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Throwing shade: Japan's urban tree coverage dwindles, bucking global trend

Meta quietly added facial recognition to smart glasses, sparking major privacy concerns: report

Meta has been quietly laying the groundwork for smart glasses that could identify people as wearers of the shades walk by, according to a report – causing privacy watchdogs to sound the alarm. Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has embedded facial-recognition technology for its smart glasses into an app downloaded to millions of phones, according to a...

Taylor Swift: I Knew It, I Knew You review – giddy up! Song for Toy Story cowgirl Jessie is Swift’s best in years

Full of handcrafted care and the rootsy soul of her country origins, this gently elated song is a reminder of what fans love about Swift … and the film series Taylor Swift does not fear a challenge. She’s broken records then broken those records; taken Grammy snubs as a sign she just has to work harder; mounted probably the most physically exhausting tour of all time. But in writing a song for Toy Story’s cowgirl Jessie, she’s set herself a deranged task: how could anyone outdo Randy Newman’s devastating When She Loved Me, Jessie’s song about being abandoned by her owner, Emily, from Toy Story 2? Newman’s songs for the Disney Pixar series are some of the greatest film soundtrack work of all time, and Swift knows it. In a post about her song, she acknowledged the “incomparable” Newman: “You created the Toy Story musical world, and we are lucky to get to live in it.” Her own ventures into soundtrack work have never had much staying power (beyond Zayn collab I Don’t Wanna Live Forever from Fifty Shades Darker). Continue reading...

Vanishing shade: Coimbatore’s sparse tree cover falls prey to illegal felling

Environmentalists lay bare the glaring gaps in government protection for trees in public places; there is no clarity on the guidelines, Acts, Rules, or G.O.s that govern cutting of such trees, so much so that felling of a lush tree at a reserve site in the city’s Ward 20 went unpunished, they allege

Who Gets to Imagine a City?

Along Quirino Avenue, the trees not only offered shade. They made the street habitable. They dulled the violence of the heat. They gave pedestrians a small pocket of mercy in a city that often treats walking as an afterthought. People stand under trees because the sun is unbearable and because, in Manila, shade is sometimes the nearest thing to dignity.

