Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and European Council President Antonio Costa spoke by phone Monday, with PM Sharif outlining the latest steps Islamabad has taken to reduce tensions in the Middle East, and the two leaders exchanging views on what the widening conflict means for the global economy. According to an official statement released by the Prime Minister&rsquo;s Office, both leaders said they were deeply worried about the fighting involving Iran and the Gulf states and called for the situation to be settled through &quot;dialogue and diplomacy.&quot; <div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2038584095127879726&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=644a46dd8d0d79b531cbdf97a9fc7c9faa515e78&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px">&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Islamabad: 30 March 2026. Telephone call between the Prime Minister and the President of the EU Council Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif received a telephone call from H.E. Antonio Costa, President of the European Council, this afternoon. During their warm and cordial&hellip; <a href="https://t.co/V1OV32WFoq" style="color: rgb(0, 115, 230);">pic.twitter.com/V1OV32WFoq</a>&mdash; Prime Minister&#39;s Office (@PakPMO) <a href="https://twitter.com/PakPMO/status/2038584095127879726?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" style="color: rgb(0, 115, 230);">March 30, 2026</a></blockquote></div> Costa backed Pakistan&#39;s peacemaking role, saying the European Council stood behind every diplomatic channel working to bring order back to the region. PM Sharif told Costa that Islamabad places considerable weight on its ties with the European Union. He also brought up a Brussels trip he was forced to postpone last month. The European Council President said he expected to host the prime minister in the Belgian capital &quot;on mutually convenient dates.&quot; PM Sharif talked about the GSP+, the EU&#39;s preferential trade arrangement for vulnerable developing economies. The prime minister said he planned to open the first Pakistan-EU Business Forum in Islamabad on April 28-29.

The President of the European Council António Costa's opening remarks to the European Parliament on 25 March 2026 in Brussels. (EU Council Newsroom)

Foreign Affairs

The European Council endorsed Pakistan's push for dialog to de-escalate the Middle East crisis, with Brussels signaling support for all efforts to pull the region back from the brink.

PM Sharif briefs European Council president on Pakistan's US-Iran mediation efforts

Pakistan TV Satellite

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s former ambassador to the United States Hussain Haqqani has highlighted Pakistan&rsquo;s growing significance as a mediator in global conflicts, particularly between the United States of America and Iran. Speaking at Pakistan TV&#39;s programme &#39;Unfold&#39;, Haqqani emphasised that Pakistan has earned trust from both sides, making it a key channel for dialogue. He noted that Pakistan&rsquo;s strong relations with the US, Iran, and Arab Gulf countries give it credibility as a neutral actor. &ldquo;Pakistan&rsquo;s position has already been established, recognised, and acknowledged,&rdquo; he said, praising the country&rsquo;s enhanced diplomatic role. He also pointed to the strength of Pakistan&rsquo;s military and political leadership, whose coordinated efforts have created an environment where Pakistan is seen as a reliable convener for complex negotiations. This reflects the nation&rsquo;s strategic depth, institutional stability, and capacity to engage multiple stakeholders effectively, he added. Hussain Haqqani underlined Pakistan&rsquo;s balanced approach in mediation.&nbsp; &ldquo;Pakistan facilitates dialogue while respecting each side&rsquo;s positions,&rdquo; he said, adding that &ldquo;outcome will depend on all the actors, but Pakistan&rsquo;s effort is recognised and appreciated. He highlighted the country&rsquo;s growing diplomatic credibility. The former ambassador said by providing a platform for peace talks, Pakistan is establishing itself as a stabilising force in a volatile region.&nbsp; He described these efforts as a &ldquo;positive thing,&rdquo; demonstrating the nation&rsquo;s ability to contribute meaningfully to global peace. He further said through persistent engagement, Pakistan shows it can bridge divides, foster dialogue, and promote peace and stability.&nbsp; Its strategic role in mediation underscores the country&rsquo;s diplomatic maturity, reinforcing its position as a credible and responsible global actor, Haqqani added.

Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States Hussain Haqqani has highlighted Pakistan’s growing significance as a mediator in global conflicts, particularly between the United States of America and Iran

Pakistan emerges as a trusted mediator in global conflicts: Haqqani

TOKYO: Peter Steinberger&#39;s artificial intelligence (AI) agent tool OpenClaw has taken the tech world by storm with its ability to execute real-life tasks such as checking him in for his flight to Tokyo. AI is not yet a ubiquitous personal assistant for ordinary people, but &quot;you&#39;ll see much more of that this year because this is the year of agents&quot;, Steinberger told AFP in the Japanese capital on Monday. &quot;There are still some things we need to do to make it better,&quot; the Austrian programmer said. Demand is ramping up, however, with more developers now &quot;making the future happen&quot;, he added in an interview during a gathering for OpenClaw enthusiasts. When downloaded, OpenClaw can be connected to existing AI models and given simple instructions through instant messaging apps, as if to a friend or colleague. Jensen Huang, head of the world&#39;s most valuable company Nvidia, this month hailed the tool &ndash; whose symbol is a bright red lobster &ndash; as &quot;the next ChatGPT&quot;. But all the buzz has raised concerns over the cybersecurity risks of allowing AI systems vulnerable to hacks to access personal data such as bank details. Chinese &#39;momentum&#39; Steinberger built OpenClaw in November while playing around with AI coding tools in an attempt to organise his digital life. He has since been hired by ChatGPT creator OpenAI &quot;to drive the next generation of personal agents&quot;, the US startup&#39;s boss Sam Altman said in February. &quot;What you have to know about OpenClaw is, like, it couldn&#39;t have come from those big companies,&quot; Steinberger told AFP. &quot;Those companies would have worried too much about what could go wrong instead of just, like &ndash; I wanted to just show people I&#39;ve been into the future,&quot; he said. While tech giants work out how agent tools could be used by businesses, the next AI innovation could come from &quot;someone who just wants to have fun&quot;, Steinberger said. At Monday&#39;s &quot;ClawCon&quot; event in Tokyo, where many of the hundreds of participants were dressed as lobsters, OpenClaw demos were held on stage and experts helped attendees install their agents. Similar scenes have been seen across China, where users have been particularly quick to embrace OpenClaw&#39;s potential to organize emails, help with coding and a plethora of other digital tasks. &quot;If you see it as a competition, it certainly looks like China is gaining a lot of momentum&quot; in the AI sector, Steinberger said. &quot;But right now there&#39;s still quite a bit of a leap between the best models from China and the best models in the US.&quot; AI &#39;hammer&#39; OpenClaw&#39;s success in China has led national cybersecurity authorities and Beijing&#39;s IT ministry to issue official warnings over potential risks. Is Steinberger concerned that people could use his tool for illicit purposes? &quot;Yes, I do worry a bit, especially because there&#39;s now a whole cottage industry of companies that try to make a big buck and make it even simpler to install OpenClaw,&quot; he said. &quot;I purposefully didn&#39;t make it simpler so people would stop and read and understand: what is AI, that AI can make mistakes, what is prompt injection &ndash; some basics that you really should understand when you use that technology.&quot; But at the end of the day, &quot;if you build a hammer... you can hurt yourself. So should we not build hammers any more&quot;? A Reddit-like pseudo social network for OpenClaw agents called Moltbook, where chatbots converse, has also grabbed headlines and provoked soul-searching over AI. &quot;A lot of that was, in my view, very much driven by humans to just create those stories,&quot; Steinberger said, adding that joining OpenAI means he now has more resources to use on &quot;cool ideas&quot;. He said 2023-2024 &quot;was the year of ChatGPT, last year was the year of the coding agent, this year&#39;s going to be the year of the general agent&quot;. &quot;I love that I helped a lot of people to bring AI from this scary thing into something that is fun and weird and gets them excited, because we need to to make it good for this next century,&quot; Steinberger explained. &quot;We need more people to think more about AI.&rdquo;

A man wears a lobster hat that represent the OpenClaw logo, an open-source AI assistant at the Baidu headquarter in Beijing on March 11, 2026. (AFP)

Artificial Intelligence

OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger says 2026 will be “the year of AI agents,” as tools gain popularity for real-world tasks, despite cybersecurity concerns and growing global competition, particularly from China.

