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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday hosted a dinner in honor of the visiting South African and the Pakistan cricket team, said a statement by the prime minister&#39;s office. The South African cricket team is in Pakistan for a two-match test series.&nbsp; The prime minister interacted with and welcomed the players of the South African and Pakistani cricket teams. &ldquo;We warmly welcome the South African cricket team to Pakistan,&rdquo; said the Prime Minister. Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan&rsquo;s excellent relations with South Africa at various levels, highlighting cricket as one of them. &ldquo;Pakistan enjoys excellent relations with South Africa at various levels, and cricket is one of the strong bonds between our nations,&rdquo; the prime minister remarked. The ongoing cricket series symbolizes the deep sporting ties and mutual respect between Pakistan and South Africa, the statement added. South Africa has produced some of the greatest cricketers in the world,&rdquo; Sharif said. He also commended the outstanding performance of Pakistan&rsquo;s cricket team and the pride they have brought to the nation.&nbsp;&ldquo;Pakistani cricketers, through their outstanding performances, have also brought great pride to the nation,&rdquo; he noted.&nbsp;He also extended his best wishes to the players of both teams.&nbsp;&ldquo;Cricket is not merely a sport; it is a means of bringing people from different nations closer together,&rdquo; he emphasized.&nbsp;The Prime Minister reaffirmed Pakistan&rsquo;s commitment to promoting international sports and maintaining a conducive environment for hosting major sporting events.&nbsp;During the occasion, the South African team management and players thanked the government and people of Pakistan for their warmth and hospitality.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Cricket

Pakistan Prime Minister hosted a dinner in honor of the visiting South African and the Pakistan cricket team

Pakistan PM welcomed South African cricket team to Pakistan, hosts dinner

SYDNEY: Injured Australia captain Pat Cummins has been ruled out of the first Ashes Test against England in Perth next month, Cricket Australia said on Monday in a statement. The governing body said &quot;Cummins will not be fit in time&quot; as he recovers from a lower back injury, and that veteran batter Steve Smith would lead the side in his absence. Australia are clinging to hope the pace spearhead will return later in the five-Test series. &quot;Cummins has resumed running and expects to return to bowling shortly,&quot; Cricket Australia said. The 32-year-old has not played since picking up a lower back injury in a Test match against the West Indies in July. Scott Boland looms as the likely replacement, joining fellow quicks Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. Cummins&#39; race to prove his fitness has become a major storyline leading up to the first Test, starting in Perth on November 21. &quot;I&#39;m still doing a bit of gym and keeping things kicking over, but with this kind of injury, it&#39;s rest and then we&#39;ll build back and kind of work back from the Ashes,&quot; he said in September. &quot;Still really hopeful to be able to be part of the Ashes. But it is a little bit of a wait-and-see.&quot; Cummins has suffered serious back issues several times over the years, including a flare-up in 2018 that kept him out of action for a full off-season. Woeful record Australia coach Andrew McDonald has said he may still pick Cummins at some point, even if he was a &quot;little bit underdone&quot; with his rehabilitation. England are bringing a pace-heavy attack for the series, spearheaded by Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue, Brydon Carse, and Mark Wood. Former fast bowler Stuart Broad stoked the bitter rivalry between the two sides earlier this month when he claimed Australia were fielding their weakest line-up in 15 years. &quot;It&#39;s probably the worst Australian team since 2010 when England last won (in Australia), and it&#39;s the best English team since 2010,&quot; Broad, now working as a pundit, told the BBC. &quot;It&#39;s actually not an opinion, it&#39;s fact.&quot; But the reality remains that England have an appalling record playing in Australia. Australia retained the Ashes in England in 2023 after the series ended in a 2-2 draw. They beat England 4-0 at home in 2021-22 when Cummins was the leading bowler with 21 wickets at an average of 18. The 2010-11 series, taken by the tourists 3-1, is the only Ashes in Australia since 2002-03 in which England have even won a Test.

