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LONDON: A proposal from the UN’s shipping agency on Wednesday calls for a safe maritime corridor to free some 20,000 seafarers stranded in the Gulf by war in Iran. Hundreds of vessels have dropped anchor since Tehran threatened to attack ships attempting to leave the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz. The proposal submitted by Bahrain, Japan, Panama, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates and backed on Wednesday by the United States called for “a framework such as a safe maritime corridor”. It was submitted at a meeting of the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) governing council in London. “The…

OSLO: NATO chief Mark Rutte said Wednesday that the military alliance’s members were discussing the “best way” to open the Strait of Hormuz, through which a large chunk of the world’s oil supply normally passes. “I have been in contact with many allies. We all agree, of course, that strait has to open up again. And what I know is that allies are working together, discussing how to do that, what is the best way to do it,” Rutte told a news conference during a visit to a NATO exercise in northern Norway. “They are working on that collectively, to…

In the first two months of 2026, the China-Europe Railway Express operated 3,501 services and moved 352,000 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units of cargo, reflecting year-on-year increases of 32% and 25%, respectively. A survey conducted by CGTN among global netizens shows that 88.8% of respondents believe the China-Europe Railway Express demonstrates China’s strong resolve to advance high-quality opening up and foster an open global economy. As a crucial bridge for economic and trade exchanges between Asia and Europe, the China-Europe Railway Express offers a shipping time roughly one-third that of sea freight and a cost of about one-fifth that of air cargo.…

A senior Chinese diplomat said on Wednesday that China is deeply concerned that the entire Middle East is being pushed toward a dangerous abyss. Fu Cong, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations, made these remarks during a speech at a UN Security Council meeting on Syria. Fu emphasized that when discussing the situation in Syria, the broader regional context cannot be ignored. The continuation of conflict in the Middle East will only bring more suffering to local people and cause significant negative effects on both the regional and global economies, the Chinese diplomat added. Fu called for an immediate…

Japan is “crying thief” over China’s defense budget, a Chinese Ministry of Defense spokesperson said Wednesday. Jiang Bin, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, said Japan is looking for a pretext for its own military expansion. China’s defense spending accounts for less than 1.5% of its GDP – significantly lower than that of major military powers like the US, and below the global average and NATO’s 2% benchmark, Jiang said in response to a recent statement made by Japan’s chief cabinet secretary on China’s 2026 defense budget. By publicly disclosing the size, composition, and allocation of its 2026 defense…

The first volume of Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Economy, along with two volumes of Xi Jinping and University Students, made their debut in China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Wednesday. All three books were published in traditional Chinese characters, and a seminar was held to mark their launch. The book on the selected works of Xi, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, on economy brings together his most important and fundamental pieces on economic development between November 2012 and December 2024. It is an authoritative publication that offers a comprehensive and systematic…

China and Turkmenistan should expand the scale of cooperation in the natural gas sector, and elevate trade and investment levels, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in Beijing on Wednesday. Xi made the remarks when meeting with National Leader of the Turkmen People and Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, adding that the two sides should expand cooperation in non-resource fields, including connectivity, agriculture, artificial intelligence, digital economy and clean energy. China’s Two Sessions were successfully held not long ago, during which the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for national economic and social development was approved,…

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has announced the temporary suspension of its flights to Fujairah due to the evolving security situation in the region. According to an official statement issued by the airline, the decision has been taken in light of heightened security concerns in Gulf countries. As a precautionary measure, flights to Fujairah have been immediately suspended for the next 48 hours. A spokesperson for PIA confirmed that operations to Al Ain will continue as per schedule. For the time being, Al Ain will remain the only destination in the United Arab Emirates where PIA flights are operating. The airline…

President Asif Ali Zardari has approved a summary to cancel the Pakistan Day military parade and all related celebrations scheduled for March 23. According to details released by the Presidency, the decision has been taken in light of the ongoing Gulf oil crisis and the government’s austerity measures aimed at reducing expenditures. The approval was granted by the president on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. In a statement, President Zardari emphasized the importance of responsible and careful use of national resources, stating that it is the duty of every citizen to ensure prudent spending during challenging economic times.…

The Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express luckily averted a big tragedy as an explosion destroyed a portion of the rail track. The incident happened near Shikarpur in Sindh province on Tuesday night. The train was carrying passengers from Quetta to Peshawar. Few minutes after the train passed the site of the blast, the bomb went off, damaging rail track in Sultankot area of Shikarpur. According to Pakistan Railways officials, the Eid special train traveling from Quetta to Punjab was stopped as a precaution. Sindh Interior Minister Zia-ul-Hasan Lanjar contacted the SSP of Shikarpur and sought details of the explosion. According to the…