OpenClaw creator says new tool shows rise of everyday AI assistants

MUMBAI: India&#39;s rupee fell to a record low of more than 95 to the dollar on Monday, before recovering, despite recent efforts by the central bank to stem its fall. The rupee was among Asia&#39;s worst forex performers in 2025, and its underperformance has continued well into this year, hitting new lows on a regular basis. Experts say the Middle East war has piled more pressure on the currency, as overseas investors offload Indian shares, and as concerns grow over India&#39;s rising energy import bill and the possibility of a wider current account deficit. On Monday afternoon, the rupee hit 95.21, down 0.3 percent from Friday&#39;s close, before recovering later to 94.83. The world&#39;s most populous nation is one of the &quot;most vulnerable economies within Asia to an energy price shock&quot;, analysts at Nomura wrote in a note on Monday. This has partly caused overseas investors to sell around $12 billion in Indian equities in March so far. &quot;Foreign outflows from Indian equities could intensify, if the Middle East conflict tightens global financial conditions significantly,&quot; Nomura analysts added. More significantly, the rupee&#39;s drop comes despite recent interventions by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to stem the fall, including via aggressive dollar sales. On Friday, the RBI clamped down on speculation in the foreign exchange market by limiting to $100 million the daily currency positions that lenders can have. &quot;By capping onshore exposure, the RBI forces unwind ... long-dollar positions, draining speculative fuel from the market,&quot; Raj Gaikar of SAMCO Securities told AFP. Gaikar, however, added that while the measure worked &quot;in intent&quot;, it is not a &quot;trend reversal&quot;. &quot;Crude above $100 and persistent FII (foreign institutional investor) outflows remain structural headwinds that no position cap can fully neutralise.&quot;

Asia

India's rupee fell to a record low of more than 95 to the dollar on Monday, before recovering, despite recent efforts by the central bank to stem its fall.

Indian rupee hits fresh record low past 95 per dollar

ISLAMABAD: Taliban courts sentenced three women to flogging across two northern Afghan provinces over the weekend, with prison sentences of up to five years handed down on charges including &ldquo;illicit relations,&rdquo; according to an official statement from the interim government&rsquo;s Supreme Court. The punishments were carried out in Balkh and Jowzjan provinces. These are part of a broader series of rulings implemented across three northern provinces following approval by the regime&rsquo;s Supreme Court. In Balkh&rsquo;s Zari district, a woman was sentenced to five years in prison and 35 lashes on Sunday after being convicted of &ldquo;illicit relations.&rdquo; The ruling was issued by a primary court and enforced after review by higher judicial authorities. <div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-2" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 777px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-2&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2038195724676993334&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F5001%2F&sessionId=3b77d12cca200d4fe655a96af0704e28bfd67611&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px">&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>In Jowzjan&rsquo;s Qosh Tapeh district, six people, including two women, were convicted on charges including illicit relations, insulting officials, and adultery. <div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 801px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2038199489274495457&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F5001%2F&sessionId=3b77d12cca200d4fe655a96af0704e28bfd67611&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px">&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div> According to the court statement, the sentences ranged from six months to two years in prison, along with floggings of 20 to 39 lashes. A separate case in Faryab province&rsquo;s Shirin Tagab district involved three people, including one woman. They were sentenced to one year in prison for what authorities described as &ldquo;maintaining illegal relationships.&rdquo; The court also imposed additional &ldquo;punitive measures.&rdquo; <div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 777px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2038560810495058005&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F5001%2F&sessionId=3b77d12cca200d4fe655a96af0704e28bfd67611&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px">&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div> Local media reports said the punishments were carried out in public, attended by members of the judiciary and religious scholars. Civilian and military officials, along with large gatherings of residents, also witnessed the punishments. Taliban authorities say such rulings are intended to enforce legal and moral codes. The latest cases come amid a broader pattern of public punishments under Taliban rule. According to recent reporting and United Nations monitoring, corporal punishments, including floggings, have continued across multiple provinces. This has raised concerns about due process, transparency, and the protection of fundamental rights. Human rights observers say the use of public punishments, particularly against women, reflects a wider tightening of restrictions and enforcement of &ldquo;morality-based&rdquo; laws across Afghanistan.

A poster in Kabul reads: ‘Dear sisters! Hijab and veil are your dignity and are in your benefit in this world and in the hereafter’. (AFP)

Afghanistan

Public floggings were carried out in Balkh and Jowzjan after Afghan Taliban's Supreme Court approval, with sentences including prison terms and lashes. Officials say the punishments enforce moral codes, while observers raise concerns over due process and public enforcement.