Scott Boland looms as the likely replacement; former fast bowler Stuart Broad claims Australia fielding their weakest line-up in 15 years; England have an appalling record playing in Australia.

Australia captain Cummins ruled out of first Ashes Test

GUANGZHOU: The resumption of direct flights between India and China after a five-year suspension was hailed by arriving passengers on Monday, a move important both for trade and a symbolic step as Asia&#39;s giants cautiously rebuild relations. IndiGo flight 6E1703 from Kolkata touched down in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou shortly before 4:00 am (2000 GMT), officially resuming nonstop air links that had been suspended since 2020 due to the pandemic and subsequent geopolitical tensions. The neighbors and world&#39;s two most populous nations remain strategic rivals competing for regional influence, but ties have eased gradually since a deadly Himalayan border clash in 2020. India&#39;s government said the resumption of flights will boost &quot;people-to-people contact&quot; and aid the &quot;gradual normalization of bilateral exchanges.&quot; Passengers aboard the first flight &mdash; among them many Indians in search of cross-border business opportunities &mdash; told AFP in the Guangzhou airport about the convenience of the resumed links. &quot;It was such a smooth and easy, lovable trip,&quot; said Rashika Mintri, a 44-year-old interior designer from Kolkata. &quot;I could come again and again,&quot; she said. Warming relations with Beijing come as India&#39;s ties with key trade partner Washington falter, following US President Donald Trump&#39;s order imposing punishing 50% tariffs. Trump&#39;s aides have accused India of fueling Russia&#39;s war in Ukraine by buying Moscow&#39;s oil. There are already regular flights between India and Hong Kong, while additional services from the capital, New Delhi, to Shanghai and Guangzhou will begin in November. Abhijit Mukherjee, the captain of the flight that arrived Monday in Guangzhou, told AFP that without the new nonstop, passengers would need to travel through other airports, such as Bangkok or Singapore. &quot;It adds up,&quot; the 55-year-old pilot said of the transfers. But the direct flight he had just completed was &quot;very smooth,&quot; he said, holding a bouquet of flowers presented to him upon arrival. &quot;The direct air link will reduce logistics and transit time,&quot; Rajeev Singh, head of the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Kolkata, told AFP, adding that it would benefit businesses. India&#39;s eastern port city of Kolkata has centuries-old ties with China dating back to British rule, when Chinese migrants arrived as traders. Indo-Chinese fusion food remains a beloved staple of the city&#39;s culinary identity. &quot;It&#39;s great news for people like us, who have relatives in China,&quot; said Chen Khoi Kui, a civil society leader in Kolkata&#39;s Chinatown district of Tangra. &quot;Air connectivity will boost trade, tourism and business travel.&quot; &#39;Long-term challenge&#39;&nbsp;India runs a significant trade deficit with Beijing, relying heavily on Chinese raw materials for industrial and export growth. The thaw between New Delhi and Beijing followed meetings between their leaders in Russia last year and in China in August. India&#39;s imports from China surged to more than $11 billion last month, up more than 16% compared with September 2024, according to New Delhi&#39;s commerce ministry. Exports from India to China were $ 1.47 billion, modest by comparison, but up around 34% year-on-year. Direct flights between the two countries were suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic, halting roughly 500 monthly services. Relations then plummeted after the 2020 border skirmish between the nuclear-armed nations, when at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed. New Delhi responded by tightening restrictions on Chinese investments and banning hundreds of apps, including TikTok. India then deepened ties with the US-led Quad alliance &mdash; also including Japan and Australia &mdash; aimed at countering China&#39;s influence in the Asia-Pacific. Both sides have troops posted along their contested 3,500-kilometer (2,175-mile) high-altitude frontier. But this month, soldiers on each side exchanged gifts of sweets on the Hindu festival of Diwali, &quot;marking a gesture of goodwill,&quot; said Yu Jing, the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India. The Indian Express, in an editorial after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China&#39;s President Xi Jinping met in August, said improving ties with Beijing &quot;sends an appropriate signal&quot; to Washington. But relations still have far to go. &quot;Managing an increasingly assertive China remains India&#39;s long-term challenge,&quot; the newspaper added. &quot;These fundamental realities remain unchanged, regardless of Trump&#39;s whimsical diplomatic actions.&rdquo;

China

Asia

Warming relations with Beijing come as India's ties with key trade partner Washington falter, following US President Donald Trump's order imposing punishing 50% tariffs.

