TWAD realigns key water pipelines in Vellore’s Old Town to resume water supply
Regular drinking water supply to household consumers within Vellore Corporation limits will be resumed from Monday, June 8
"DRINKING" · 총 92건
필터 보기현재 지수
50.3
0 = 부정 우세
50 = 중립
100 = 긍정 우세
최근 7일 기준 86,805건을 분석한 결과, 뉴스 심리지수는 50.3(균형)입니다. 긍정 4,377건(5.0%)·중립 80,381건(92.6%)·부정 2,047건(2.4%)이며, 중립 비중이 뚜렷하게 높습니다. 성향 지수는 종합 14.9(중도 균형)입니다.
Regular drinking water supply to household consumers within Vellore Corporation limits will be resumed from Monday, June 8
State reports decline in over-exploited groundwater units and rise in safe blocks as it pursues clean drinking water, sanitation and sustainable groundwater management
People who reported drinking alcohol also reported eating a lot more savory foods and fewer sweet foods than the non-drinkers.
The police have registered an Accidental Death Report
University of Sydney researchers suggest alcohol may increase a hormone that drives savory-food cravings, leading to overeating ultra-processed foods.
Around 60 residents of the Kadavanthra, Panampilly Nagar and Perumanoor divisions reportedly complained of diarrhoea and vomiting after allegedly consuming drinking water supplied by the KWA
“THOSE who gorge themselves on usury behave but as he might behave whom Satan has confounded with his touch; for they say, ‘Buying and selling is but a kind of usury’ — the while God has made buying and selling lawful and usury unlawful. … If, however, [the debtor] is in straitened circumstances, [grant him] a delay until a time of ease… .” — Surah Al-Baqarah, translation by Muhammad Asad. Islamic banking started in Pakistan in 1979 and by 1985, commercial banks had stopped using the word ‘interest’ and used ‘mark-up’ instead. But with time it was apparent this kind of ‘Islamic’ banking wasn’t really Islamic and was just a name change from ‘interest’ to ‘mark-up’. Pakistan’s modern Islamic banking began in 2002 when the first new fully Islamic bank started working. Since then Islamic banking has rapidly grown and now there are many Islamic banks. Islamic banks have turned out to be more profitable and there is considerable demand among Pakistanis to conduct their banking as prescribed by Islam. Islamic banks now have Sharia boards that rule whether any banking facility is Sharia-compatible and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) also has a Sharia advisory committee. We have also progressed from merely banking and now the government issues sukuks (long-term bonds backed by assets), we have Islamic leasing, called Ijara, and Islamic insurance, called Takaful. We should examine how close to Quranic edicts is Islamic banking. Next year as we celebrate the silver jubilee of the Islamic banking industry, we should examine how close to Quranic edicts is Islamic banking and whether it has grown closer to Islamic ideals. A company can borrow from a secular commercial bank running finance for its working capital needs and long-term finance for its project financing needs. From the Islamic bank it will get Musharakah financing or Murabaha and Istisna financing. For an example of Istisna financing assume a company wants a loan for buying cotton. The bank will buy cotton for Rs10 million and sell it to the company for Rs11m with payment due in one year, or for Rs10.5m for payment due in six months. The bank doesn’t actually buy the cotton or sell it to the company. There is, however, paperwork to pretend this has taken place. The profit the bank makes depends entirely on the policy rate set by the SBP. When the policy rate is high, the bank’s profit is also equally high. In Musharakah financing, the profit an Islamic bank charges the company also depends on the SBP’s policy rate. Typically, if the interest rate charged by commercial banks is two per cent above the SBP’s policy rate, the profit rate required by Islamic banks is also the same. If during the tenor of the loan the policy rate is increased by the SBP, the profit rate is increased by Islamic banks by a similar amount. Just as commercial banks get their interest from the client whether the company is incurring a profit or a loss, Islamic banks also have no downside when a client loses money. Except for default or restructuring, no Islamic bank has ever made a loss because its borrower was losing money. This then seems distinct from trade-based, risk-assuming lending that Islam envisions. For instance, a priori people would think that under Islamic banking’s Istisna financing if a company borrows money for buying 1,000 bales of cotton, it should return the money