Taliban courts sentence three women to public flogging across Afghanistan

BERLIN: Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Monday pledged to work with Germany to enable more Syrians to return home and rebuild their country after its devastating civil war, as he made a historic visit to Berlin. Europe&#39;s top economy is home to the largest Syrian diaspora in the European Union at more than a million, many of whom arrived during the peak of the migrant influx in 2015-2016. After meeting Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Sharaa said that &quot;we are working with our friends in the German government to establish a &#39;circular&#39; migration model&quot;. This would &quot;enable Syrians to contribute to the reconstruction of their homeland without giving up the stability and lives they have built here, for those who wish to stay&quot;, he said. Merz, who has made a tougher immigration policy a priority since taking office last year, also said he and Sharaa were &quot;working jointly towards more Syrians being able to return to their homeland&quot;. Sharaa, 43, a former rebel leader, was speaking on his first trip to Germany since ousting his country&#39;s longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad in late 2024. He has managed to build relations with Western governments and made several overseas trips, including to the United States, France and Russia. As a result, many international sanctions on Syria have been lifted to help the country rebuild after a bloody 14-year civil war. &#39;Wealth of human resources&#39; Earlier, Sharaa told a foreign ministry forum in Berlin that Syria had experienced a &quot;huge amount of destruction&quot; during its long conflict, saying that Syrians &quot;want to catch up with the rest of the world&quot; as Germany did after World War II. He pointed to investment opportunities in Syria&#39;s energy, transport and tourism sectors, describing his homeland as very diverse and with &quot;a great wealth of human resources&quot;. Merz said Germany wanted to &quot;support&quot; reconstruction in Syria as it struggles to rebuild after a long and bloody civil war, adding that a German government delegation would travel to the Middle Eastern country in the next few days. However, Merz also said that he had stressed to Sharaa in their meeting &quot;that many joint projects in the future will depend on our finding a state governed by the rule of law&quot;. Rights campaigners have criticized Sharaa&#39;s Germany visit, pointing to his militant&nbsp;past and ongoing violence and instability in Syria. Protesters gathered in front of the foreign ministry on Monday waving Kurdish flags and placards, highlighting Sharaa&#39;s time as a&nbsp;militant. Near the chancellery, dozens of Syrians also turned out to welcome Sharaa, waving Syria&#39;s new revolutionary flag and a banner showing the president surrounded by hearts. The German Green party&#39;s foreign affairs spokeswoman Luise Amtsberg told AFP Germany should not engage in a &quot;premature normalization&quot; with Sharaa&#39;s government. Merz had reduced Syria policy to the question of returns &quot;and is ignoring the situation on the ground&quot;, she said. &#39;Authoritarian tendencies&#39; Since Sharaa has been in power, sectarian tensions have continued to cause repeated bloodshed in Syria, while the ISIS&nbsp;group remains at large. After Assad&#39;s overthrow, Israel moved its forces into the UN-patrolled demilitarized zone on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, and has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria as well as regular incursions. Sharaa was initially planning to visit Germany in January, but the trip was postponed as he sought to end fighting between government troops and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in his country&#39;s north. KGD, a group that represents the Kurdish community in Germany, has said that Sharaa &quot;bears responsibility for numerous human rights violations, war crimes and crimes against humanity&quot;. Sophie Bischoff, president of the German-Syrian NGO Adopt A Revolution, told reporters that any support from the German government &quot;must be linked to clear conditions&quot; and warned that &quot;authoritarian tendencies are on the rise again in Syria&quot;.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (L) welcomes Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the Chancellery in Berlin on March 30, 2026. (AFP)

Europe

Middle East

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, on a Berlin visit, pledged cooperation with Germany to enable refugee returns and reconstruction, while critics warned against normalization of relations amid ongoing violence, instability and rights concerns within Syria.

Syrian leader pledges to work with Germany on migration, recovery

OSLO: Norway will temporarily slash its taxes on petrol and diesel to counter rising prices as the Middle East war disrupts global energy supplies, the government said Monday. As of April 1, the tax on petrol will be reduced by 4.41 kroner ($0.41) per liter and that on diesel by 2.85 kroner ($0.29) per liter, the government said in a statement. Parliament voted in favor of a reduction on March 26, even though the government opposed the move and ended up in the minority on the issue, as one of the five parties in the coalition government, the Center voted with the opposition. &quot;Budget agreements are made to be respected,&quot; Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg, of the Labour Party, which opposed the move, told public broadcaster NRK. &quot;We need to sit down around the table with our partners and make sure this kind of situation doesn&#39;t happen again,&quot; he said. The tax cuts also apply to mineral oils used in fishing and hunting, the government said. Parliament estimated the tax cut would cost around 6.3 billion kroner. Norway, Europe&#39;s largest oil and gas producer after Russia, has the highest number of electric vehicles per capita in the world, with around 32% of its car fleet electric in December 2025. Diesel cars accounted for 31.8% of the fleet, compared to 23.9% for petrol cars and 12.6% for various hybrids.

Norway will temporarily cut petrol and diesel taxes from April 1 to offset rising fuel prices caused by Middle East disruptions, despite government opposition and an estimated cost of 6.3 billion kroner.