India, China resume direct flights as ties improve

PARIS: French authorities have detained two of the suspected robbers believed to have stolen precious crown jewels from the Louvre in a museum heist that stunned the world, officials said Sunday. A swarm of investigators had been mobilized to track down the thieves who robbed the famous museum in broad daylight on October 19, making off with jewellery worth an estimated $102 million in just a few minutes. The two suspects were known to the police for committing thefts, a source close to the case said, adding that they were in their thirties and from Seine-Saint-Denis, a region just outside Paris. The same source said one of the men had been arrested at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport where he was about to board a plane for Algeria. The two men were taken into custody on suspicion of organized theft and criminal conspiracy. They could be held up to 96 hours. After media reports of the detentions, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said authorities had &quot;carried out arrests on Saturday evening&quot;, and confirmed that &quot;one of the men arrested was about to leave the country&quot; from Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport. The second man was detained not long afterwards in the Paris region, media reports said. Beccuau deplored the public revelation of the arrests, warning they &quot;can only hinder the efforts of the 100 investigators mobilized&quot; in the hunt for the jewels and the perpetrators. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez also called for confidentiality while congratulating the investigators &quot;who have worked tirelessly,&quot; in a post on X. In the October 19 heist, the robbers went up an extendable ladder of a stolen movers&#39; truck and, using cutting equipment, broke into a gallery that houses royal gems. They dropped a diamond- and emerald-studded crown as they fled down the ladder and onto scooters, but managed to steal eight other pieces, including an emerald-and-diamond necklace that Napoleon Bonaparte gave his wife, the Empress Marie-Louise. &#39;Concern for the jewellery&#39;&nbsp;The brazen theft made headlines across the world and sparked a debate in France about the security of cultural institutions. The Louvre&#39;s director has admitted the robbers had exploited a blind spot in the security surveillance of the museum&#39;s outside walls. But Beccuau said public and private security cameras elsewhere had allowed detectives to track the thieves &quot;in Paris and in surrounding regions.&quot; Investigators were also able to find DNA samples and fingerprints at the scene from items left behind by the robbers as they fled, including gloves, a high-vis vest, a blowtorch and power tools. The robbers also dropped a crown that once belonged to Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III, which was damaged and needs to be restored. The rest of the pieces have not been recovered and risk being broken apart, their precious metal settings melted down. Nunez expressed his &quot;concern&quot; for the jewellery in an interview with French weekly La Tribune Dimanche on Sunday. He said the heist appeared to have been carried out by an organized crime group but added that &quot;thieves are always eventually caught&quot;. &quot;The loot is unfortunately often stashed abroad. I hope that&#39;s not the case &mdash; I remain confident,&quot; he added. The Louvre theft is the latest in a string of robberies targeting French museums. Less than 24 hours after the Louvre break-in, a museum in eastern France reported the theft of gold and silver coins after finding a smashed display case. Last month, criminals broke into Paris&#39;s Natural History Museum, making off with gold nuggets worth more than $1.5 million. A Chinese woman has been detained and charged with involvement in the theft. Culture Minister Rachida Dati said on X on Friday she had requested findings from an investigation into the Louvre&#39;s security to &quot;announce concrete measures to secure&quot; the museum. In the meantime, head of the National Assembly&#39;s cultural affairs committee, Alexandre Portier, proposed an amendment to the budget currently being debated to create &quot;an emergency fund to secure national heritage&quot; of 50 million euros ($58 million).

