Dutch government declares water shortage due to drought

The Dutch government on Wednesday declared a water shortage, following an unusually dry summer with no rain forecast for the coming two weeks.

Pelosi departs Taiwan, capping visit that infuriated China

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi left Taiwan on Wednesday after pledging solidarity and hailing its democracy, leaving a trail of Chinese anger over her brief visit to the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own.

Jammu and Kashmir witnesses unprecedented economic growth even amidst conflict

The abrogation of Article 370 by the Indian Centre in 2019 has paved the way for a massive development, encompassing a construction and economic boom, to take place in the State of Jammu and Kashmir today.

China to hold military drill in South China Sea ahead of Nancy Pelosi’s possible Taiwan visit

Ahead of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s possible visit to Taiwan on Tuesday, Chinese Ambassador to ASEAN Deng Xijun said that Beijing will hold military exercises in the South China sea from August 2-6.

Pak Army chief Bajwa approaches US to secure IMF loan amid dwindling foreign reserves

Amid the worsening crisis due to shrinking foreign reserves, Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has approached the US for help in securing an early disbursement of funds from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to prevent the south Asian country from a looming economic disaster.

Russia hits southern Ukraine city, killing grain exporter

Heavy Russian strikes hit the southern Ukrainian port city of Mykolaiv overnight and early on Sunday, killing the owner of one of the country’s largest grain producing and exporting companies, the local governor said.

Pakistan: PML-N apprehensive of early elections amid political chaos

Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) led ruling coalition now smells a rat amid political chaos in the country and is apprehensive of early elections.

China deploys bad-loans expert to clean up Henan’s funding woes

Ahead of China’s twice-a-decade leadership conclave, Beijing deployed a bad-loans expert to clean up Henan’s festering banking and property mess.

Japan’s defence report identifies China, Russia as top threat

A annual report released by the Japanese defence ministry has identified Russia and China as a major threat, stating that the deepening military cooperation between the two, including joint air and navy drills, is raising security concerns in the region.

Pakistan military holds discussions on ‘peace talks’ with TTP

A high-level military huddle in Pakistan has discussed “peace talks” with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and decided to pursue the matter in accordance with a “comprehensive security strategy”.

Ukraine, Russia sign deal to help ease world’s food crisis

Russia and Ukraine signed a landmark deal on Friday to reopen Ukrainian Black Sea ports for grain exports, raising hopes that an international food crisis aggravated by the Russian invasion can be eased.

Fighting rips through Libyan capital, killing 13

Rival factions fought each other in Tripoli overnight and into Friday, killing 13 people in the Libyan capital’s worst clashes for two years during a dangerous political standoff.

World Court says it has jurisdiction, Myanmar genocide case to proceed

Friday rejected Myanmar’s objections to a genocide case over its treatment of the Muslim Rohingya minority, paving the way for the case to be heard in full.

China tests PHL-16 Multiple Launch Rocket System near Indian border along LAC

China’s People’s Liberation Army recently tested an advanced Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) at an altitude of more than 5,300 metres in the Xinjiang Region close to the Indian border that could hit critical Indian military bases.

Russia resumes gas flows to Europe

Russia has resumed gas supplies through its biggest pipeline to Europe while in Ukraine, Russian forces were reported to be close to seizing the country’s second biggest power plant.

Italian PM resigns, plunging Italy into political turmoil

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi quit on Thursday after his national unity government fell apart, setting the country on course for an early election and shaking financial markets.

Biden’s ‘I have cancer’ remark creates buzz, White House clarifies

Social media was left abuzz on Wednesday after a video of US President Joe Biden supposedly saying he has cancer was being circulated widely.

TikTok removes 12.5m videos from Pakistan

KARACHI/Islamabad: The popular short-form video platform TikTok has removed nearly 12.5 million videos from Pakistan for violation of community guidelines, it emerged on Tuesday. With 12,490,309 videos removed, Pakistan ranked second in the world for the largest volume of videos taken down for violations between January and March 2022.

EU Raise Concerns over Business Environment in China

The European Union has raised concerns about the business environment in China, including the lack of a level playing field and the growing politicisation of business in the second largest economy in the world.

Wildfire raging across southern Europe

Emergency services battled wildfires across swathes of southern Europe amid mass evacuations on Wednesday, as climate warnings sounded in London after Britain recorded its hottest day topping 40C.

Race for the UK premiership down to the final two

Former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss made the final two candidates on Wednesday to become Britain’s next Prime Minister, kickstarting the last stage of the contest to replace Boris Johnson.

“Most egregious provocation”: China warns against Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit in August

China has strongly opposed US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s upcoming visit to Taiwan next month amid concerns over cross-strait ties following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

France battles massive wildfires, Britain records highest ever temperature

Firefighters in southwestern France battled on Tuesday to contain massive forest wildfires and Britain recorded its highest ever temperature as a heatwave rising from the south settled over western Europe.

Peace in Ukraine will be on Moscow’s terms: Russia

A senior Russian security official said on Tuesday that peace in Ukraine when it came would be on Moscow’s terms as Russian forces struck targets across the country with missiles even as their ground offensive stuttered.

Russia seen restarting gas exports from Nord Stream 1

Russian gas flows via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline are seen restarting on time on Thursday after the completion of scheduled maintenance, two sources familiar with the export plans told Reuters.

China’s ‘zero COVID policy’ drastically affected country’s economy

China started its “zero COVID policy” with the intention to curb the spread of Covid-19 with widespread lockdowns and mass quarantines but in reality, it had slowed down the economic growth of the country.

Pakistan: Imran Khan’s PTI wins big in Punjab by-polls; former PM demands fresh general elections

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has registered an impressive electoral victory in the crucial Punjab assembly by-polls, dealing a major blow to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif whose son Hamza Shehbaz is all set to lose his post as chief minister. Following the poll verdict, Khan demanded fresh general elections in Pakistan.

Pakistan to receive USD 1.17 billion tranche: IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that Pakistan will receive USD 1.7 billion tranches in the coming three to six weeks, after reaching the staff-level agreement earlier this week.

Russia strikes Ukraine’s Vinnytsia, a day after grain talks breakthrough

Russian missiles struck the Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia far behind the frontlines on Thursday, a day after a breakthrough in talks between Moscow and Kyiv to unblock Ukrainian grain exports underscoring how far the two sides remain from a peace settlement.

US, Israel sign joint pledge to deny Iran nuclear weaponry

US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid signed a joint pledge on Thursday to deny Iran nuclear arms, a show of unity by allies long divided over diplomacy with Tehran. “We will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon,” Biden told a news conference following the signing of the declaration.