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  • Connection between BRT Orange and Green lines inaugurated in Karachi – Dawn

    1. Connection between BRT Orange and Green lines inaugurated in Karachi  Dawn
    2. Double-decker buses introduced in Karachi, to be available to the public from tomorrow  Dawn
    3. Karachi’s Edhi Orange Line linked with Green Line  The Express Tribune
    4. Orangi…

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  • Promise of bumper coffee crop in 2026 fuelled by explosion of white flowers

    Promise of bumper coffee crop in 2026 fuelled by explosion of white flowers

    Australian coffee growers are hoping for a bumper 2026 season to meet increased demand for homegrown beans.

    Fuelling that hope was the explosion of white, star-like flowers that covered coffee bushes across the country during their November flowering season.

    Coffee farms are transformed into a sea of white as the trees burst with star-like white flowers. (ABC Rural: Kim Honan)

    Australian Grown Coffee Association president Rebecca Zentveld said it was the best flowering in six years at her farm in Newrybar near Byron Bay.

    Ms Zentveld said the positive signs for the crop in 2026 were welcome after a smaller-than-expected harvest this year.

    A woman in a blue dress pulls apart coffee tree branches with white flowers.

    Rebecca Zentveld checks the flowering on her coffee trees. (ABC Rural: Kim Honan)

    Poor weather in coffee-growing countries, including Brazil and Vietnam, in recent years, has meant Australian growers have been well-placed to fill the gap.

    Beautiful blossoming

    Coffee plants are known for their short flowering season, generally lasting just two days.

    “That tiny little bud of the next fruit starts to grow for the next eleven months,” Ms Zentveld said.

    A red and a green coffee cherry on a branch with white blossoms.

    Coffee cherries left from the 2025 harvest among the blossoms. (ABC Rural: Kim Honan)

    “Not every flower will turn into a little fruit; we will allow some to drop and accept that, and it’s a really good start.”

    The flowers present not only a visual sensation on farms. The short-lived blossoming offers a multi-sensory experience for growers and visitors.

    A honey bee on a white coffee blossom.

    A European honey bee prepares to collect nectar from the white blossom of a coffee cherry. (ABC Rural: Kim Honan)

    A honey bee with orange pollen sacs flies over white coffee flowers.

    A honey bee with pollen baskets hovers over coffee blossoms. (ABC Rural: Kim Honan)

    A honey bee collects nectar from a white coffee blossom.

    Bees are kept busy collecting nectar and pollinating the coffee cherries. (ABC Rural: Kim Honan)

    The bees are busy buzzing about collecting nectar from the blossoms, which have a sweet jasmine-like smell that even wafts beyond the farm fence.

    “They’re going crazy, often what we do is hear the bees first, the hum, they will be out in force,” Ms Zentveld said.

    “We’ve had people drive past with their windows down and come in on the day that the blossoms are out because they could smell them in the air.”

    Rebecca Zentveld with a tour group around a coffee tree with white flowers.

    Rebecca Zentveld and a tour group stop to smell the coffee flowers. (ABC Rural: Kim Honan)

    Rebecca Zentveld and a tour group stop to smell the coffee flowers. (ABC Rural: Kim Honan)

    A sign inviting visitors to come smell the coffee blossoms.

    A welcome sign at Zentveld’s Coffee Farm & Roastery at Newrybar. (ABC Rural: Kim Honan)

    Welcome sign at Zentveld’s Coffee Farm & Roastery at Newrybar. (ABC Rural: Kim Honan)

    A lady takes a photo of a man and woman in front of coffee trees with white blossoms.

    Rebecca Zentveld snaps a photo of some visitors to the farm with the coffee blossoms.  (ABC Rural: Kim Honan)

    Rebecca Zentveld snaps a photo of some visitors to the farm with the coffee blossoms. (ABC Rural: Kim Honan)

    “It is just marvellous, just extraordinary.”

    Small variety with big potential

    Growers at the Zentveld farm are particularly excited by the amount of blossoms on a new coffee variety that is being trialled there.

    Ms Zentveld said one of the dwarf varieties, Marsellesa, had put out more flowers than her Kenyan K7 trees.

    A lady in a blue dress stands between two coffee trees with white flowers on them.

    Rebecca Zentveld with the Marsellesa coffee tree.  (ABC Rural: Kim Honan)

    “The blossoms are bigger than the two main varieties we grow in Australia,” she said.

    “So that’s going to be interesting to see if that equates to overall big-sized fruit or coffee bean.”

