WhatsApp to soon get Instagram-style ‘Close Friends’ feature

If you’re used to sharing selectively on Instagram, WhatsApp may soon let you do the same. The platform is working on a ’Close Friends”’ feature that could change how Status updates are shared.

Pakistan’s trade deficit skyrockets by 44% amid regional tensions

Pakistan’s trade deficit with nine neighbouring countries widened sharply by 44.42% to $7.683 billion in the first half of fiscal year 2025-2026 (July—December), compared to $5.320 billion during the same period last year, according to the latest data from the State Bank of Pakistan.

Iranian Nobel laureate handed further prison sentence

Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi has been handed further prison sentences of seven-and-a-half years by an Iranian court, her lawyer has said.

8 killed in explosion at biotech company in northern China’s Shanxi province

Eight people were killed after an explosion struck a biotechnology company in northern China, triggering arrests and an ongoing official investigation.

Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years in national security trial

Hong ‍Kong media tycoon Jimmy ​Lai was sentenced ‌on Monday (February 9, 2026) ​to a total of 20 years in jail on three charges comprising two counts ​of conspiracy to ⁠collude with foreign forces and one count of ​publishing ⁠seditious materials.

China’s presence looms large in Japan’s election

China was not on the ballot in the Japanese snap election on Sunday, but it loomed large.

Japan’s governing party projected to win snap election majority

Japan’s ruling party, led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, is set to seal a decisive win in Sunday’s snap election, exit polls suggest.

Modi begins two-day official visit to Malaysia

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has departed from New Delhi for his two day official visit to Malaysia.

US wants Russia and Ukraine to end war by June, says Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the US wants the war with Russia to end by June, adding that both sides had been invited to the US for talks next week.

Pentagon reportedly asked to probe SpaceX for potential Chinese ownership seen as a ’national security threat’

Democratic US senators have reportedly urged the Pentagon to conduct an immediate review of SpaceX amid allegations that Chinese investors have secretly acquired stakes in the closely held rocket maker.

Canada and France open Greenland consulates after Trump demands

Canada opened its first diplomatic outpost in Greenland in a significant show of solidarity following US President Donald Trump’s threats to take control of the territory.

Trump removes video with racist clip depicting Obamas as apes

US President Donald Trump has removed a social media video which included a racist clip depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes.

Pakistan’s crypto experiment risks destabilizing Its currency and weakening the economy

Pakistan’s January 14 understanding with the U.S. president’s family-linked crypto business, World Liberty Financial, has been pitched as a modern solution to an old problem.

Russian general shot several times in Moscow

A high-profile general in Russia’s military has been shot several times and wounded in Moscow.

Indian educator who painted educational murals across slums wins $1m Global Teacher Prize

An Indian teacher and activist known for creating hundreds of learning centers and painting educational murals across the walls of slums won the $1 million Global Teacher Prize on Thursday.

At least 18 die in ’rat-hole’ mine blast in India

At least 18 miners have died and one is severely injured after an explosion at an illegally-operated coal mine in India’s northeastern state of Meghalaya, police say.

Chinese national who exposed rights abuses is freed from US detention after being granted asylum

Guan Heng, a Chinese national who exposed human rights abuses in his homeland, has been released from federal detention more than five months after being swept up in the Trump administration’s mass immigration enforcement operation.

Trump endorses Japan’s Takaichi ahead of snap election

Donald Trump has endorsed Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ahead of a snap election in her country on Sunday.

Australia dodges call for arrest of visiting Israel president

Herzog has been invited to a four-day visit from Monday to meet with the Jewish community after the December 14 attack on a Hanukkah festival in Sydney killed 15 people.

China is losing more than just two ports in Panama

The Panamanian Supreme Court’s ruling on Thursday night invalidating Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings’ contract to operate two key ports at either end of the Panama Canal caps a month marked by high-profile strategic defeats for Beijing in the region.

Gold hitting historical highs, what’s next?

Amid sharpening geopolitical frictions, deepening policy uncertainty and a visibly softer dollar, spot gold crossed one after another psychological and historic threshold. For the first time, prices broke above $5,500 an ounce on Thursday, extending a rally that has begun to feel less like a speculative surge and more like a structural realignment of the global financial system.

Australia police charge man with abuse of 459 children

A man who ’’actively targeted’’ children on social media and gaming platforms has been charged with hundreds of child-abuse related offences against 459 victims in Australia and 15 other countries, Queensland police have said.

US proposes critical minerals trade bloc aimed at countering China

U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday unveiled plans to marshal allies into a preferential trade bloc for critical minerals, proposing coordinated price floors as Washington escalates efforts to loosen China’s grip on materials crucial to advanced manufacturing.

Man sentenced to life in prison for 2024 attempt on Trump’s life

Ryan Routh has been sentenced to life in prison for attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump on a Florida golf course in September of 2024.

J-K: Woman in border village running Millets restaurant inspires self-employment

Pooja Devi, a woman residing in the border village of Pathwal in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, set an example of self-employment by running the first-of-its-kind Millets restaurant. As a member of a low-income household, she began her journey in pickle-making and the sale of local and domestic-use items.

Collision with Greek coast guard boat leaves 15 migrants dead

At least 15 migrants have died after a speedboat carrying them collided with a Greek coast guard vessel off the coast of the island of Chios late on Tuesday.

Human Rights Watch warns US heading to ’authoritarianism’

Human Rights Watch warned Wednesday, February 4 that President Donald Trump was turning the United States into an authoritarian state as democracy declines globally to its lowest ebb in four decades.

Railway infra push accelerates connectivity in Jammu and Kashmir

The Centre’s allocation of Rs 1,086 crore for railway infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir in the latest Union Budget, announced by Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, underlines the government’s push to strengthen connectivity in the Union Territory in the years following the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019.

T20 World Cup 2026: ICC expresses concerns over Pakistan’s India match boycott

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday expressed concern after Pakistan declined to play against India in the group stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, prompting the global governing body to explore diplomatic channels to resolve the issue.

Rights groups say China detained two journalists over corruption report

Rights groups and activists are sounding the alarm about the detention of two Chinese investigative journalists after they reportedly exposed corruption by a senior official in Sichuan province.