Worsening urban heat could trigger public health meltdown, expert warns

• 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

From poplars to pistachios, Afghans rediscover the value of trees

Under the shade of recently planted poplars in Afghanistan, village leader Ghulam Ali Poya is proud to see residents rediscover the value of trees after years of wartime deforestation. “There were forests of pistachio trees,” he told AFP, gesturing to the bare mountains that surround Char Bagh’s mud homes. “During the conflicts and the civil war, they were destroyed; no one could stop the logging.” From the 1979 Soviet invasion until the fall of the first Taliban government in the early 2000s, “around 50 per cent of Afghanistan’s forest cover was lost”, said Mohammad Nasir Shalizi, a researcher at North Carolina State University. In eastern Afghanistan, timber smuggling to Pakistan drove massive logging, while in the more arid central and northern “pistachio belt”, residents used wood for heating and cooking. This photograph taken on May 18, 2026 shows Afghan farmer Bas Begum Ahmadi (R) with her husband Abdul Samad Ahmadi standing next to paulownia trees at her family-owned plot. —AFP But in the last two decades, deforestation has slowed “substantially”, Shalizi said. Forest cover has increased 35pc nationwide since 2011, according to the National Statistics and Information Authority, though just 2.5pc of Afghanistan was forested in 2025 and cover is still shrinking in some areas. But experts say communities are working to improve forest cover. Both the US-backed government, in place until 2021, and the current Taliban administration have supported tree-planting campaigns. In Char Bagh, the Aga Khan Development Network funded a kilometre-square grove which includes poplars, paulownias, pomegranates and persimmons. This photograph taken on May 11, 2026 shows pine seedlings at a nursery in Paghman district, Kabul province. Under the shade of recently planted poplars in northeastern Afghanistan. —AFP ‘A model’ The land belongs to farmer Bas Begum Ahmadi, who hopes to sell fruit and homemade jam, but it is also open to the community of 350 families. “Having these trees makes me feel good; my environment is green, and we breathe fresh air,” said the 45-year-old, who tends the trees with her husband to support their four children. This photograph taken on April 20, 2026 shows Afghan municipality workers and residents planting trees next to a park in Charikar district, Parwan province. —AFP This “micro-forest” follows Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki’s principles: dense planting of mostly local species of varying heights. It is noticeably cooler than the surrounding bare fields and offers twigs for stove fuel and leaves that feed livestock. Micro-forests “restore ecosystems, improve soil fertility, help climate resilience, and support community livelihood,” said Parisa Malikzada, Afghanistan agriculture coordinator for the organisation, which has planted 500 micro-forests in seven provinces. Poya said the forest, next to a river, prevents soil erosion during flooding and offers “a model for people”. This photograph taken on May 18, 2026 shows Afghan farmer Abdul Samad Ahmadi examining a paulownia tree at his family-owned plot, which supports a micro-forest in the Char Bagh area of Doshi district, Baghlan province. —AFP “Everyone comes to have a look, and they’d like to have one too,” he told AFP. In Afghanistan, where many places are hard to reach and the state has limited funds, community-based forest management is the most effective approach to reforestation, experts told AFP. Penalties for tree cutting Afghan authorities have set a goal of planting 200 million trees between 2023 and 2030, relying partly on NGOs, the United Nations and the private sector. “Last year, the target was eight million, but in the end, 17 million were planted,” said Rohullah Amin, head of climate change at the General Environmental Protection Agency, where he has worked for more than a decade. This year’s goal is nine million. This photograph taken on May 11, 2026 shows deodar cedar seedlings at a nursery in Paghman district, Kabul province. Under the shade of recently planted poplars in northeastern Afghanistan. —AFP Challenges include selecting native, climate-adapted species, water scarcity, and livestock damaging saplings. Some forests have struggled with “lack of care or water”, Amin acknowledged, including one site where drought killed 70pc of the planted pines. In some places, tribal councils protect forests and penalise residents who damage them. Elsewhere, “forest management associations” run by elected villagers and farmers have been set up. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has helped them plant five million trees since 2019, according to its climate change chief, Muhammad Safi. Birds coming back The government created nurseries to grow local species in places such as Paghman on state land on Kabul’s outskirts. Head gardener Mahmood Khwajazada carefully tends almond, pine nut and walnut trees, as well as deodar cedars, for distribution nationwide. “Our Prophet said, ’Even if you have only one day left, plant a tree,” he told AFP. This photograph taken on May 11, 2026 shows Afghan farmers tending to a nursery in Paghman district, Kabul province. Under the shade of recently planted poplars in northeastern Afghanistan. —AFP In Charikar, northeastern Afghanistan, where thousands of saplings were planted this year along streets, in parks and on hillsides, the municipality sees “a change” in people’s attitude towards trees. Ahmad Khalid Sabiri, a resident, said he volunteered to help plant “because it’s beneficial for the environment”. Experts said more work is needed to protect the remaining old growth, as well as planting in forests rather than just in urban areas.

Under Paris's Notre Dame, archaeologists are unearthing 2,000 years of history

Since Notre Dame Cathedral reopened to the public in 2024 following a devastating fire, it has been one of the most popular tourist destinations in Paris. What many don’t realize is that the work continues near the cathedral underground. To make way for trees and shade on the square in front of the church, workers have undertaken a significant archaeological dig.