for a 1,000 bales of cotton, no matter what the new price of cotton is. If the value of cotton has increased, the bank will make a profit and if it has decreased, it will lose. But it will not get a fixed interest-based ‘profit’ no matter what happens to cotton prices. Similarly, under Musharakah financing people would think that if the company is making profits, Islamic banks should also make a profit but not if it’s losing money. Otherwise, it is just like secular banks with Arabic names for loans. With the current practice of Pakistani Islamic banks, the benefits of having trade-based Islamic banking are lost and banks don’t have an incentive to seek and give loans to companies that have great ideas and products. If the profit is fixed at exactly the rate of interest, like it is in commercial banks, then we lose the barkat of Islamic banking. Up until last year, the SBP required banks to give a minimum interest to depositors. But Islamic banks objected that giving fixed profits to depositors would violate Islamic principles. However, the same Islamic banks are quite happy to charge their customers fixed profits based on the SBP’s policy rate. This dichotomy meant that customers of Islamic banks were getting less profits on their deposits than those given by commercial banks even as Islamic banks made more profits than others. Islamic banks were increasing people’s cost for being good Muslims. Even today, Islamic banks give lower profits to their depositors. This goes against the Islamic admonition of exploitation. When a borrower is late in paying loans or interest/ profit, both Islamic and commercial banks charge you penal interest (which is against the ayat I quoted above) but whereas commercial banks keep this profit, Islamic banks give up that profit as charity. One has to say that the difference between Islamic and commercial banks is more in nomenclature and less in substance. Bankers and economists know this but don’t say it in the hope that Islamic banks will eventually inch closer to true Islamic banking. However, it is unfortunate that even after decades this migration is non-existent. Perhaps it’s because ‘Islamic’ banks are more profitable and don’t want to exit a comfortable business model. Islamic bankers give the example of eating beef to justify Islamic banks. They say if you eat non-zabiha beef it is wrong but the same beef is halal if slaughtered properly. The example is powerful but not applicable as Islam has not prohibited eating beef, it has just prescribed a way of slaughtering cattle. The prohibition of interest is more like the prohibition of drinking wine. It doesn’t matter whether it is consumed out of a teacup or a wineglass; the prohibition stays. Similarly, while trade is allowed in Islam, interest is prohibited even if you give it Arabic names. We must endeavour to bring Islamic banking closer to the tenets of Islam — variable profits and risk sharing. The writer is a former finance minister. Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2026
MANILA, Philippines – In support of this year’s Brigada Eskwela and the reopening of schools for S.Y. 2026-2027, Manila Water Non-East Zone subsidiary Laguna Water donated refrigerated drinking fountains (RDFs) to selected schools in the municipality of Biñan, Laguna. This is part of the Lingap Laguna project, which aims to provide access to clean and
“The day I finally got diagnosed was the happiest day of my life, as weird as it sounds."
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Review detects ‘forever chemicals’ in many of the state’s tested streams and rivers, including drinking water sources Around half of California waterways tested by regulators are contaminated with pesticides considered Pfas, “forever chemicals”, a new analysis of state and federal records shows, highlighting a risk in the substances’ wide use that is only beginning to come into focus. The pesticides are linked to a range of health problems, including cancer, and the review is the first to systematically check for the dangerous substances in streams and rivers, which include drinking water sources. Continue reading...
In Cameroon, national drinking water production is estimated at 1.17 million cubic meters per day, according to Camwater, through its 103 stations spread across the country. Despite this volume, the drinking water deficit remains very significant in major cities. In Yaounde, demand exceeds 300,000 cubic meters per day, while supply is capped at 215,000 cubic meters . As a result, for thousands of households, obtaining drinking water is a real struggle.
