International News

Pak, Afghan agree to establish joint committee to reopen border

Pakistan and Afghanistan on Monday agreed to establish a 13-member joint committee of business leaders to hold formal negotiations for the opening of the border for trade. The border has been shut since October last year after the two sides clashed over the issue of militancy emanating from Afghanistan. The Express Tribune newspaper reported that the joint committee comprises six members from Pakistan and seven from Afghanistan. The Pakistani delegation will be led by Syed Jawad Hussain Kazmi, Adviser to the President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), while the Afghan side will be headed by Mohammad Wali Amini. Speaking to the media, Kazmi said the primary objective of the talks is the immediate reopening of Pak-Afghan trade routes, the removal of obstacles in border management, and ensuring the continuity of bilateral trade. He added that a comprehensive and practical roadmap would be formulated to provide a lasting solution to the issues fa

Security scare at JD Vance's Ohio residence; windows damaged, suspect held

The United States Secret Service said the vice president's family was not in Ohio when the incident took place

Swiss bar fire: Managers probed after fire kills 40 at New Year party

Swiss authorities have opened an investigation into the managers of the bar where a fire at a New Year's party left 40 people dead, police said Saturday. The two are suspected of negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm and causing fire by negligence, police said in a statement. They said that the investigation was opened on Friday night, but didn't give further details. More than 100 people were injured in the blaze that broke out about 1:30 am on Thursday at the Le Constellation bar in the Alpine resort town of Crans-Montana. The process of identifying the dead and injured was still underway on Saturday, leading to an agonising wait for relatives desperate for news. Investigators said Friday that they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fatal fire when they came too close to the ceiling of the crowded bar. Many of the injured were in their teens to mid-20s, police said. Authorities planned to look into whether sound-dampening material on the ceiling ...

Micheal Martin to visit China, first trip by an Irish leader in 14 years

Ireland's Prime Minister Micheal Martin will visit China from Sunday and meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the first visit by an Irish leader in 14 years, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday. Beijing has been strengthening ties with individual members of the European Union despite tensions with the EU bloc over tariffs and human rights issues. In late 2025, French President Emmanuel Macron and Spanish King Felipe VI met with Xi in separate trips to China. During his five-day trip, Martin will also meet with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who had invited him, and Zhao Leji, chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the ministry said in a statement. Besides Beijing, he will travel to Shanghai, it added. Through the visit, the ministry said, China is ready to work with Ireland to expand cooperation and foster China-EU relations. In December, China imposed up to 42.7 per cent of provisional tariffs on dairy products, including milk and .

Neuralink plans 'high-volume' brain implant production by 2026, says Musk

The company began human trials of its brain implant in 2024 after addressing safety concerns raised by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

UN clears 7% reduced budget for 2026 as US arrears strain finances

The US usually contributes 22% of the UN's regular budget, but the Trump administration has not paid the $826 million bill for 2025 and it still owes some $660 million in arrears

Warner Bros likely to reject Paramount's $108.4 bn hostile bid: Report

Paramount had said that Ellison was open to personally guarantee equity financing backing the bid, a move aimed at easing doubts that had dogged its earlier proposal

US clears Samsung, SK Hynix chip tool shipments to China for 2026

The approval is a temporary relief for the South Korean firms and follows a U.S. decision earlier this year to revoke licence waivers given to some tech companies

Bangladesh polls: BNP's Tarique Rahman files nomination papers in Dhaka

Bangladesh Nationalist Party acting chairman Tarique Rahman submitted his nomination papers on Monday for the upcoming elections. The papers were filed around 12:00 pm on Monday at the office of the Dhaka Divisional Commissioner in Segunbagicha, the Daily Star reported. Abdus Salam, BNP chairperson's adviser, accompanied by Professor Dr Farhad Halim Donar, chief adviser of the Doctors Association of Bangladesh (DAB), submitted the nomination on Rahman's behalf. Rahman will contest the February 12 election from the Dhaka-17 constituency. Today is the final day for the submission of nomination papers for the 13th National Parliamentary Election. Speaking at a briefing, Salam expressed gratitude to all, saying city residents warmly welcomed Rahman after 17 years in exile. He added that they expect the people of Dhaka-17 to spontaneously cast their votes for him in the February 12 election. On Sunday, Bangladesh's Election Commission approved the inclusion of Rahman in the voter list