    Marsellesa, a hybrid of Sarchimor and Caturra developed in Nicaragua, is a high-yielding, rust-resistant variety that researchers believe could be better suited for Australian conditions than the Kenyan K7.

    White coffee blossoms on a tree branch.

    White blossoms on the Marsellesa coffee variety. (ABC Rural: Kim Honan)

    Coffee converts

    Ms Zentveld said speciality coffee roasters were crying out for locally grown beans.

    “They’re willing to pay the money for it, which is a wonderful thing to keep our growers going and profitable. That’s what we want,” she said.

    That growing demand has seen the industry expand further within NSW and Queensland and into Western Australia.

    A wallaby stands next to a coffee tree with white blossoms.

    A wallaby among the coffee trees. (Supplied: Kim Honan)

    Ms Zentveld said fruit and nut farmers in particular were turning to coffee due to issues within their industries, including local processor closures.

    “We’re now getting quite a few professional farmers who may have been growing macadamias, growing citrus and avocados in Western Australia, sugarcane and peanuts in North Queensland,” she said.

    She said the industry would benefit from these professionals putting coffee in on scale.

    A branch with five red coffee cherries and white coffee blossoms.

    Coffee cherries hang on from the 2025 season during flowering for the 2026 crop.  (ABC Rural: Kim Honan)

    She said the industry had solid long-term prospects as it moved beyond just import replacement and into export markets.

    “They do the maths, and work out that this is a crop that’s in demand and should be profitable.”

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  • Traders announce countrywide protests on Jan 16 – Dawn

    1. Traders announce countrywide protests on Jan 16  Dawn
    2. Islamabad traders warn of protests over mandatory POS system  The Express Tribune
    3. Small businesses: Traders protest against installation of POS devices  Business Recorder
    4. ICCI offers to mediate…

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  • Hoping against hope – Dawn

    1. Hoping against hope  Dawn
    2. PILDAT flags weakening democracy in Pakistan during 2025  Dunya News
    3. New Year, New Hopes and Persistent Hurdles  Daily Times
    4. Pildat report: Security-driven environment entrenches establishment’s influence  Business…

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  • Retail payment transactions rise 10pc to 2.8bn – Dawn

    1. Retail payment transactions rise 10pc to 2.8bn  Dawn
    2. Digital payments hit 2.8b transactions in Q1FY26: SBP  The Express Tribune
    3. 81% of All Digital Transactions in Pakistan Are Done Using Mobiles  ProPakistani
    4. Jul-Sept retail payments: Total value soars 6pc to Rs166trn QoQ  Business Recorder
    5. Mobile app transactions drive 10% growth in retail payments  Daily Times

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  • Premier League title race: Can Arsenal go all the way this time?

    Premier League title race: Can Arsenal go all the way this time?

    It had seemed like Arsenal were starting to wobble.

    After starting December with defeat by Aston Villa, they were far from convincing as they beat Wolves, Everton and Brighton by narrow margins.

    But the Gunners ground out vital results and they…

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  • Stocks soar past 174,000 on strong growth data – Dawn

    1. Stocks soar past 174,000 on strong growth data  Dawn
    2. KSE-100 crosses 175,000 level in early trade  Business Recorder
    3. PSX maintains record-setting rally  The Express Tribune
    4. PSX crosses 174,400 points as investor confidence strengthens  Daily Times
    5. PSX gains 576 points to close at 174,472  The Nation (Pakistan )

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  • Stocks soar past 174,000 on strong growth data – Dawn

    1. Stocks soar past 174,000 on strong growth data  Dawn
    2. Records tumble: KSE-100 settles with nearly 600 points gain  Business Recorder
    3. PSX maintains record-setting rally  The Express Tribune
    4. Stock market gains 1,495 points to close at 173,896  The Nation (Pakistan )
    5. PSX Settles At New All-Time High on UAE’s Billion-Dollar Investment News  ProPakistani

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  • Economy expands 3.71pc in 1QFY26 – Dawn

    1. Economy expands 3.71pc in 1QFY26  Dawn
    2. 3.7% growth surpasses projections  The Express Tribune
    3. RCCI chief credits macro stability for trickle-down microeconomic improvement  Islamabad Post
    4. Pakistan issues over $7 billion sukuk in 2025, nears 20…

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  • Govt launches first bond for skill development – Dawn

    1. Govt launches first bond for skill development  Dawn
    2. Pakistan rises as global freelancing hub  Daily Times
    3. Govt’s top priority to upskill and reskill youth: Aurangzeb  24 News HD
    4. Youth can become country’s biggest economic strength: Aurangzeb  Aaj…

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