The movie adaptation of Gary Owen’s acclaimed play Iphigenia in Splott, Effi o Blaenau, is released this month. Here, its director and crew explain why they relocated the film to a post-industrial mining town – and refused to make it in English The one-woman play Iphigenia in Splott was first performed in 2015. Eleven years on, Gary Owen’s reworking of Greek tragedy, transplanted to working-class Splott in Cardiff, has earned its place as a modern classic. It reimagines the mythological heroine Iphigenia as Effie, a young woman filling her days drinking vodka out of a mug in her dressing gown. The play is about poverty and social inequality, closures and cuts, services scraped to the bone by austerity. Its most recent five-star Guardian review in 2022 advised: “Everyone should see this.” One person who did was Leisa Gwenllian, a final-year drama student from north Wales. “I was on the front row with my mate,” says Gwenllian, 24, drinking mint tea in a London hotel. “I can remember thinking: wow! A Welsh woman with a strong Cardiff accent on the stage at the Lyric [in Hammersmith, London], that’s what it’s all about.” At the Oxford School of Drama, Gwenllian was mainly studying the classics alongside people with different accents and backgrounds from her own. “To see yourself on stage is really powerful.” Continue reading...
• Cites 2026 study that finds Karachi has highest urban-rural temperature difference • Says emergency response not enough, the city must reduce heat at its source • Links pollution, dense construction, traffic, and tree loss to growing health risks KARACHI: Highlighting the multiple environmental challenges Karachi faces, a senior community health sciences expert has called for urgent actions at both the government and individual levels to tackle the growing urban heat problem that’s silently damaging public health and productivity. Responding to Dawn’s queries about Karachi’s challenges on the eve of World Environment Day, Prof Zafar Fatmi, Head of Environmental Occupational Health and Climate Change at the Department of Community Health Sciences, Aga Khan University, said that the city’s urban heat effect appears to be becoming more intense. “This is not only because of global climate change, but also because of how the city is growing, how people move through it, how much pollution they breathe, and how little protection many people have while working and living outdoors,” shared Prof Fatmi, who has done several studies on subjects related to community health. He explained that more concrete, more roads, high-density construction, traffic congestion, loss of trees, and fewer open spaces are making the city absorb and retain more heat. Referring to studies conducted from Karachi, he said that they showed that urban heat island effects are present, with higher night-time land surface temperatures in urban areas, and recent work has identified heatwave vulnerability in the city’s dense urban zones. “A 2026 multi-city Pakistan study also found that Karachi has the highest urban-rural temperature difference among major cities studied, around 4.5°C, and linked vegetation loss with higher land surface temperature. “This means Karachi is not only experiencing hotter weather; it is also being built in a way that makes heat worse. In our own microscale urban heat work in Karachi [a 2024 study], we found that delivery riders and rickshaw drivers experienced temperatures much higher than the city’s recorded average,” he said. The study published two years ago showed that in summer, exposure was about 5.5°C higher under direct sun and 1.8°C higher even in shade compared with the city average. “This tells us something very important: the heat people face on the street is often different from the official temperature. The real exposure is what people feel at traffic signals, bus stops, roadside markets, construction sites, school routes, and while travelling for work.” Responding to a question about warning signs of growing intensity of urban heat, Prof Fatmi said that they are already visible; nights are not cooling adequately, outdoor workers feel exhausted earlier in the day and people complain of dehydration, headache, dizziness, poor sleep, fatigue, and fainting. “Those with heart disease, lung disease, hypertension, diabetes, kidney disease, and old age are at greater risk. Children, pregnant women, traffic police, vendors, construction workers, delivery riders, rickshaw drivers, and people living in poorly ventilated homes are particularly vulnerable.” Underscoring the need for urgent action, he said that when ordinary places such as bus stops, traffic signals, roadside shops, and school routes become heat-risk zones, it is a sign that urban heat is no longer an occasional discomfort; it is becoming a public-health exposure. The problem, he points out, becomes more serious when heat combines with air pollution. Karachi’s residents do not experience heat and pollution separately. “They breathe polluted air in hot, congested, dusty, and traffic-heavy conditions. Heat increases dehydration, breathing rate, and pressure on the heart, while air pollution affects the lungs, blood vessels, and cardiovascular system.” According to Prof Fatmi, research from hundreds of cities has shown that high temperatures can modify the health effects of air pollutants, including particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone. “Other studies also suggest that combined exposure to heat and particulate pollution can increase mortality risk more than either exposure alone. For Karachi, this means air pollution control and heat planning should not be treated as separate issues.” Replying to a question whether there is a link between rising temperature, urban heat and infections, he explained that higher temperatures can create conditions in which some pathogens, mosquitoes, and contamination risks grow more easily, especially where water, sanitation, waste, and drainage systems are weak. “Food spoils faster. Stored water becomes unsafe more easily. Stagnant water can support mosquito breeding. Climate research shows that warming temperatures and changing rainfall patterns are affecting vector-borne diseases, while water-borne and food-borne infections can also increase where heat is combined with poor sanitation and unsafe water.” In Karachi, therefore, he says, the risk is not heat alone; it is heat plus poor drainage, unsafe water storage, waste accumulation, crowding, and weak municipal services. On the actions required at both individual and state levels, he said that people should avoid unnecessary outdoor exposure during peak heat, drink safe water frequently, use shade, cover the head, avoid heavy exertion during the hottest hours, and check on children, elderly people, pregnant women, and people with chronic diseases. “People should recognise early danger signs such as dizziness, confusion, fainting, severe weakness, very hot skin, or inability to drink water. Outdoor workers need shaded rest areas, drinking water, and adjusted work hours. These should be treated as basic occupational protections, not as charity.” At the government level, he says, Karachi needs a serious heat-health action plan. “This should include simple public alerts in Urdu and local languages, shaded bus stops, public drinking-water points, cooling spaces, school guidance during heatwaves, emergency preparedness in hospitals, and legal protection for outdoor workers during extreme heat.” However, he emphasises that emergency response alone is not enough and that the city must also reduce heat at its source; protecting mature trees, expanding green and blue spaces, reducing unnecessary concrete, improving public transport, controlling dust and vehicle emissions, stopping waste burning, using cooler building and road materials, and making heat assessment mandatory for major roads, buildings, and infrastructure projects. “A climate-resilient Karachi will require health, planning, transport, environment, labour, and municipal authorities to work together. Otherwise, heat will continue to quietly damage health, productivity, and dignity, especially among the poor and those who work outdoors.” Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2026
Graham Platner's ex-girlfriends allege rape fantasies, violent episodes and heavy drinking in new report as Maine Democrat faces mounting scandals.
The Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday refuted reports that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar shared any intelligence regarding Iran’s nuclear programme during a meeting with United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Dar met with Rubio on May 29 during a brief visit to Washington, where the two discussed bilateral cooperation as well as regional security issues. Rubio had praised Islamabad’s role “in advancing peace in the Middle East”. Responding to queries during a weekly press briefing on Thursday, FO Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Islamabad “categorically and unequivocally” rejected claims made in certain media reports that Dar shared any intelligence regarding Iran with Rubio. “Such claims are entirely baseless, speculative, and appear to be aimed at undermining ongoing diplomatic efforts and the broader process of dialogue and engagement,” he said. Emphasising that the discussion between Dar and Rubio “focused on regional peace, stability, and the importance of pursuing diplomatic solutions to ongoing challenges”, Andrabi asserted that “no intelligence was shared during the course of this dialogue”. Welcoming the “continued engagement” of the US in peace efforts and its “positive role” in the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, he cautioned the media against “speculative and unwarranted reports”. A journalist had asked Andrabi about media reports that Dar had allegedly shared intelligence with Rubio regarding Iran, “including possible signals such as withdrawal from the NPT and the development of a nuclear weapon”. The reports, according to the journalist, had claimed that the information resulted in the US urging Israel to halt its attacks in Lebanon. The question came after former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) analyst Larry Johnson, quoting an unnamed source, claimed that Dar had a conversation with Rubio that “revealed what Iran is prepared to do to preserve its independence”, which allegedly “alarmed” Rubio. Rubio had also responded to the claims during a congressional hearing on Wednesday. US Congressman Scott Perry asked him if Dar had delivered a message that Iran is “prepared to demonstrate a nuclear weapon should the