Fears of hunger overwhelm Guatemalan village as El Niño approaches

While drought expands through Cunen as the spectre of El Niño climate instability approaches, one fear has seized this indigenous Guatemalan village — death from hunger. The rains still haven’t come here, where local farmers fear the lack of water could ruin the subsistence crops on which they depend to survive. “If there isn’t rain, (the crops) won’t come … If there isn’t anything, we’re going to die of hunger,” 38-year-old Cecilia Pasa Sarat, who has planted a small amount of corn, told AFP in Xetzac, a village in Cunen. Indigenous woman Lucia Rojop, 43, shows corn cobs at her house in the Xetzac community of Cunen, Quiche department, Guatemala, on May 27, 2026. —AFP Cunen is a hard-to-reach mountainous region where the majority of the approximately 47,000 residents are poor and rely on water from wells that are now going dry. This village in the Indigenous Maya department of Quiche lays in the heart of the Dry Corridor, an arid mountainous stretch running through Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua that’s become vulnerable to extreme climatic events. Quiche was one of Guatemala’s most hard-hit regions during the El Niño related food crisis in 2023. Some worry the crisis could return due to a lack of government support. Indigenous woman Cecilia Pasa, 38, works on her drought-affected corn plantation in the Xetzac community of Cunen, Quiche department, Guatemala, on May 27, 2026. —AFP The phenomenon now fueling local residents’ hunger fears occurs every two to six years as part of a natural climatic cycle that affects the surface temperatures on the Pacific Ocean. It’s expected to start between June and August, creating planetary ripple effects lasting months. Aerial view of a corn plantation in the Xetzac community of Cunen, Quiche department, Guatemala, on May 27, 2026. —AFP Prolonged damage Weeks of drought have dessicated the dusty streets of Xetzac, where the creeks that usually irrigate the town’s patchwork of corn, potato, broccoli and bean fields are evaporating under the brutal sun. Taking refuge in the tree shade where the resin scent of pines drifts down the hillside, Elvira Pasa said the eventual loss of the village harvests would only end in “hunger”. “We farm. We don’t sell it. We just eat it,” the 27-year-old community leader and mother of two boys aged two and seven, told AFP. “Whatever we plant is what we eat. What will happen if it doesn’t rain?” 43-year-old Lucia Rojop queried. Indigenous woman Lucia Rojop, 43, shows drought-affected broad beans at her house in the Xetzac community of Cunen, Quiche department, Guatemala, on May 27, 2026. —AFP Her fears are well-founded. Around 2.5 million Guatemalans face potential food insecurity due to the drought and the high probability of a powerful El Niño weather cycle. The Guatemalan government says it has 1.1 million rations ready to distribute in the face of an emergency. According to experts, the chance that El Niño could spiral into a more dangerous event depends on numerous atmospheric factors. Governments across the dry countries of Central America have raised alert levels over the El Niño phenomenon. But El Niño isn’t the only reason the situation is worsening. In Guatemala alone, the Dry Corridor has expanded from 40 to 160 municipalities since 2004, meaning almost half of the country has been subjected to drought fueled by climate change, according to the government. Cecilia Pasa walked through a puny corn farm, a clear testimony of the drought. “The plants can’t take it anymore. The ground is drier. It’s not humid anymore like it used to be,” she said. Indigenous woman Cecilia Pasa, 38, loads firewood at her house in the Xetzac community of Cunen, Quiche department, Guatemala, on May 27, 2026. —AFP It means that only half of her neighbors planted corn this year. Everyone else, including Catarina Sica, didn’t even bother. “There isn’t rain, and the time has passed for us to plant,” Sica said, showing the black, white and yellow seeds still on the cob of corn. Indigenous woman Catarina Sica, 39, shows potato seeds she has been unable to plant due to a lack of rain at her house in the Xetzac community of Cunen, Quiche department, Guatemala, on May 27, 2026. —AFP Migratory impact For years, the brutal challenges of working the fields in Cunen were eased with remittances migrants sent home from the United States. Yet US President Donald Trump’s mass deportations have taken away that support. Around 24,000 Guatemalans have been deported this year, many from Quiche. The deportations have paralysed the construction of homes — the great dream of many migrants — as well as the jobs that go with it. Families now deal with the crisis by raising pigs, sheep, chickens and turkeys for sale. A donkey stands outside a house in the Xetzac community of Cunen, Quiche department, Guatemala, on May 27, 2026. —AFP Sica’s husband returned two years ago after saving enough money to build a concrete house. Now he works occasionally in agriculture, though the $10 daily wage he earns means the family diet is limited to beans, herbs and potatoes, like most locals. “We’re seeing what to do, but it all depends on God,” Sica said with resignation.