Nepal's former rapper to run for PM in key vote after Gen Z protests

Rapper turned-Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, aka Balen, a popular elected official, joined the RSP or national independent party, led by a former TV host-turned politician Rabi Lamichhane on Sunday

Iran is in full-scale war with US, Israel and Europe: President Pezeshkian

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Saturday his country is in a full-scale war with the US, Israel and Europe ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting Monday with US President Donald Trump. Pezeshkian said in an interview published on the website of the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday that the war is worse than Iran's deadly war with Iraq in the 1980s. We are in a full-scale war with the US, Israel and Europe; they don't want our country to remain stable, he said. Pezeshkian said the West's war against Iran is more complicated and more difficult compared to the 1980-1988 war with Iraq that left more than 1 million casualties on both sides. The remarks came two days before a planned meeting between Trump and Netanyahu during Netanyahu's visit to the US Iran is expected to be a key topic in the talks. Israeli and US strikes on Iran that came during a 12-day air war in June killed nearly 1,100 Iranians including senior military ..

Bluebird Block-2 satellite to commence ops in coming weeks: AST SpaceMobile

The Bluebird Block-2 satellite, which was successfully deployed by ISRO's Bahubali rocket LVM3-M6 on December 24 is set to commence operations in the coming weeks. The next-generation communication satellite, developed by US-based AST SpaceMobile, became the first spacecraft to be launched from Indian soil on December 24 into the intended orbit by ISRO. "In the coming weeks it will start operations," AST SpaceMobile COO Shanti B Gupta said. In a statement, AST SpaceMobile said, Bluebird 6 has become the largest commercial communications array ever deployed in the Low Earth orbit as it spans 2,400 sq ft, three times larger than the previous Bluebird satellites 1-5 launched in September 2024. The satellites have been engineered to deliver commercial and government applications, including high-speed 4G and 5G space-based cellular broadband directly to standard, unmodified smartphones and government applications. AST SpaceMobile Chairman and CEO Abel Avellan had said, "This launch ...

7.0-magnitude earthquake jolts Taiwan, strong tremors felt in Taipei

The epicenter was off Taiwan's northeastern coast, some 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) east of Yilan County, according to the agency's preliminary reading based on the Richter scale

King Charles, Prince William to lead Trump trade outreach in 2026: Report

Britain's senior royals are to be deployed as part of a charm offensive with President Donald Trump to get a coveted trade deal with the US over the line in the New Year, according to a report on Saturday. King Charles III is expected to make a trip to Washington in the first half of next year, making it a historic visit by a reigning British monarch in almost 20 years, The Times' referenced sources close to the talks as saying. William, the Prince of Wales, is expected to travel to North America when the US hosts the football World Cup with Canada and Mexico in July. Plans for both visits are still in very early stages, with formal invitations from the US yet to be received. According to the newspaper, both tours are being timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of American independence and as discussions continue between Britain and the United States over formalising a trade deal. This month, the American administration paused a proposed multi-billion-pound investment in th

Saudi-led coalition warns UAE-backed Yemen separatists of immediate action

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen warned Saturday it would immediately respond to any military movements of separatists backed by the United Arab Emirates that undermine de-escalation efforts in the southern region of the country. Any military movements that violate these efforts will be dealt with directly and immediately in order to protect civilian lives and ensure the success of restoring calm," said Brig Gen Turki al-Maliki, a coalition spokesman, according to the Saudi Press Agency. Al-Maliki also accused the Southern Transitional Council separatists of serious and horrific human rights violations against civilians, without providing evidence. This came a day after separatists accused Saudi Arabia of targeting their forces with airstrikes, something not formally acknowledged by the kingdom, whose relations with the UAE have been strained due to STC actions. Yemen, engulfed in a civil war for more than a decade, has the Iran-backed Houthis controlling much of the northern regio