Europe

Paris prosecutor says authorities had "carried out arrests on Saturday evening", confirms that "one of the men arrested was about to leave the country" from Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport.

Two suspects arrested in Louvre jewel heist

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani folk, Sufi, and spiritual singer Sanam Marvi captivated a packed audience at the historic Th&eacute;&acirc;tre de la Ville on Sunday night, delivering a soul-stirring performance that celebrated Pakistan&rsquo;s rich musical and spiritual traditions. The concert, jointly organized by the Embassy of Pakistan in France and Th&eacute;&acirc;tre de la Ville, drew hundreds of Parisians and members of the South Asian diaspora, all eager to witness a rare live performance by one of Pakistan&rsquo;s most powerful and acclaimed voices. Known for her deep, emotive renditions of classical Sufi poetry, Marvi&rsquo;s repertoire for the evening included verses by revered mystics such as Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, Bulleh Shah, and Khwaja Ghulam Farid. Her powerful voice reverberated through the theater, seamlessly blending Sindhi, Punjabi, and Urdu verses, carrying messages of love, spirituality, and divine unity that transcend borders. A Night of Cultural Diplomacy In her address to the audience, Pakistan&rsquo;s Ambassador to France, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, praised Sanam Marvi&rsquo;s performance and highlighted the growing importance of cultural diplomacy in strengthening international relations. &ldquo;In today&rsquo;s world, cultural diplomacy connects people, societies, and countries,&rdquo; Ambassador Zahra Baloch remarked. &ldquo;We are delighted to see such a warm response from the French audience to Pakistani music. It is through art and culture that nations truly understand one another.&rdquo;&nbsp; The ambassador also expressed her gratitude to Th&eacute;&acirc;tre de la Ville&rsquo;s management, particularly Soudabeh Kia, Conseill&egrave;re Musique du Monde, for their longstanding efforts to showcase global music traditions. The theater, one of Paris&rsquo;s premier venues for world music, previously hosted performances by legends such as the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, further deepening its connection with Pakistani musical heritage. Music as a Bridge Between Worlds Speaking after the performance, Sanam Marvi described the experience as deeply emotional. &ldquo;Music is the spice of life, and we love our traditional music,&rdquo; she said. Marvi was overwhelmed by the presence and appreciation of a large international crowd.&nbsp; Born in Sindh, Marvi began singing at an early age, training under the tutelage of classical musicians before rising to fame through performances on platforms such as Coke Studio Pakistan and international festivals.&nbsp; Over the years, she has become a global ambassador for Sufi and folk music, performing across South Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. Renewed Interest in South Asian Art The Th&eacute;&acirc;tre de la Ville&rsquo;s management noted that events like this are part of an ongoing initiative to introduce French audiences to diverse musical expressions from around the world. &ldquo;Music transcends language and geography,&rdquo; a representative said.&nbsp; The evening&rsquo;s success underscored not only Marvi&rsquo;s immense talent but also the growing interest in South Asian art and culture among European audiences. With every note, Sanam Marvi reaffirmed her status as a leading voice of Pakistan&rsquo;s spiritual music tradition and as a powerful symbol of the unifying force of art.

Entertainment

Pakistani Sufi singer Sanam Marvi enthralled a full house at Paris’s Théâtre de la Ville, delivering a moving performance celebrating Pakistan’s spiritual music. The event, backed by Pakistan’s embassy, highlighted cultural diplomacy and growing French interest in South Asian art