'Vitiforestry': French winemakers plant trees in bid to counter climate change

Winemakers across France are experimenting with the ancient practice of "vitiforestry" – growing trees alongside vines – to tackle the modern issue of climate change, and many are impressed with the results. As the world faces increasingly unpredictable weather, trees can help protect vines from spring frosts and provide shade during heatwaves.

Dakota Johnson lists stunning midcentury modern ‘tree house’ in L.A. for $6 million

Actress Dakota Johnson is selling her West Hollywood home that she has lived in for the last 10 years—having purchased it with the money she made from starring in “Fifty Shades of Grey.”

The heat ahead

HEAT is becoming a defining feature of life in many parts of the world. It influences how cities are built, how much electricity they consume, when people can work outdoors and, increasingly, how governments prepare for emergencies. The latest warning from the World Meteorological Organisation suggests that these pressures are likely to intensify. Global temperatures are expected to remain at or near record levels over the next five years, with a strong possibility that the world will experience its hottest year on record before the decade is out. Scientists estimate that average temperatures between 2026 and 2030 will exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Although this does not mean the Paris Agreement target has been permanently breached, it points to a future in which unusually hot years become increasingly common. The prospect of an El Niño event towards the end of 2026 may add further momentum, raising the likelihood of another exceptionally warm year in 2027. Pakistan is hardly a bystander to these trends. Summers have become longer and heatwaves more frequent. This year, Dadu recorded 51.5°C, while large parts of Sindh and Balochistan endured temperatures close to 50°C. Such conditions place enormous strain on electricity networks, reduce labour productivity and expose vulnerable groups to serious health risks. For those whose livelihoods depend on working outdoors, heat is not simply an inconvenience. It can determine how much work gets done and how much income reaches home. Research published this year suggests that nearly 3.8bn people could face extreme heat conditions by 2050. Many of those most affected will live in developing countries where access to cooling remains limited and power supply is unreliable. Yet the challenge is not confined to traditionally hot regions. Record temperatures in 2025 stretched from Central Asia and the Sahel to parts of northern Europe, highlighting how rapidly climatic patterns are changing across continents. Scientists estimate that extreme heat events are now almost 10 times more likely than they were a decade ago. Even countries accustomed to milder climates are beginning to confront risks that were once linked mainly with the tropics. Pakistan’s adaptation efforts have often focused on floods — understandably so after the 2022 calamity. Heat, however, deserves equal attention. Urban areas need more shade and green spaces. Building standards should encourage passive cooling. Reliable electricity and public cooling facilities will become increasingly important during prolonged hot spells. Health systems must also be equipped to recognise and respond to heat-related illness. The coming years are unlikely to resemble the climate many societies grew accustomed to during the last century. Planning for hotter conditions can no longer be treated as a peripheral environmental issue. It is increasingly becoming a question of public health, economic resilience and public safety. Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2026

Boy, 12, critically injured in freak accident during baseball game

Xavier Taylor, a player with Maple Shade Youth Baseball, was struck in the neck by an errant baseball.

Werk Room Weekly: ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ All Stars 11 bracket 2 on Charli xcx, weight loss, more

Y’all ain’t ready for the pink bracket. Join the hosts of “Werk Room Weekly,” Jason Cerin and Brian Faas, for a shade-filled sit down with the queens of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” 11, streaming now on Paramount+. Bracket 2 boasts an all “ladies of all color” lineup, which includes April Carrión, Aura Mayari, Crystal Methyd, Salina EsTitties, Silky Nutmeg...

