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Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf, and Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu, on behalf of the Armed Forces of Pakistan, solemnly commemorated the 54th martyrdom anniversary of Major Shabbir Sharif, whose unmatched bravery and devotion to duty remain an enduring symbol of national pride. Major Sharif was posthumously awarded Pakistan’s highest military honour, the Nishan-e-Haider, in recognition of his extraordinary bravery during the 1971 Pakistan-India war. Major Sharif, who also earned the Sitara-e-Jurat for gallantry during the 1965 War, distinguished himself again…

Pakistan-China Institute (PCI), under its flagship initiative “Friends of Silk Road,” organized a conference titled “The Five-Year Plan and China-Pakistan Future: Innovation, Youth Development, and Shared Opportunities” in Islamabad today. The event brought together young influencers, journalists, researchers, and diplomats to discuss how China’s new Five-Year Plan, green development and self-reliance agenda can translate into opportunities for Pakistan’s youth and economy. In his opening remarks, Executive Director PCI, Mustafa Hyder Sayed, underscored that a key message emerging from the recent plenary session of the Communist Party of China is “self-reliance,” which he described as central to “the rejuvenation of Chinese…

ISLAMABAD  : Chinese bus maker Zhongtong Bus Holding Co. Ltd. will begin locally assembling its luxury buses in Pakistan by mid-2026 through a newly signed partnership with Ghandhara Industries Limited (GIL). According to a filing to the Pakistan Stock Exchange, GIL has formalized an agreement to introduce and distribute Zhongtong buses in the country and will set up a dedicated manufacturing line—separate from its existing bus body facility—to enable full local assembly and manufacturing.

The United States wants Europe to take over the majority of NATO’s conventional defense capabilities, from intelligence to missiles, by 2027, Pentagon officials told diplomats in Washington this week, a tight deadline that struck some European officials as unrealistic. The message, recounted by five sources familiar with the discussion, including a US official, was conveyed at a meeting in Washington this week of Pentagon staff overseeing NATO policy and several European delegations. The shifting of this burden from the US to European members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization would dramatically change how the United States, a founding member of…

WASHINGTON: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Amnesty International USA join US Senators Peter Welch (D-VT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and US Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT-At Large) to demand accountability for Israel’s systematic targeting of the press since October 7, 2023. For the first time, Senator Welch will share findings from his office’s engagement with the governments of Israel and the United States on the status of its probe into the attack on his constituent, US citizen and Agence France-Presse (AFP) video journalist Dylan Collins, who will also join the press conference. The press conference will be held on December 11,…

WASHINGTON: Holders Argentina and leading contenders Spain were handed kind draws for the 2026 World Cup in a star-studded ceremony on Friday which saw US President Donald Trump receive FIFA’s new peace prize. The event in Washington started the final countdown to the tournament, six months out from the first-ever 48-team World Cup, with much-fancied France among those receiving a harder task. Lionel Messi’s Argentina will begin their defense of the trophy they won in Qatar in 2022 against Algeria, and will also face Austria and debutants Jordan in Group J. Heavily-fancied Spain, the European champions, will kick off their…

TEHRAN: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy fired ballistic and cruise missiles at simulated targets in the Gulf on Friday during a two-day military exercise aimed at countering foreign threats, state media reported. Earlier, Iran hosted an anti-terrorism drill in its northwestern province of East Azerbaijan with members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which, according to state Press TV, was intended to signal both “peace and friendship” to neighbouring states and warn enemies that “any miscalculation would meet a decisive response”. The ground and naval exercises follow a 12-day air war between Israel and Iran in June, during which the US joined…

China has released a comprehensive assessment of its national Ecological Protection Red Line system, documenting significant progress in conserving critical lands and waters since the network was fully established in 2022. According to the 2025 Blue Book on Ecological Protection Red Lines, forest area within protected zones has expanded by 3,344 square kilometers, while human activity within marine red line areas has decreased by more than 35 percent since 2022. As a cornerstone of China’s ecological civilization strategy, the system legally safeguards the country’s most vital and fragile terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Vegetation cover and net primary productivity within the…

Chinese business leaders are meeting with U.S. soybean industry representatives in Washington. U.S. soybean sales to China ground to a halt during trade tensions earlier in the year but have since resumed. The relationship between the two countries has stabilized, and there’s hope the soybean trade will prosper once again.

China urges the United States to have a clear understanding of the highly sensitive nature of the Taiwan question, and to fully implement the commitments made by U.S. leaders, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian on Friday. Lin made the remarks during a daily press briefing when responding to a media query. It has been reported that Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te recently participated in the New York Times DealBook Summit via pre-recorded video and made reckless remarks on the Taiwan Strait situation. Lin said that some media outlets in the U.S. are providing a platform for the leader of…