Sanam Marvi enthrals Parisians at Theatre de la Ville, Paris

MADRID: Jude Bellingham&#39;s goal helped Real Madrid beat Barcelona 2-1 to win a tense Clasico and move five points clear of their bitter rivals at the top of La Liga on Sunday. Champions Barcelona won all four times the teams were pitted against each other last season but in his first Clasico as Real Madrid coach, Xabi Alonso snapped that run. Kylian Mbappe, who later missed a penalty, fired Madrid in front, and although Fermin Lopez levelled for the visitors at the Santiago Bernabeu, Bellingham netted a second for the hosts before half-time, which proved decisive. Barca playmaker Pedri was sent off in the final stages for a second yellow card as tensions spilt over in the Spanish capital. Madrid&#39;s victory means they have won nine of their opening 10 league games, and Alonso&#39;s side proved against Barca that they can triumph on the big occasion, following their derby humbling by Atletico Madrid in September. &quot;Against Atletico we didn&#39;t play how we wanted, and today we had another chance to show what we can do, and we have to continue like this,&quot; said Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni. Alonso said his team &quot;needed this feeling of being able to win a big game&quot; after last season&#39;s struggles against Barca. The Spaniard&#39;s counterpart on the touchline was Hansi Flick&#39;s assistant Marcus Sorg, as the German coach was suspended following a red card last weekend as they scraped a victory over relegation-battling Girona. &quot;The season is long, we have 28 more games and we&#39;re not scared about the situation now,&quot; said Sorg after the defeat. Barcelona were without several regular starters, including Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo among others, while Lamine Yamal still does not appear fully fit after a groin injury but started. The teenager wound up Madrid fans in the week by claiming Los Blancos &quot;steal&quot; and &quot;complain&quot; and his name was greeted with a chorus of jeers when read out before kick-off. Barcelona had more of the ball in the first half but it was largely sterile possession and Madrid created the most dangerous opportunities. The hosts were awarded an early penalty when Yamal clashed with Vinicius Junior, but it was cancelled after a VAR review. Madrid fans&#39; ire at the officials grew when Mbappe blasted home from outside the area, but the goal was ruled out for a millimetric offside against the French superstar. Mbappe did not have long to wait before he could celebrate in earnest, after fine movement and a perfect pass by Bellingham sent him through on goal. The forward, the division&#39;s top goalscorer, netted his 11th league goal of the campaign with a lethal low finish past Wojciech Szczesny. The Polish goalkeeper made several more saves, and it was against the run of play when Barcelona equalized. Arda Guler gave away possession in a dangerous area and Marcus Rashford, playing in his first Clasico, crossed for Lopez to blast the visitors level in the 38th minute. Bellingham deciderBellingham struck Madrid&#39;s second five minutes later to give Los Blancos a deserved advantage at the interval. The England international, who scored his first goal at the Bernabeu since April in midweek against Juventus, gleefully tapped home after Eder Militao nodded Vinicius&#39;s cross back into his path. Madrid should have extended their lead at the start of the second half, but Szczesny made a fine save to push out Mbappe&#39;s penalty, after Eric Garcia was penalized for handball. Yamal, frustrated and struggling to make an impact on the game, sent a long-range shot high over the bar as Madrid closed ranks and kept the Catalans at a safe distance from their goal. Sorg sent defender Ronald Araujo up front during nine minutes of stoppage time in desperation, but unlike last weekend it did not pay off. Pedri was sent off in the final seconds for a second yellow card for a late foul on Tchouameni, sparking a brief sideline shoving match, while players from both sides rowed after the final whistle. &quot;(Yamal) needs more rhythm, more games, on the highest level, it&#39;s normal (after injury). He&#39;s 18, we have to help him, and we will do it all together,&quot; added Sorg, after the winger was nullified by Madrid. &quot;They defended well, Real. We have to accept this.&quot;

Football

Madrid's victory means they have won nine of their opening 10 league games, and Alonso's side proved against Barca that they can triumph on the big occasion, following their derby humbling by Atletico Madrid in September.

