac982e7528e199d336563d88f&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 873px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>Ramirez, who represents the midwestern city of Chicago which has seen numerous ICE raids, also made a formal request for the House Judiciary Committee to open an investigation into Noem&#39;s &ldquo;unlawful and potentially impeachable actions.&rdquo; While Democrats lambasted Noem and the Trump administration, Republicans praised her department for securing the US-Mexico border and rounding up undocumented migrants for deportation. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Noem defends tactics&nbsp;</h2>Noem defended the tactics of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and accused the administration of Democrat Joe Biden of allowing &ldquo;millions of people to come into our country illegally.&rdquo; She denied US citizens have been detained although she said there have been occasions when they were held until their identity could be confirmed. &ldquo;We have never once detained or deported an American citizen,&rdquo; Noem said. &ldquo;(When) we are doing our targeted enforcement operations against criminal illegal aliens, individuals that are in that area may be detained until we verify who they are, and then they are released.&rdquo; Trump ran for the White House promising to deport millions of undocumented migrants and Noem, as head of the Department of Homeland Security, oversees the operation.

Americas

Democrat Congressman Bennie Thompson said Noem has 'diverted resources from critical Homeland Security agencies and programs to carry out an extreme immigration agenda. Black and brown Americans in particular, have been racially profiled, detained and locked up.'