Category: English

Serbia’s Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat to a student-led protest movement in a historic election on Sunday that ends his long grip on power and ​heralds a new political era in the Balkan country. Vucic, a populist and nationalist, has dominated Serbian politics as prime minister or president since 2014. But he called snap elections in September ‌after almost two years of student-led demonstrations against perceived corruption and creeping authoritarianism, triggered by the deaths of 16 people when a train station canopy collapsed in the city of Novi Sad in 2024.…

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Security forces killed six militants while two soldiers were martyred in an intelligence-based operation in the Zarkani area of Dera Ismail Khan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Saturday, the military said. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, said the operation targeted militants affiliated with the Indian-backed Fitna-ul-Khawarij, a term used to refer to militant groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). During an intense exchange of fire, six militants were killed, while Naik Ghulam Murtaza, 36, from Gujrat district, and Sepoy Taseer Ahmed, 30, from Talagang…

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Saudi Arabia said ​its main airport resumed operations at two terminals on Sunday, even as Yemen’s Houthis vowed ‌to keep striking the facility, saying it remained a “military target”. King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh had halted operations on October 10 following an attack claimed by the Houthis that killed 13 people, the deadliest in the kingdom in more than a decade. Saudi Arabia intercepted another wave of missiles ​and drones on Sunday as fighting with the militant group continued unabated. The conflict has become an increasingly destabilising ​element in…

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Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghaddam has denied reports of the closure of Iranian borders to Pakistan, saying there are no restrictions on Iranian exports, including liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). In a statement, Moghaddam said Iran’s borders with all neighbouring countries remained open and that closing them to neighbouring countries, particularly Pakistan, would serve neither side’s interests. He said changes in Pakistan’s implementation of the E-Form procedure for imports from Iran had left traders unable to dispatch cargo to Pakistan. Consultations with Pakistani authorities were under way to resolve…

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Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned on Sunday that any aggression against Iran’s territorial integrity would be met with a response exceeding the enemy’s expectations. Speaking at the opening of a parliamentary session, Qalibaf said Iran would not be intimidated by threats and would respond forcefully to any attack on its territory. He said the United States must change its conduct, abandon its policies of coercion and greed, and take concrete steps to address violations of past commitments before its claims could be trusted. Qalibaf said Washington had failed…

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Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday formally launched a nationwide initiative to distribute 500,000 Chromebooks, equipped with MiFi internet connectivity, to deserving students and high achievers based strictly on merit. Addressing the launch ceremony, the prime minister emphasised that equipping the country’s youth with modern education and technology is a core government responsibility and the key to building a prosperous Pakistan. Highlighting the initiative’s inclusivity, he noted that laptops are being provided to students from diverse educational backgrounds— including mainstream schools and madaris — based solely on talent and hard…

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At least 12 people, including six children, were injured in a shooting near a football stadium in Tallahassee, Florida, on Saturday during Florida A&M University’s homecoming weekend, authorities said. Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell said no arrests had been made. Police said a preliminary investigation indicated that a fight broke out before the shooting, which occurred in a crowded area following a football game. Eleven of the victims suffered gunshot wounds, while at least three sustained serious injuries, according to police. Florida A&M University said the shooting took place near…

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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has warned that the US-Israeli war has fundamentally changed the region and that shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz will no longer be managed as before, saying Tehran will not return to the pre-war status quo. “The current war has changed everything. We must accept that new realities have emerged,” Araghchi said on Sunday, adding that talks on the strategic waterway would continue. He also warned against another military assault on Iran, saying the United States and Israel had already tried twice and seen…

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Iran’s army said on Sunday that its air defence forces had shot down a US Lucas-type drone over the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency. Citing the military’s public relations department, Tasnim reported that the drone was destroyed by air defence systems operating under Iran’s integrated air defence network. The reported incident came a day after US President Donald Trump said Washington could strike Iran as soon as Sunday or reach a “big, beautiful” agreement with Tehran, amid reports that he was weighing…

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Jordan’s King Abdullah ordered security forces to respond with an “iron fist” as authorities searched for gunmen who opened fire and killed nine people during a church funeral service. The assailants fired for several minutes in broad daylight at the church in Karak governorate on Friday, ​and also wounded 40 people in the rare attack on Jordan’s Christian minority. Security ​was stepped up at malls, foreign embassies and other locations across the country, ⁠the US embassy in Amman said. Sense of panic A priest described how ​he and others ordered…

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