Month: October 2026

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday ​that “massive” oil, gas and mineral exploration ‌is getting ready to begin in Greenland. Trump did not share details about the exploration plans in ​Greenland but said, “there are experts who are saying that the amount of easily ⁠available oil is far greater than ​that of almost any land, anywhere in the ​world.” The United States, Denmark and Greenland last month signed an agreement, aimed at ending tensions after Trump’s repeated ​threats to take control of the ​strategically located and mineral-rich island. “Any…

Pollution readings in Singapore reached their highest level this year on Wednesday ‌while East Timor shut its schools for three days in response to intensifying smoke and haze from Indonesia’s wildfires. Singapore’s 1-hour PM2.5 reading hit a high of 284 micrograms per cubic metre in the western part of the island state, entering the National Environmental Agency’s “very high” band for ​the first time during the current haze period. The East Timor government said in a statement that it was suspending ​face-to-face learning activities for three days starting from October…

Polish military police are investigating an unidentified object found on ​a Baltic Sea beach on ‌Tuesday. Private radio station RMF FM reported that a passerby discovered what resembled a ​drone and reported it to ​the police, with military sappers and ⁠other services then arriving at the ​scene. Poland is the largest NATO member ​on the alliance’s eastern flank, and borders Ukraine. A series of airspace incursions in ​the region have fuelled concerns about ​the war in Ukraine spilling over the alliance’s ‌borders. Military ⁠police said late on Tuesday on X…

The growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor employees is raising concerns over workplace privacy, performance assessments and unequal benefits from the technology. Workers across different industries are facing increased scrutiny, with automated systems tracking their behaviour and evaluating their performance. In the UK, Co-op Legal Services has introduced AI technology that records and analyses phone calls between employees and customers seeking advice on probate, wills and estates. The system assigns percentage scores to these interactions. A Co-op employee described the monitoring system as oppressive, telling The Guardian that…

Vice Chancellor of the Federal Urdu University, Professor Dr Zabta Khan Shinwari (SI, TI), has been named among the world’s top 2% scientists for the seventh time. The latest list of the world’s top 2% scientists was released on October 7. Dr Zabta Khan Shinwari is included in the list for his research work in botany and plant biology. He had also made it to the list for six consecutive years from 2018 to 2023. Dr Shinwari has published around 700 research papers in international journals. His research work has…

Pope Leo was diagnosed with lung cancer after surgeons removed a part of his right lung on ​Tuesday, the Vatican said in a medical bulletin, marking a significant health setback for the 71-year-old pontiff. The pope has lung adenocarcinoma, a common form of cancer, with tissue ‌tests conducted during the operation confirming what doctors had suspected from preparatory examinations, the bulletin said. Leo was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Tuesday for surgery to remove the growth that doctors had discovered in a recent routine health check. The pope’s lead…

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday said that the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, signed between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, was a historic milestone for peace, unity, and stability in the region. The prime minister said this in a meeting with Lieutenant General (retd) Nauman Mahmood, the first Secretary General to the General Secretariat of the alliance, pursuant to the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, who called on him here. He expressed his best wishes for Lt. General (retd) Nauman Mahmood on assuming his position. The prime minister emphasised that under…

Vietnam and the US have nearly completed negotiations covering a trade deal, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Tuc said on Wednesday at an event in Hanoi, though US officials appeared more cautious. Export-reliant Vietnam has been in talks for more than a year with the ​US, its main foreign market, to avoid punitive tariffs. Trump administration officials have repeatedly accused the country of being used as ​a transit point to lower duties on Chinese goods bound for the US. Vietnam has sent the final ⁠text of the agreement to…