Texas Tech’s Joey McGuire offers wild plan to play Texas in Week 1 after Steve Sarkisian’s shade

Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire wants Texas coach Steve Sarkisian to answer for his comments in a Lone Star state showdown.

Nova massacre memorial seeks donations to preserve victims’ stories

Families and volunteers are raising funds to complete the Re’im memorial, adding signs and shade as thousands visit daily to honor 378 murdered at Nova and 44 kidnapped to Gaza

The people behind the EU garden at Bloom say it's about 'common shade' not 'throwing shade'

No, it’s not a blue garden full of yellow stars.

Ukraine Showing Its True Colors, Its Nazi Shade of 'Brown' - Kremlin

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Ukraine is showing its true colors, its jack-booted shade of 'brown', Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

Landmarks review – Lucrecia Martel’s beautiful account of an Indigenous murder case

Martel’s documentary about the shooting of Javier Chocobar is a mannered and dignified work, laden with post-colonial tension and the weight of institutions The great doyenne of Argentine cinema, writer-director Lucrecia Martel (La Ciénaga, The Holy Girl, The Headless Woman), ventures into documentary to cover a murder trial, the issues of which spill out into very Martelian areas of concern: land and terrain as an active force in people’s lives, the tension between Indigenous people and the descendants of colonists, the legacy of weighty institutions (the law, the church) on everyday people. Like Martel’s fictional features, Landmarks unfolds in stately fashion, and features the sort of editing that lingers on the face of a speaker holding forth, or follows a cleaner polishing furniture and a clerk distributing dainty cups of coffee to the authorities as the arguments drag on. Martel explores the more poetic side of drone technology, giving the viewer a very clear understanding of the lay of the land while also creating oneiric, disorienting sequences in which we see goats and people ambling along mountain paths upside down, creating what looks like abstract landscapes in tonal shades of green. It’s really quite beautiful – if sometimes a touch soporific. Continue reading...