Bellingham claims Liga leaders Real Madrid Clasico win over Barca

Mariam Ellahi

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani delegation in Istanbul has presented its final position to the Afghan Taliban, emphasizing that continued patronage of terrorists is unacceptable, security sources said on Sunday. &ldquo;The ongoing support and shelter for terrorists by the Taliban is not acceptable,&rdquo; a senior Pakistani security official said. &ldquo;Concrete and verifiable steps will have to be taken by the Taliban regime to eliminate cross-border terrorism from and inside Afghanistan.&rdquo; Security sources said the demands presented by Pakistan were clear, evidence-based, and formulated to address the core issue directly. They added that Pakistan conveyed there would be no compromise on its central security concerns. According to the sources, the Pakistani side provided intelligence showing the presence and operations of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) inside Afghanistan, including safe havens and leadership protection. &ldquo;The Taliban were urged to take decisive action against these groups and end the provision of safe havens,&rdquo; a security source stated. However, the sources said the Afghan Taliban&rsquo;s arguments were &ldquo;illogical and contrary to observable ground realities,&rdquo; raising questions about their approach. &ldquo;It seems that the Taliban are following someone else&rsquo;s agenda,&rdquo; a security official said. &ldquo;This agenda is not in the interest of Afghanistan, Pakistan, or the broader region.&rdquo; Security sources also indicated that the Taliban delegation&rsquo;s &ldquo;stubbornness, lack of seriousness, and non-cooperation&rdquo; had become clear to all parties involved, including the host country. The host government is continuing to make efforts to ensure the Afghan side understands the evidence and engages responsibly. &ldquo;Further progress depends on the Taliban adopting a positive and constructive attitude,&rdquo; the sources noted. The current talks in Istanbul follow a meeting held in Doha last week, where both sides agreed to a ceasefire after several days of cross-border clashes. According to intelligence sources, the Istanbul discussions lasted about nine hours and sought to move toward a verifiable mechanism to prevent militant movement, reaffirm mutual respect for territorial sovereignty, and address related matters involving trade, refugee repatriation, and the separation of bilateral issues from internal political pressures. The talks are taking place amid a recent surge in militant incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including attacks in Central Kurram and Dera Ismail Khan, in which at least 28 Pakistani security personnel, including senior officers, were martyred. In response, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif announced that Pakistan would send a delegation to Kabul, citing what he described as &ldquo;unbearable&rdquo; security conditions. The Istanbul round forms part of a wider effort led by Qatar and T&uuml;rkiye to preserve the ceasefire and reduce tensions along the Pakistan&ndash;Afghanistan frontier. The process follows a temporary 48-hour truce declared on October 15 and extended during the Doha talks. Security sources stressed that the responsibility for meaningful progress now lies with the Afghan Taliban. &ldquo;What happens next will determine the stability of the region,&rdquo; a senior Pakistani official said.

Security

Security sources say Taliban’s arguments in Istanbul talks are illogical, contrary to ground realities, and suggest Kabul may be pursuing an agenda not aligned with regional stability. Further progress depends on Taliban’s positive engagement, officials add.

Istanbul talks: Pakistan demands concrete Taliban action to stop cross-border terrorism

