Category: English

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s brash campaign posters are still up on Israeli public buses — images of him, US President Donald Trump and soaring warjets that laud the two leaders attacking Iran together. Neither is now advertising the state of the two countries’ alliance. A week after an inconclusive election for Netanyahu, Americans overwhelmingly rejected Trump and chose a Congress led by Democrats who want a tougher approach to Israel, whether on Iran, Gaza or settler violence in the occupied West Bank. The back-to-back elections look to many observers like…

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Pakistan issued more than 9,000 visas to Indian religious pilgrims in 2025 and remains committed to facilitating visits to religious sites, Foreign Office Spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said on Friday. Speaking at his weekly media briefing in Islamabad, the spokesperson said the visas included those issued to Sikh and Hindu pilgrims. Pakistan also issued more than 4,000 additional visas to Sikh pilgrims during the first half of 2026, he added. Pakistan looks forward to welcoming a large number of Sikh pilgrims to Nankana Sahib later this month to mark the…

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The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis said on Friday it had intercepted a drone in the region of the holy city of Makkah following repeated attacks on the kingdom by the pro-Iran group. “Interception and destruction of a drone in the Makkah region,” Turki al-Malki, the coalition’s spokesman, wrote on social media, without elaborating on the source of the attack. Since the breakdown of a truce in July, Saudi Arabia has traded blows with the Houthis, who have struck Saudi airports, energy infrastructure and military sites. But the group has…

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Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has urged the federal government to set aside political differences and focus on addressing the country’s economic challenges, saying continued confrontation with political opponents would hinder progress. “Pakistan is facing economic difficulties. If we keep fighting PTI and Maulana Fazlur Rehman, when will we progress?” Bilawal said on Friday. Addressing a ceremony to lay the foundation stone of a 600-bed hospital in Larkana, the PPP chairman said the country was grappling with economic challenges amid a global financial crisis. He called for dialogue…

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Law enforcement agencies have foiled an infiltration attempt from Afghanistan into Pakistan in Upper Kurram, arresting an armed Afghan national while his accomplices failed to cross the border, security sources said. The arrested man has been identified as Qari Waqas alias Quddoos, who reportedly belongs to Afghanistan’s Spin Ghar region, according to the sources. During interrogation, Waqas allegedly admitted to entering Pakistan from Afghanistan and disclosed that he intended to join the Kazim group, security sources said. A search of the arrested man led to the recovery of a submachine…

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A sperm whale, measuring about 45 feet, has been sighted off the Sindh coast for the first time, according to WWF-Pakistan. The conservation group said on Friday that the whale was recorded in a video that captured its distinctive physical features. WWF-Pakistan said 26 species of cetaceans, a group that includes whales and dolphins, are found in Pakistan’s maritime waters. These include the blue whale, Bryde’s whale and the Arabian Sea humpback whale. Sperm whales are among the deepest-diving mammals. Experts say they usually dive between 300 and 800 metres…

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Tesla will wind down Cybertruck ​production at its Texas gigafactory around mid-2027, CEO Elon Musk said on Friday, after years of persistently weak sales for a futuristic ‌model once touted as a rival to legacy pickup trucks that ultimately only sold in just a handful of markets because of its heavy, angular design. Musk said in an X post that the production wind-down would enable the automaker to accommodate increased output of its newly launched Cybertruck model, which the billionaire has made central to Tesla’s robotaxi ambitions. While it was…

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Pakistan’s trade deficit significantly increased by nearly 20% to $3.88 billion in October 2026, as compared to the same month of the previous year, data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed on Friday. The country’s trade balance, the gap between exports and imports, was recorded at a deficit of $3.24 billion in October 2025. The trade deficit expanded year-on-year (YoY) in October 2026, driven by higher imports and a lacklustre growth in exports. Exports in October 2026 stood at $2.93 billion, up 2.8% from $2.85 billion recorded…

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Electricity consumers may face another financial burden as power distribution companies (Discos) have approached the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) seeking permission to recover an additional Rs23.33 billion through electricity bills. The distribution companies have submitted applications to NEPRA for the quarterly adjustment for July-September 2026, seeking approval to recover additional costs from consumers. According to the applications, the companies have sought Rs38.92 billion in quarterly capacity charges, while proposing an additional recovery of Rs5.59 billion for operation and maintenance expenses. The proposed adjustments could lead to a further…

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Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and US President Donald Trump discussed efforts to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East, advance diplomacy and strengthen bilateral ties during a telephone conversation on Friday, according to a statement issued by Qatar’s Amiri Diwan. The two leaders reviewed the regional situation and ongoing efforts to reduce tensions, while discussing the strategic partnership between their countries and ways to further strengthen it. The conversation also covered international diplomatic efforts, including Qatar’s role in facilitating dialogue and mediating efforts to resolve the crisis.…

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