China, Pakistan reach 'new broad consensus' on boosting ties

China and Pakistan have reached a new broad consensus on deepening their strategic partnership, according to a joint statement issued by the countries at the end of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Beijing. The statement, shared by the Foreign Office (FO) on X, said, “The two sides engaged cordially and reached a new broad consensus on further deepening the China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership and on international and regional issues of mutual interest.” The statement said that the two sides shared the view that the ties between the two countries were an “important wealth and a strategic asset”. “Throughout the 75 years of diplomatic relations, this friendship has remained rock solid no matter how the international and regional situations evolved, and the two countries have always trusted, respected and supported each other and stood by each other in times of difficulties and challenges,” it said. It added that at a time when the world was undergoing profound changes, the partnership had taken on “even more strategic importance and relevance”. “China and Pakistan will move faster to build an even closer China-Pakistan Community with a shared future in the new era, which will set an example for the endeavour to build a community with a shared future that connects China and its neighbouring countries,” it said. It said that both countries were determined to safeguard and develop their bilateral relations, maintain high-level exchanges, make significant progress under the action plan to foster an even closer China-Pakistan community, deepen mutual trust, practical cooperation, defence and security cooperation, and keep close coordination on international and regional issues, “so as to better harness this relationship to the benefit of the two peoples and contribute to peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world”. The joint statement stressed that Pakistan attached “great importance to and supports the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity and the Global Development Initiative (GDI), the Global Security Initiative (GSI), the Global Civilisation Initiative (GCI), and the Global Governance Initiative (GGI) put forth by President Xi Jinping. Both sides “spoke highly” of the recent visit to China by President Asif Ali Zardari, as well as National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq. The two countries welcomed the success of the seventh round of China-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue in January 2026 and the China-Pakistan Political Parties Forum and Meeting of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Political Parties Joint Consultation Mechanism in May 2026. “Both sides agreed to further strengthen strategic dialogue and enhance exchanges at various levels to continue deepening political mutual trust and jointly keep China-Pakistan relations in the right direction,” the statement read. PM hails ‘finest hour’ of Pak-China friendship PM Shehbaz also hailed the “finest hour” of the friendship between Pakistan and China. He made the remarks while addressing a ceremony in Beijing marking the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries. “These relations were carved out with great commitment, devotion and dedication by the great leaders of China and Pakistan. Over the last seven decades, these relations have reached a high point, where you cannot find a befitting parallel,” he said. He said that over the last seven decades, China had risen to the “zenith of glory through hard work and untiring efforts”. “This is a remarkable journey for all other nations around the globe to learn how to overcome poverty, unemployment. If you remain steadfast, then you ultimately achieve what today’s China is — a world economic power and a world military power,” he said, hailing the “finest hour” in the friendship between the two countries. “Today, we are like two souls and one heart. Our hearts beat together,” he said. The premier stated that under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, China had lifted eight million people out of poverty and provided jobs to millions. “China, in terms of economic power, is second to none. China, in terms of military power, is at par with the most powerful nation in the world. Yet, Xi’s philosophy [of] promoting peace … is something that makes him not only a towering figure, but one of the most respected leaders in this day and age,” he said. “Let us resolve to draw lessons from this great journey of hard lessons and untiring efforts … For us, it is a long journey, but the longest journey in the world started from the first step,” he said. “Let us take this first step. I can assure you that we will be able to achieve our targets in terms of [implementing] a mini-Chinese economic model in Pakistan one day,” he said. “The Pak-China friendship has deep roots. It has weathered storms, given shade and borne fruit. It is now our responsibility to nurture new branches so that future generations inherit a relationship even stronger than what was envisioned by our forefathers,” he said. PM meets Chinese business delegations Separately, PM Shehbaz also held a series of high-level meetings with leading Chinese enterprises and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to deepening economic, industrial and infrastructure cooperation under the framework of CPEC Phase II, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). During a meeting with a delegation of FAMSUN led by its Chief Executive Officer Zhengjun Chen, the prime minister appreciated its “longstanding contribution to Pakistan’s agriculture sector, particularly in grain storage, feed production, and food security”, the statement said. PM Shehbaz emphasised Pakistan’s focus on reducing post-harvest losses and invited the company to establish manufacturing and technology transfer facilities in the country under incentives available through Special Economic Zones and the Green Pakistan Initiative. The premier also met a delegation from Shandong Xinxu Group Corporation, welcoming the company’s expanding footprint in Pakistan across maritime development, battery manufacturing, mineral processing and industrial cooperation, the PMO said. He appreciated the company’s role in advancing the Xinxu Special Economic Zone, the sea-to-steel project at Port Qasim and investments in Gwadar and northern mineral sectors. The prime minister reaffirmed the government’s “full support” for the strategic projects and encouraged accelerated implementation under CPEC Phase II, the statement added. Separately, PM Shehbaz met Zhang Bingnan, chairman of China Communications Construction Corporation (CCCC), and senior representatives of China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC). He appreciated the companies’ six decades of contribution to Pakistan’s infrastructure development, including landmark projects such as the Karakoram Highway (KKH) and Rashakai Special Economic Zone. The prime minister reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to fast-tracking priority infrastructure projects, including ML-1, KKH realignment and other connectivity initiatives under CPEC. “Pakistan values CCCC and CRBC as long-term strategic partners in infrastructure modernisation and regional connectivity,” he emphasised. According to the statement, the Chinese companies reaffirmed their confidence in Pakistan’s economic potential and expressed interest in expanding investments across agriculture, industrial manufacturing, logistics, infrastructure and technology sectors. The prime minister was assisted by senior ministers and government officials, who were instructed to ensure rigorous and timely follow-up of the decisions taken during the meetings, the statement concluded.