Daily News Pakistan

Nasa's new flagship astronomical observatory was launched into space from Florida on Sunday on a mission to probe some of the biggest mysteries in astrophysics and cosmology. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, a roughly $4 billion project, was carried aloft from Nasa's Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. The telescope is designed to investigate cosmic enigmas such as dark energy and dark matter, while also testing gravity at vast scales and searching for exoplanets, as planets beyond our solar system are called. There were some weather concerns ahead of the launch but the rocket carried the telescope into space through blue skies and some scattered clouds. Roman will travel through space toward an orbital location called Lagrange Point 2, situated about a million miles (1.6 million km) from Earth. Its mission is planned for five years, though the US space agency said the telescope may have enough fuel for five additional years. Roman will build on...

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Sayyid Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei has described the United States and the Israeli regime as “sworn enemies” of unity among Muslims, stressing the need for greater solidarity and cooperation across the Islamic world. The Leader issued a message on Sunday, marking the birth anniversary of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and the Islamic Unity Week. The following is the full text of his message: In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful “Mohammad, the Messenger of God, and those who are with him are firm against the disbelievers and merciful among themselves” (Holy Quran 48:29). I extend my congratulations to the noble nation of Iran and the great Islamic Ummah on the occasion of the auspicious birth anniversary of the Great Luminary, the Noblest of Creation, the Radiant Lamp, God’s Chosen One, the City of Knowledge, the Mercy to the Worlds, the Honorable Messenger of Islam (PBUH), and the auspicious birth anniversary of his pure and vir...

Iran's top diplomat met his Qatari counterpart on Thursday in Tehran for talks on the strategic Strait of Hormuz, as a US naval blockade squeezes oil supplies to Iran amid a domestic shortfall. The visit by Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani follows a week of intense diplomacy in Iran involving separate meetings with Oman's top diplomat and senior Pakistani officials seeking ways to end the US war against Iran and reopen Hormuz. It also comes as Washington threatens wider secondary sanctions against countries, banks, and companies that continue doing business with Iran, part of a broader campaign it has called "economic asphyxiation". Iranian state television said Al Thani, who is also Qatar's prime minister, had met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, without providing details. Qatar's foreign ministry said they discussed de-escalation efforts as well as the proposed framework for Hormuz between Iran and Oman. ...

French-Saudi Investment Roundtable in Paris highlights strong investment flows, strategic sectors and expanded private-sector cooperation. The French-Saudi Investment Roundtable was held in Paris on Monday on the occasion of the visit of Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to France, bringing together senior government officials, business leaders and chief executives of major companies from both countries to explore new opportunities for investment and economic cooperation. Saudi Minister of Investment Fahad bin Abduljalil Al-Saif said Saudi-French relations, which span a century, had entered a new phase of economic and investment cooperation, supported by the complementary strengths of French expertise in technology, industry, finance and innovation and the ambitious objectives of Saudi Vision 2030. Al-Saif said French foreign direct investment stock in Saudi Arabia reached €16.3 billion in 2024, doubling over five years and making France the K...

Russia is observing National Flag Day on August 22, commemorating the country’s tricolour as one of its official symbols of sovereignty, independence and national unity. National Flag Day was established by a presidential decree in 1994. Along with the national emblem and anthem, the Russian flag represents the country and reflects the continuity of generations of its multinational population. The history of Russia’s white, blue and red tricolour dates back more than three centuries. Peter the Great raised it as his personal standard in Arkhangelsk in 1693, while in 1705 he ordered the flag to be flown on Russian merchant ships. The tricolour was formally adopted as Russia’s national flag in 1896, ahead of the coronation of Emperor Nicholas II. A Federal Constitutional Law on the State Flag of the Russian Federation was adopted on December 25, 2000. Under the law, the flag consists of three equal horizontal stripes — white at the top, blue in the middle and red at the bottom. The ...

Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Saturday that Canada would impose tariffs starting September 8 on imports of US steel, electronics and other products in retaliation for President Donald Trump's 50% tariffs that took effect at midnight. After days of intense negotiations, the two countries did not reach a trade deal late Friday, worsening a delicate relationship between the longtime trade partners and allies and complicating the future of the continental free trade pact known as the US -Mexico-Canada Agreement. Trump's new tariffs hit sectors including wine, furniture, dairy products, cement, clothing, fishing rods and hockey equipment, and cover some $20 billion of Canadian exports to the US. These duties do not exempt Canadian products under the USMCA, which has shielded most Canadian exports to the US in the last 18 months. "Canada will match Washington's new tariffs dollar for dollar in order to protect Canadian workers, farmers, families, and businesses,...