current escalation continue”. “I have not seen that reporting and I am not aware of any such message,” Rubio responded. Perry again referred to the reports, to which Rubio said that no such message had been delivered. “I would be surprised if that message had been relayed. I would be aware of it if it was,” he said. The US-Iran conflict is currently stalemated in a shaky ceasefire struck in April, which was followed by historic direct talks between the warring parties hosted by Pakistan. Though daily strikes throughout Iran and the Gulf have stopped since then, bursts of armed conflict have continued. The US and Iran exchanged attacks on each other’s military targets on Monday. After the US military carried out strikes near the Strait of Hormuz, Iran responded with a missile attack on Wednesday, damaging Kuwait’s airport and resulting in casualties. Since the conflict began, Iran has repeatedly attacked targets in the Gulf region home to US military bases. Meanwhile, Israel’s expanding front in Lebanon has proved to be the main spoiler in the peace process, with rising tensions even prompting US President Donald Trump to tell Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu to halt the attacks. Nevertheless, diplomacy has continued with Trump under pressure to reach an agreement that would lift the US and Iranian competing blockades around the Strait of Hormuz, which have choked international oil supplies and threatened the global economy with rising prices. ‘Actively engaged’ to secure release of seamen held by Somali pirates On the continued captivity of 10 Pakistanis aboard an oil tanker seized by Somali pirates, the FO said Islamabad remained “actively engaged” in efforts to secure their release. The MT Honour 25, a Palau-flagged product tanker, was seized on April 21, approximately 30 nautical miles off Somalia’s Puntland region with 17 crew members aboard, 10 of them Pakistani. “Unfortunately, the situation remains grave,” Andrabi acknowledged when asked about the latest update on the situation, days after a video emerged showing the captives with discoloured water available for drinking. “Pakistan remains in contact with the ship owner, who is the principal negotiator with the pirates. These negotiations have been taking place with the knowledge of the Somali government,” the FO spokesperson stated. He explained that the “geographical circumstances, coupled with the fact that the ship is carrying highly explosive cargo, make any law-enforcement operation to secure the release of the captive extremely difficult”, as Pakistan did not want to endanger the safety of the captives. Families of the Pakistani hostage crew members of an oil tanker that was hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia, hold placards during a protest, calling on the government to take immediate action for the safe return of their loved ones, in Karachi on May 13, 2026. — Reuters/File The FO urged both the Somali government and the ship owner to ensure that the hostages were provided with food, drinking water, and other basic necessities. Relevant stakeholders, including the interior and maritime affairs ministries, were involved in the matter. “This is a very difficult situation. Our hearts go out to the families of those being held captive,” the spokesperson said, requesting patience from the families. “A team from our Embassy in Djibouti also visited Mogadishu to obtain first-hand information. Therefore, all channels of communication with both the ship owner and the Somali government remain open and active,” he revealed. Andrabi assured the media of the government’s “full attention and concern regarding this emergency situation”. ‘No responsible state can remain passive’: FO on Afghanistan Pakistan’s tensions with Afghanistan also came up during the press briefing. Andrabi was asked about the European Union’s (EU) top diplomat Kaja Kallas noting the “grave humanitarian consequences” of the recent fighting between the two neighbours and urging them to exercise restraint. The FO spokesperson replied: “No responsible state can remain passive when its civilians and security forces are repeatedly targeted. Therefore, we reserve the right to take all necessary measures to safeguard the lives and property of our nationals, based on the principles of necessity and as a measure of last resort.” He stressed that Pakistan adhered to the principles of distinction and proportionality and that any “defensive action” was directed against “legitimate targets under international law, including sanctuaries and bases used for planning terrorism and launching terrorist attacks against Pakistan”. The FO spokesperson further stated, “We will continue to take such actions when necessary, and this remains part of our dialogue with our international interlocutors.” Responding to another question before this, Andrabi had asserted that the EU understood Islamabad’s position, including “our right to defend ourselves and take action against terrorist incidents, particularly those emanating from Afghanistan”. Andrabi then referred to the joint statement issued on Kallas’s visit, which said both sides “reaffirmed the importance of combatting terrorism in all its forms and manifestations”. Both sides had also “expressed serious concerns over the presence of terrorist entities in Afghanistan and