PARIS: French lawmakers debating the government&#39;s proposed budget for next year on Saturday looked likely to put off discussion of a wealth tax being pushed by the left until next week. France is under pressure to pass a spending bill by an end-of-year deadline to rein in its deficit and soaring debt, but efforts have been hampered by a political deadlock. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu who has promised not to use a parliamentary tool employed by previous governments to force through unpopular measures, is under pressure from both the left and the right. Lecornu, the country&#39;s third prime minister in a little over a year, has promised to get the job done, after the legislature ousted his two predecessors over cost-cutting measures. The right pushed through some of its measures Saturday evening, including eliminating taxes on overtime. The left is still waiting to put its plan for a tax on the super-rich to the vote. Lecornu himself survived a confidence vote earlier this month by agreeing to suspend a deeply unpopular pensions reform under pressure from the Socialists. But the Socialists, a swing group in parliament, have also demanded a tax on the uber-wealthy, without which they have threatened to topple his government. They originally requested a levy, named after French economist Gabriel Zucman, who hoped to raise around 20 billion euros ($27 billion) per year from just 1,800 wealthy households. The Zucman tax Zucman&#39;s proposal was to make people with at least 100 million euros in assets pay a minimum tax of two percent on that wealth. But the far right and Lecornu&#39;s government are against taxing professional assets, which this levy would target. The government instead wants to tax wealth management holdings with at least five million euros in assets. The Socialists have now suggested a minimum three-percent tax on assets of 10 million euros and above, while excluding family and &quot;innovative&quot; businesses, in a concession to the government. But in an interview due out Sunday in the Tribune Dimanche however, Budget Minister Amelie de Montchalin said it was out &quot;of the question... to penalise entrepeneurs and to undermine our production capacity by taxing professional goods&quot;. The Socialists&#39; proposal had been due for debate in parliament on Saturday but now looks to have been pushed back to next week. Zucman himself has warned the Socialists not to compromise on his original proposal. Creating a tax &quot;riddled with loopholes, offering opportunities for evasion... is condemning oneself to failure&quot;, he told France Inter radio. The radical left France Unbowed (LFI) party seized on his comments, to criticise the Socialists. &quot;There you have it,&quot; wrote Eric Coquerel, president of the Finance Committee, on X. &quot;Everything has been said by Zucman himself about the Zucman light taxes on wealth proposed by the Socialist group in hopes of reaching a compromise with the government.&quot; France has been mired in political deadlock since President Emmanuel Macron last year called for snap parliamentary elections, hoping to cement his power. His centrist bloc instead lost its majority and the far right gained seats, and the parliament ended up divided.

Taxation

France’s government faces mounting pressure as debate on a proposed wealth tax targeting the ultra-rich is delayed. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu struggles to balance left and right demands amid political deadlock and budget deficit concerns.

French government under pressure over wealth tax proposal

AIRFORCE ONE: US President Donald Trump said Saturday he was hiking tariffs on Canadian goods by an additional 10%, in the latest fallout over a Canadian anti-tariff ad that featured late US leader Ronald Reagan. The announcement came two days after Trump said he had terminated all trade talks with Canada over what he called the &quot;fake&quot; ad campaign. &quot;Their Advertisement was to be taken down, IMMEDIATELY, but they let it run last night during the World Series, knowing that it was a FRAUD,&quot; Trump said on his Truth Social platform, posting the message as he flew to Asia for meetings with key regional leaders. &quot;Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts, and hostile act, I am increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now,&quot; he said. The ad from the Canadian province of Ontario used quotes from a radio address on trade that Reagan delivered in 1987, in which he warned against ramifications that he said high tariffs on foreign imports could have on the US economy. It cited the Republican as saying that &quot;high tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars,&quot; a quote that matches a transcript of his speech on the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library&#39;s website. The Ronald Reagan foundation wrote on X on Thursday that the Ontario government had used &quot;selective audio and video&quot; and that it was reviewing its legal options. Adding extra spice to the cross-border row, baseball&#39;s World Series features a Canadian team, the Toronto Blue Jays, facing a US team, the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Blue Jays thrashed the Dodgers 11-4 in the first game on Friday. Ontario said it would pull the offending anti-tariff ad on Monday so that negotiations could restart, but not before it aired again on Saturday night during the second game of the baseball showdown. Trump&#39;s global sectoral tariffs -- particularly on steel, aluminum, and autos -- have hit Canada hard, forcing job losses and squeezing businesses. For now, the United States and Canada adhere to an existing North American trade deal called the USMCA, which ensures that roughly 85% of cross-border trade in both directions remains tariff-free. But in a speech on Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the United States has raised &quot;its tariffs to levels last seen during the Great Depression.&quot; &quot;Our economic strategy needs to change dramatically,&quot; Carney added, saying the process &quot;will take some sacrifices and some time.&quot; Trump and Carney are both set to be at a dinner on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in South Korea on Wednesday. But Trump has said he had no plans to meet Carney.