The Government of Pakistan and Google have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote national digital transformation and innovation in Pakistan. Secretary Ministry of Information Technology Zarar Hashim Khan and Google's Senior Director of Government Affairs and Public Policy for Southeast Asia, David Weller, signed the MoU at a ceremony held in Islamabad today. Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, US Chargé d'Affaires, Natalie Baker and members of the Federal Cabinet witnessed the signing ceremony. The signing of the MoU is a significant milestone for establishing Google office in Pakistan. The cooperation between the government of Pakistan and Google will lay the foundation for a new era of digital transformation and innovation in Pakistan. The MoU aims to strengthen cooperation in Pakistan on digital skills, IT exports and innovation. Under the MoU, Pakistan and Google have also agreed to expand the Google Career Certificates programme to promote digital skills...

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has met with his Iraqi counterpart Haibat al-Halbousi during his visit to Baghdad, discussing bilateral issues. The Iranian parliamentary delegation, headed by Ghalibaf, visited the Iraqi parliament on Wednesday, hours after they arrived in Baghdad, where talks were held with al-Halbousi and a number of Iraqi lawmakers. The two speakers then held a private meeting. Ghalibaf also presented a gift from the Iranian Parliament to his Iraqi counterpart, who, in turn, presented a commemorative gift from the Iraqi parliament to the Iranian speaker. Upon arriving in Baghdad, Ghalibaf and the Iranian parliamentary delegation visited the site where Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were assassinated in a US drone attack near Baghdad in January 2020. The Iranian parliamentarians paid tribute to the two commanders.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has condemned and dismissed the attack on the Iraqi Kurdistan Region’s Prime Minister’s office as a false-flag operation. Nothing justifies the reckless attack on Prime Minister Barzani’s office, Araghchi wrote in a post on his X account. He added that Kurdish friends should be vigilant against false-flag ploys that are designed to sow discord between neighbors. “We protected our Kurdish friends against Saddam and DAESH, and we’re thankful for the security they’ve provided on our border,” he stressed. Earlier today, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson labeled the recent drone attack on the office of Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, a “highly suspicious development,” urging regional vigilance to thwart attempts to destabilize ties between Iran and Iraq. In response to a query from IRNA on Monday regarding media reports of the attack, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ismaeil Baqaei condemned the incident, characterizing the st...

US President Donald Trump has hailed the joint defence pact recently signed between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, terming it a "bold and important first step". "It shows how the Middle East is coming together, and how Countries will finally be able to defend themselves in a more meaningful way," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Monday. The US president congratulated the leadership of the three nations on the signing of the pact, saying it was "a big, bold, and important first step". Regional powers are looking to strengthen security ties amid the US-Israel war on Iran, which started on February 28, and has had a major impact on the region — drawing in several Gulf countries and paralysing maritime traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement on August 7 during the Makkah Al-Mukarramah Summit, attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Saudi Crown Prince and Pr...

Around 5,000 people have been evacuated after a magnitude-7.7 earthquake smashed an area in eastern Indonesia, killing at least 51, blocking roads and causing landslides, authorities said on Sunday. Thirty-six people were seriously injured in the Saturday morning quake in East Nusa Tenggara province, while 77 had minor injuries, Deputy Health Minister Benjamin Paulus Octavianus told a televised meeting. The quake, followed by some 341 aftershocks, is the Southeast Asian nation's deadliest since a 2022 quake killed hundreds in West Java. More than 3,300 people in the Sikka region self-evacuated or were in a sports arena, said the disaster mitigation agency BNPB. Some Sikka residents were stranded outside collapsed homes under a makeshift tent made out of tarp, while some people received treatment in a tent outside a hospital in the port town of Maumere. "I only brought my body," Abdul Mutas, 63, told Reuters after he and his family slept on a tarp surrounded by trees ...

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has pointed to the United States’ intelligence failures and miscalculations, saying the war against Iran has been a clear example of those errors, and that Washington has now made an even bigger miscalculation regarding the Strait of Hormuz. In a post on his X account on Thursday, Araghchi wrote, “The US has long miscalculated due to intelligence failures. Case in point: The war on Iran. Now, an even bigger miscalculation on the Strait of Hormuz.” “Worse than fake news is fake intelligence. Be careful,” he said. The minister further said, “Allah is Great, Greater than ANY power on Earth. In Allah we trust.”