reiterated that Afghan territory must not be used to threaten or attack other countries”. Replying to another question, the FO official affirmed that there was “no bar on Pakistan pursuing dialogue and diplomacy with Afghanistan”. “Indeed, this is what we were doing until very recently, when terrorist attacks emanating from Afghanistan, with possible collusion from elements within the authorities there, surpassed a certain threshold of Pakistan’s patience. As a result, there were instances of border closures, and we also took certain actions in our border regions,” he recalled. Expressing Pakistan’s desire to pursue the path of diplomacy but also voicing its strong objection to the killing of Pakistani civilians and members of law enforcement agencies, Andrabi said: “We have adopted a position whereby we seek an unequivocal commitment from the Afghan side that its territory will not be used for terrorism against Pakistan.” The FO spokesperson said China’s Special Representative on Afghanistan Ambassador Yue Xiaoyong “held productive discussions on regional security” during his visit to Islamabad. “Pakistan and China agreed to strengthen coordination and synchronise their counterterrorism efforts in order to protect regional peace and security,” he said, adding that Islamabad appreciated Beijing’s constructive role on security issues in general. On the recent military cooperation agreement signed between Russia and Afghanistan, Andrabi responded, “The details are still being ascertained. At this stage, it would be premature to offer any comment on the matter.” India’s plans to divert Chenab water Meanwhile, the FO also denounced India’s plans to build a river-linking project to divert water from Chenab to the Beas river as a “grave violation” of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) and other international laws. Chenab forms at the confluence of the Chandra and Bhaga rivers in Lahaul and Spiti, Himachal Pradesh. The IWT, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, allocates the three western rivers — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab — to Pakistan, and the three eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas and Sutlej — to India. According to Indian news outlet CNBC TV18, India will begin work on the proposed “Link-3 Project”, located on Chenab in Himachal Pradesh, on August 1. The project aims to divert surplus water from the Chenab river to the Beas basin and is estimated to cost 26.2 billion Indian rupees, as per ANI. Responding to a query, Andrabi said, “Yes, we have seen this report as well as the public tendered document issued by the government of India that India has invited bids for the Chenab-Beas Link Tunnel project with the intention of transferring 1.9m acre feet of water annually from Chenab into the Beas system. “Such an inter-basin diversion of water of the Chenab into the Beas system constitutes a grave violation of not just the IWT but also of the laws of treaty, particularly the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, as well as the broader framework of international water law, including the principles reflected in the 1977 UN convention on watercourses,” he added. The FO spokesperson also highlighted India’s planned “silt flushing” of the Salal Dam in occupied Kashmir’s Reasi district. “This is a deeply concerning development. It would provide water control capability that is not permissible under either the Indus Waters Treaty or the 1978 Salal agreement,” he pointed out. Andrabi noted that India had neither officially communicated nor shared any notice of these projects nor has it sought consultations in this regard. “These projects confirm that India seeks to weaponise water. This carries dangerous implications not only for Pakistan’s economy but also for regional stability and international peace and security,” he stressed. Emphasising that Pakistan had “exercised restraint and responsibility” and remained committed to dialogue, Andrabi warned, “However, any illegal action, any illegal measure to endanger Pakistan’s water, food and economic security, as well as the survival and well-being of its 250 million people, is unacceptable.” He stated that such actions amount to “further destabilisation of South Asia, with potential grave consequences” for the entire region. “Under IWT, Pakistan is entitled to receive the unrestricted use of the water of the western rivers, and this is in lieu of the rights of the eastern rivers that were given to India,” Andrabi noted. The FO spokesperson asserted that Pakistan “retains all options necessary for safeguarding rights and entitlements under the treaty and to protect its vital national interests”. “Let me emphasise, we retain all options in this regard,” he reiterated. The FO urged the international community to call upon India to “desist from any form of water coercion, abandon projects that seek to stop, reduce or divert water flow legally belonging to Pakistan, and restore full and faithful implementation of the IWT”.
Karnataka argues that the reservoir is primarily meant to provide drinking water to Bengaluru and surrounding regions while also generating hydroelectric power
TalkSPORT legend Alan Brazil has revealed his life-saving surgery was a liver transplant. Brazil appeared from home, with his face slimmed from the surgery.