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ISLAMABAD : Mild tremors were felt in Islamabad and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Attock and Swabi, on Saturday. According to the Seismological Centre, the earthquake measured 4.4 on the Richter scale. The depth of the quake was recorded at 14 kilometres. Officials said the epicentre was located 11 kilometres northeast of the Burhan area in Attock district. No immediate reports of casualties or property damage were received. Tremors were also felt in various parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa a day earlier. The previous earthquake measured 5.6 in magnitude, with a depth of 73 kilometres. Its epicentre was located in the…

LAHORE : The Crime Control Department (CCD) has claimed a significant decline in crime across Punjab, particularly in Lahore, during a comparative review from May 2024 to May 2025. According to the CCD, special operations were launched in May last year, and a detailed performance review was presented at a recent meeting. In Lahore, murder cases dropped from 361 to 220, reflecting a 39 percent decrease. Attempted murder cases declined from 812 to 504, marking a 38 percent reduction. The department said robbery incidents decreased from 35 to 15, while house robberies fell from 33 to 6. Street crime incidents…

TEHRAN : Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said that Tehran would be ready to submit its plan for a nuclear agreement to the United States in the coming days, after President Donald Trump threatened military action. “The next step for me is to present [the] draft of [the] possible deal to my counterparts in the US. I believe that in the next two, three days, that would be ready, and after final confirmation by my superiors, that would be handed over to Steve Witkoff,” Araghchi said in an interview published online on Friday with the Morning Joe show on…

WASHINGTON : President Donald Trump imposed Friday an additional 10 percent tariff on imports into the United States after the Supreme Court struck down many of his sweeping and often arbitrary duties, delivering a stinging rebuke on his signature economic policy. Trump signed the tariff order in the Oval Office — saying on social media it was “effective almost immediately” — after spending the past year imposing various rates to cajole and punish countries, both friend and foe. The new duty is slated to take effect February 24 for 150 days, with exemptions remaining for sectors that are under separate…

Chinese authorities on Friday launched a Level-IV emergency response for major meteorological disasters. From Friday to Sunday, multiple northern regions are expected to experience strong winds and sandstorms, the China Meteorological Administration said, while activating a Level-IV emergency response for major meteorological disasters related to strong winds and sandstorms. On Friday, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) issued yellow warnings for strong winds and sandstorms, along with a blue alert for a cold wave. The Hukou Waterfall in Yan’an, Shaanxi Province, attracts many tourists, February 20, 2026. /VCG Strong winds are expected in areas including Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai,…

To celebrate the Chinese New Year, the China-Europe Diplomats Spring Festival Gala was held in Beijing in early February. The event was jointly organized by the Department of European Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China and the Beijing Service Bureau for Diplomatic Missions, bringing together about 300 attendees. Multiple photos show different performances, such as songs and dances, at the China-Europe Diplomats Spring Festival Gala. /Courtesy of the Secretariat of Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries Hua Chunying, vice minister of Foreign Affairs, addressed the gathering, noting the stable development of China–Europe relations over…

China has once again become Germany’s most important trading partner, according to the latest data released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Friday. The data shows that the total volume of imports and exports between Germany and the People’s Republic of China reached 251.8 billion euros ($296.6 billion) in 2025. Germany’s goods trade with China grew by 2.1 percent year-on-year. The statistics office highlighted that China has consistently been Germany’s most significant source of imports since 2015. In 2025, German imports from China totaled 170.6 billion euros, while exports to China amounted to 81.3 billion euros. During the same…

The International Monetary Fund on Friday welcomed reform progress by Pakistan, saying its policy efforts under the IMF-supported programme have helped stabilise the economy and rebuild market confidence. According to IMF spokesperson and Director of Communications Julie Kozack, Pakistan is currently implementing an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement and an IMF staff team is expected to visit the country starting February 25 for discussions on the third review under the EFF and the second review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). Kozack said Pakistan’s policy efforts under the EFF have contributed to macroeconomic stabilisation and a gradual restoration of…

BERLIN: “Flies,” a Berlin Film Festival competition entry, is a tale about how opening up to others could allow in something special, said its Mexican director Fernando Eimbcke. “It’s a story about loneliness, about grief, about how to connect with other people,” he told Reuters ahead of the premiere. Read about innovative ideas and the people working on solutions to global crises with the Reuters Beacon newsletter. Sign up here. The movie draws a parallel with opening a window to let out a fly buzzing around your home – and inadvertently allowing something positive in. “When there’s a fly at your home, when you open…

Ibrahim Zadran dedicated his player of the match award to coach Jonathan Trott as the Afghanistan opener’s unbeaten 95 helped secure an 82-run win over Canada on Thursday, ending their Twenty20 World Cup with a consolation victory in Group D. South African-born Trott, a former England international, was appointed as Afghanistan’s coach in July 2022 and it was announced in November he would be leaving after this tournament. During his tenure, Afghanistan reached their first T20 World Cup semi-final in 2024, and fell just short of reaching the semis at the 50-over World Cup in 2023. “He has supported me,…