US President Donald Trump raised tariffs on Canadian goods by 10%, condemning Ontario’s anti-tariff ad featuring Ronald Reagan as “fraudulent.” The move follows halted trade talks, escalating tensions ahead of the APEC summit in South Korea

Trump increasing tariffs on Canada by 10%

ISLAMABAD: The United States (US) saw a growing opportunity to expand its strategic relationship with Pakistan, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday, emphasizing that the move was not aimed at undermining Washington&rsquo;s longstanding ties with India.&nbsp;Speaking to reporters aboard his flight to Doha, Rubio acknowledged that New Delhi had historically viewed US-Pakistan engagement with caution. But he stressed that Washington&rsquo;s diplomatic approach aimed to work &ldquo;pragmatically&rdquo; with multiple partners at once.&nbsp;&ldquo;We know they&rsquo;re concerned for obvious reasons because of the tensions that have existed between Pakistan and India historically,&rdquo; Rubio said. &ldquo;But, I think they have to understand we have to have relations with a lot of different countries.&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;We see an opportunity to expand our strategic relationship with Pakistan,&rdquo; he added.&nbsp;&ldquo;Our job is to try to figure out how many countries we can find how we can work with on things of common interest.&rdquo;&nbsp;Rubio said US officials had been &ldquo;fully aware of the challenges&rdquo; posed by Pakistan&rsquo;s tense rivalry with India but insisted that maintaining strong ties with one did not diminish the other.&nbsp;&ldquo;They [India] have some relationships with countries that we don&rsquo;t have relationships with. So, it&rsquo;s part of a mature, pragmatic foreign policy.&rdquo;&nbsp;Rubio said Washington had already begun working to rebuild ties with Islamabad before recent regional tensions prompted renewed dialogue.&nbsp;&ldquo;Even before that conflict had started, I had already reached out to them and said look, we are interested in rebuilding an alliance, a strategic partnership with you,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;He noted that the US-Pakistan relationship had long involved counterterrorism cooperation but suggested that both sides were now exploring broader areas of collaboration.&nbsp;&ldquo;We&rsquo;d like to expand it beyond that, if possible, and [we] understand that there&rsquo;ll be some difficulties and some challenges,&rdquo; Rubio said. &ldquo;But I think it&rsquo;s a very encouraging thing that that relationship has strengthened the way that it has.&rdquo;&nbsp;Rubio repeatedly stressed that the US approach was a balancing act among multiple major regional powers.&nbsp;&ldquo;We have to have relations with a lot of different countries,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s our job.&rdquo;&nbsp;The Secretary was traveling to Doha for continued coordination on the Middle East ceasefire process, which he acknowledged remained fragile. &ldquo;Every night brings a new challenge,&rdquo; he said, adding that sustaining progress would require &ldquo;constant maintenance&rdquo; and continued high-level engagement.&nbsp;Rubio said he had just spoken with the Israeli Prime Minister before boarding and noted that more US officials would be deployed in the region in the coming days.

Americas

En route to Doha, Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the US sees opportunity to expand its strategic relationship with Pakistan, emphasizing it complements, not threatens, longstanding ties with India and seeks broader regional partnerships.

US seeks to broaden strategic partnership with Pakistan: Rubio

Asfandyar Yahya

Ever wondered why you drive on the left side of the road in Pakistan &mdash; while half the world drives on the right? This episode of &ldquo;Tell Me Why&rdquo; traces that everyday habit back to an unexpected origin &mdash; medieval knights, the rise of Napoleon, and the far-reaching shadow of the British Empire. From sword hands to steering wheels, this journey explores how ancient defense tactics evolved into modern traffic laws &mdash; and how empires carved the world&rsquo;s driving lanes long before the first car was ever built.

Tell Me Why

Ever wondered why you drive on the left side of the road in Pakistan — while half the world drives on the right?