China opens world's longest expressway tunnel through Xinjiang mountains

China on Friday opened to traffic a 22.13-km-long tunnel, which it claimed to be the "world's longest", in Xinjiang province. The Tianshan Shengli tunnel, which traverses through the central Tianshan Mountains in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has reduced a treacherous mountain journey of several hours to about 20 minutes, official media reported. According to Song Hailiang, chairman of China Communications Construction Company, the tunnel has set two world records. It is the longest expressway tunnel in the world and has the deepest vertical shaft for a highway tunnel, Song said. The tunnel is a key part of the G0711 Urumqi-Yuli Expressway, which also became operational on Friday, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The expressway serves as a major transport artery linking city clusters in northern and southern Xinjiang. Stretching 2,500 km, the Tianshan Mountains span central Xinjiang, separating the provincial capital Urumqi, the largest city in the

Putin open to territory exchange while demanding full control of Donbas

In essence, Putin wants the whole of Donbas but outside that area "a partial exchange of territories from the Russian side is not ruled out," Kolesnikov wrote in the newspaper

Pope Leo XIV remembers Gaza's suffering in first Christmas homily

Pope Leo XIV during his first Christmas Day homily on Thursday remembered the people of Gaza exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold and said the world's many conflicts can only be silenced through dialogue. Leo led the Christmas Day Mass from the central altar beneath the balustrade of St Peter's Basilica, adorned with floral garlands and clusters of red poinsettias. White flowers were set at the feet of a statue of Mary, mother of Jesus, whose birth is celebrated on Christmas Day. Recalling that God was made flesh through Jesus's birth in a manger in Bethlehem, Leo likened God's word to a fragile tent among us. How then can we not think of the tents in Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold; and of those so many other refugees and displaced persons on every continent, or of the makeshift shelters of thousands of homeless people in our own cities,' Leo said. The pontiff also recalled the fragility of defenceless populations, tried by so many wars,' and of young people for

Russia's spirits exports to India jump nearly fourfold in 10 months

The exports of Russian spirits to India have nearly quadrupled in the first 10 months of the year compared to the same period last year, making India an attractive emerging market for Russian exporters, according to a media report. Citing data from the Federal Centre for Agricultural Export Development of the Russian Ministry of Agriculture (Agroexport), leading financial and trade daily Vedomosti said India is emerging as an attractive market for Russian exporters of Vodka and other hard alcoholic beverages. In the first 10 months of 2025, Russian spirits producers shipped approximately 520 tonnes of spirits, including vodka, gin, whiskey, and liqueurs, worth USD 900,000 to India, this is three times higher in weight and four times higher in monetary terms than the same period last year, it said. Agroexport claims that vodka was the main driver of exports. In monetary terms, its shipments over the 10 months amounted to approximately USD 760,000. Although India ranked only 14th amo

Jailed Imran Khan calls for street movement against 'Asim Law' in Pakistan

Pakistan's jailed former prime minister Imran Khan has directed Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi of his party to prepare for a street movement against "Asim Law", in an apparent reference to Chief of Defence Forces Asim Munir. Khan, 73, who has been in jail since August 2023, faces multiple cases launched against him since his ouster from power in April 2022. He and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were sentenced to 17 years in jail each by a court on Saturday in the Toshakhana 2 corruption case. "My message for Sohail Afridi is to prepare for a street movement. The entire nation must rise for its rights. To strive for justice is a sacred duty, and I am ready to lay down my life for Haqeeqi Azadi (true freedom) of my nation," Khan said in a post on X on Monday.