ISLAMABAD: A powerful earthquake late Sunday night shook Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Tajikistan, with Afghan officials reporting hundreds of casualties and widespread destruction. According to the US Geological Survey, the 6.0-magnitude quake struck near Jalalabad, Afghanistan, at a depth of 8 kilometres around 12:17am. A second tremor measuring 4.5 was […]
International
Covering news and developments in the region and globally, with a Pakistani perspective.
US visa fee to jump to $442 from Oct 1
WASHINGTON: The Trump administration has introduced a new $250 “visa fee” for foreign travellers, including those from Pakistan, raising the overall cost of a US visa to $442. The fee will take effect from October 1, 2025. The move comes amid declining foreign tourist arrivals to the United States, with […]
Trump cancels India visit for Quad Summit
US President Donald Trump has cancelled his planned visit to India for the Quad Summit in November 2025, the New York Times reported on Saturday, underscoring deepening strains in relations between Washington and New Delhi over trade and foreign policy. The decision comes weeks after the US administration imposed an […]
PM, Iranian president discuss floods, SCO summit
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday received a telephone call from Iranian President Dr Masoud Pezeshkian, who conveyed condolences over the loss of life and property caused by recent floods in different parts of Pakistan. According to the Prime Minister’s Office, President Pezeshkian expressed solidarity with the affected families […]
Turkiye cuts economic ties, closes airspace to Israel
ANKARA: In a sweeping move on Friday, Turkiye announced the suspension of all commercial and economic ties with Israel and closed its airspace to Israeli aircraft, citing Tel Aviv’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza and regional policies. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told parliament that atrocities in Gaza had become “one […]
Polish F-16 crashes during airshow rehearsal, pilot killed
WARSAW: A Polish Air Force F-16 fighter jet crashed on Thursday during rehearsals for an airshow in Radom, central Poland, killing its pilot, the army confirmed. Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, who visited the crash site, paid tribute on social media platform X. “A Polish Army pilot died in the crash […]
France, UK, Germany move to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran
TEHRAN: France, Britain, and Germany on Thursday formally triggered a UN mechanism to reimpose sanctions on Iran, accusing Tehran of failing to comply with its commitments under the 2015 nuclear agreement. In a letter to the UN Security Council, the three powers said they considered Iran to be in “significant […]
Trump tariffs: 25 countries suspend postal services to US
WASHINGTON: A United Nations agency overseeing the global postal sector said on Tuesday that 25 of its member states have suspended goods consignments to the United States following Washington’s decision to scrap a customs tax exemption on small packages. The development underscores how tariff measures introduced by President Donald Trump’s […]
Iran, Pakistan vow joint efforts to secure border, combat terrorism
TEHRAN: Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, has said that Iran is prepared to eradicate terrorism and secure its common border with Pakistan through joint measures. Speaking to Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, Field Marshal Asim Munir, over the phone on Tuesday, Gen Mousavi […]
Israeli Strikes on Gaza Hospitals Kill 75, Including Six Journalists
GAZA: As the war in Gaza entered its 689th day, Israeli forces carried out fresh strikes on hospitals and aid distribution centres, killing at least 75 Palestinians and wounding 370 others in the past 24 hours, Arab media reported on Monday. Two separate attacks on Al-Nasr Hospital claimed 21 lives, […]