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The signing ceremony for the memorandum granting dialogue partner status to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was held in Beijing on Friday morning. During the 25th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO, held in north China’s Tianjin last year, Laos was accepted as a dialogue partner of the SCO. To date, the SCO includes 10 member states, two observer states and 15 dialogue partners, including Laos.

At least 28 people have died after a fire broke out at a footwear factory in eastern China’s Jinjiang, Fujian Province, on Thursday. CGTN reporter Bi Ran, who arrived at the scene later in the day, confirmed that the blaze had been extinguished, with about 200 firefighters deployed to bring it under control.

China has seen another bumper summer grain harvest in 2026, with the total output topping 150 million tonnes for the first time, official data showed Friday. The country’s summer grain output totaled 150.75 million tonnes this year, up 0.7%, or 1 million tonnes, year on year, according to a survey by the National Bureau of Statistics. China’s summer grain sown area remained basically stable at 26.53 million hectares, slightly down 0.2% from last year. Of this total, more than 23 million hectares of wheat were sown, down 0.3% year on year. The output per hectare reached 5,681.6 kilograms, an increase…

China’s border inspection agencies handled a record 369 million inbound and outbound crossings in the first half of 2026 (H1), up 10.8% year on year, official data showed on Friday. Of these, mainland residents made 176 million trips, residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), the Macao SAR and the Taiwan region made 147 million, and international visitors made 45.906 million trips, representing year-on-year increases of 10.7%, 8.1%, and 20.6%, respectively, the National Immigration Administration (NIA) said at a press briefing. The number of foreign arrivals reached 22.914 million, a 20.4% increase year on year. Of these, visa-free…

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday called on India to immediately restore the Indus Waters Treaty, saying the use of water as a weapon violates international law. He also reaffirmed that the Kashmir dispute remains on the United Nations agenda and stressed the need for its peaceful resolution. Dar made the remarks during a joint press conference with Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman, who is on an official visit to Pakistan. Pakistan-Croatia Ties to Enter New Phase Welcoming the Croatian foreign minister and his delegation, Dar described the visit as a significant milestone in bilateral…

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi held a meeting with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, during which both sides exchanged views on the regional situation and broader international affairs. The discussion focused on Pakistan’s mediation efforts that led to the signing of an agreement between the United States and Iran and its longstanding role in promoting regional and global peace, according to PTV News. The UN secretary-general commended Pakistan’s continued endeavors and contributions towards the establishment of peace, acknowledging the country’s mediation efforts in addressing regional challenges. Pakistan, Russia discuss strategy to counter Afghan terror groups Separately, Pakistan and Russia agreed…

Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Maritime Task Force Iftikhar Ahmad Rao said on Thursday that Pakistan’s improved performance has lifted its position in the global maritime sector. Speaking at a press conference alongside the Secretary of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and a member of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Rao said around 80% of global trade is conducted by sea and Pakistan is located at a strategically important point in the Gulf region. He said Pakistan serves as an important gateway to Central Asia. The Maritime Task Force was established in August 2024 and held meetings with officials…

A new warning has been issued for Facebook users, urging them to think carefully before sharing public posts, as they could become a source of information for cybercriminals and malicious actors. According to reports, Facebook’s upcoming AI-powered search feature will use public posts, comments, and other publicly available content as data sources to generate search results. The new system is expected to transform the platform’s search bar into a conversational AI assistant capable of answering users’ questions instead of simply displaying keyword-based results. With this feature, users will be able to search through years-old public posts and comments in a…

OpenAI will publicly launch its most capable model, GPT‑5.6, on Thursday, after delaying the launch last month on the U.S. government’s request amid national security concerns that powerful ​AI systems could be misused. This comes on the heels of the U.S. government lifting curbs ​on Anthropic’s latest Fable and Mythos AI models last week, less than ⁠three weeks after the company was ordered to suspend their access over national security ​risks. Washington has increased scrutiny of advanced AI model releases to identify potential threats on concerns that ​the technology could be misused by military or intelligence in China, Russia or…

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he clinched a uranium supply agreement while visiting Australia on Thursday, securing a fuel source that will play a crucial role in his nation´s nuclear energy ambitions. Faced with an almost-insatiable appetite for electricity in the world´s most populous nation, Modi has outlined plans to substantially scale up nuclear power generation in coming years. Australia lays claim to around 28% of the world´s uranium resource, but legal hurdles and political sensitivities have hindered exports to India. “We have signed an important agreement today on nuclear energy,” Modi said after talks with his Australian counterpart…