Russia and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation, COMSTECH, have discussed new avenues for cooperation in science, technology and higher education. Russian Ambassador to Pakistan Albert P. Khorev held talks with a COMSTECH delegation led by Coordinator General Professor Dr. M. Iqbal Choudhary in Islamabad on August 12. The sides discussed expanding academic exchanges through stronger inter-university links, scholarship programmes and joint research projects. Dr. Choudhary highlighted existing cooperation with Kazan Federal University and the Russian Association of Earthquake Engineering and Protection against Natural and Man-Made Hazards. The two sides also stressed the need to accelerate initiatives agreed at the first meeting of the Russia-COMSTECH Working Group on science, technology and higher education, held during KazanForum in May. Ambassador Khorev reaffirmed Russia’s commitment to expanding dialogue with ...

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg called for lower US barriers for open-source AI models to compete with Chinese rivals as the social media giant released a new open-weight model on Monday. The new model, Muse Glimmer, is much smaller than leading AI models from rivals and is instead designed for agentic tasks and can run on a Mac or PC with a single graphics card, aiming to tap demand for AI systems that run directly on people's devices. It comes as the social media giant seeks to strengthen its position after forming a costly, new superintelligence team last year to propel itself back into the high-stakes AI race. Zuckerberg's statement also marks the latest show of support for open-weight AI, which is gaining traction as businesses grow wary of ballooning AI bills and worry about recent cybersecurity incidents involving models from Anthropic, OpenAI and Meta. Hugging Face, the AI coding collaboration site that was hacked by a rogue OpenAI model, said last month that it used a Chi...

Russia and Pakistan are working to launch their first freight railway routes connecting Moscow with Karachi and Faisalabad, with the possible participation of Belarus, Russian Ambassador to Pakistan Albert P. Khorev has said. In comments to Russian newspaper Izvestia on August 8, Ambassador Khorev said the two countries were working on launching freight railway services along the Moscow–Faisalabad and Moscow–Karachi corridors in both directions. He said Russia and Pakistan were also considering the possibility of involving Belarus in the proposed railway project, which could expand regional connectivity and facilitate the movement of goods between the countries along the route. According to the Russian ambassador, the implementation of the project has been postponed several times due to the escalation of geopolitical tensions in the region during 2025 and early 2026. Khorev said the project was now moving forward, with the parties finalizing the contract for the provision of servi...

President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, based on collective deterrence, will contribute to advancing our security and defense cooperation. In a post on X today, he said the agreement will also contribute to developing joint projects in the defence industry and to combating terrorism. He said the agreement, which also reaffirms the right of defence as defined in Article 51 of the UN Charter, targets no country and is open to the participation of all brotherly countries that aim for peace, prosperity, and stability in the region. Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that, in line with its vision of regional ownership, Türkiye will resolutely continue its principled stance toward resolving conflicts and crises through dialogue and diplomacy on the basis of respect for international law.

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye on Friday signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, reaffirming their commitment to collective security, defence cooperation and regional stability, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA). According to the ministry, the agreement establishes a framework for collective deterrence against acts of aggression and stipulates that an armed attack against any one of the three signatory states will be regarded as an attack against all three. The ministry said the pact was guided by the three countries' "longstanding historical ties", the "enduring bonds of brotherhood and Islamic solidarity" and their shared strategic interests and defence cooperation. It added that the agreement reflects their "shared commitment to further strengthening their collective security" and to promoting "peace, security and stability in the region and beyond, in pursuit of a secure and prosperous future." The agreement a...

A proposed agreement between Iran and Oman would allow Tehran to oversee ships entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, according to a senior Iranian source and two regional officials cited by Reuters on Wednesday. The move would mark one of the biggest concessions made to Iran, despite efforts to address its demands. However, the sources rejected claims by US President Donald Trump that a deal to reopen the strategic waterway was close, saying several key issues still needed to be resolved. “The concession has already been made regarding some form of control over Hormuz,” one of the regional sources told Reuters. The other regional source said there were still details to be determined about how “control” would be defined, with Gulf negotiators insisting regional countries supervise inspections of ships, and that any payment of fees be voluntary. The senior Iranian source said that the text of an agreement already on the table envisioned Iran having control ​of ships heading...

At least 72 people died during last week’s mass influx of migrants into Spain’s Ceuta enclave, when tens of thousands of people mostly swam around the border post from Morocco, local officials said on Sunday. Most of the estimated 60,000 people who rushed into Spain’s north African territory have returned to Morocco since the territory’s largest mass migrant crossing. "The latest figure that we have is 72," the government’s delegate to Ceuta, Miguel Angel Perez Triano, told reporters, when asked about the number of fatalities. The previous toll was 67 deaths. Spanish police and troops patrolled the streets of Ceuta on Sunday as the enclave returned to normal after the sudden mass influx of migrants from Morocco. Only small groups of migrants were still walking around after most who crossed the small border barrier returned voluntarily to Morocco in 48 hours. The largest migrant rush into the enclave has caused an international crisis for Spain with European partners cri...