Norway cuts petrol, diesel taxes over Mideast war

DHAKA: Bangladesh&#39;s Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has ordered an urgent nationwide review following a <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/halal-concerns-drive-vaccine-hesitancy-as-indonesia-fights-measles-outbreak" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">measles outbreak</a> with more than 600 cases, officials said Monday. PM Rahman has directed two senior ministers to travel across the South Asian nation of 170 million people to assess the scale of the crisis and coordinate response efforts, according to a statement from his Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Ministry of Health senior official Halimur Rashid, head of the disease control unit, said there have been 674 measles cases across the country this year. Measles is one of the world&#39;s most contagious diseases, according to the <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/middle-east-war-at-perilous-stage-with-strikes-around-nuclear-sites-who" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">World Health Organization</a>, and spreads through coughs or sneezes. Complications can include brain swelling and severe breathing problems. While it can affect anyone, it is most common in children. Bangladesh has made significant advancements in <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-vaccinates-over-44m-children-in-first-polio-campaign-of-2026" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">vaccinations</a> to tackle infectious disease, but a measles drive that had been due in June 2024 was delayed by unrest during a mass uprising that toppled the government. &quot;Regular vaccine drives have been ongoing, only the special campaign drive which was scheduled for June 2024 had to be postponed due to political unrest,&quot; Rashid told AFP, saying the next campaign will begin in June. The WHO estimates as many as 95,000 measles deaths globally every year, mostly among unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children under the age of five, according to its latest statistics. There is no specific treatment for measles once caught.

Reports indicate measles outbreaks in several districts across the country, with significant spread in at least seven districts. In the current month alone, 21 children have died from measles. The number of patients admitted with measles at the Infectious

Bangladesh

Bangladesh orders urgent review after measles outbreak surpasses 600 cases, raising concerns over delayed vaccination campaigns, rapid spread among children, and need for coordinated national response to contain infections

Bangladesh PM orders probe into measles outbreak

MOSCOW: Russia on Monday ordered a diplomat at the British embassy in Moscow to leave the country over allegations he was working as a spy, Russia&#39;s FSB security service reported. Moscow and London have expelled multiple embassy staff over the last decade, both trading accusations of espionage. Expulsions from one side have typically been followed by a tit-for-tat response from the other. The diplomat, whom the FSB named as 29-year-old embassy secretary Albertus Gerhardus Janse Van Rensburg, was expelled for engaging in &quot;subversive intelligence activities that threaten Russia&#39;s security&quot;, the FSB said. &quot;A decision was made to strip Janse Van Rensburg of his accreditation, and he was ordered to leave Russia within two weeks,&quot; it added. The Russian foreign ministry said it had summoned Britain&#39;s charge d&#39;affaires over the incident and warned the United Kingdom not to retaliate. Relations between London and Moscow, currently at a low point over the Ukraine war, have been strained by spying allegations for decades. In 2006, former FSB officer and Russian defector Alexander Litvinenko was killed in London, poisoned by polonium in what British investigators said was a hit by the Russian secret service. In 2018, the UK said Russian double agent Sergei Skripal was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent in the British cathedral city of Salisbury. One member of the public was killed after handling the delivery device, a discarded perfume bottle, triggering the largest Western expulsion of Russian diplomats alleged to be spies in decades. The UK has, however, refuted Russia&#39;s claim. UK calls Russia claims of spying &#39;complete nonsense&#39;Britain on Monday accused Russia of an &quot;aggressive and co-ordinated campaign of harassment&quot; after a British diplomat was expelled from Moscow over allegations he was working as a spy. &quot;The accusations made today by Russia against our diplomats are complete nonsense,&quot; a foreign ministry spokesperson said, adding Russia was &quot;pumping out malicious and completely baseless accusations about their work&quot;.

Russia ordered a British embassy diplomat to leave within two weeks, accusing him of espionage. The move deepens already fraught UK-Russia ties, marked by years of mutual expulsions, spying allegations and tensions heightened further by the war in Ukraine.

Russia expels UK diplomat on spying allegations

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will undertake an official visit to China on Tuesday, March 31, at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, the Foreign Office said Monday. The statement said the upcoming visit will provide an opportunity for both sides to hold in-depth discussions on regional developments, as well as bilateral and global issues of mutual interest. Despite medical advice to rest following a hairline shoulder fracture, Dar&rsquo;s decision to travel underscores the priority Pakistan places on its relationship with China, the statement noted. &lsquo;Pakistan ready to host US-Iran talks&rsquo;The meeting comes days after Dar chaired a quadrilateral meeting alongside foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and Egypt to discuss ways to bring an end to the Middle East war. The conflict, triggered late last month by joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran and subsequent retaliatory actions, has escalated tensions across the Gulf and disrupted global energy markets, keeping oil prices and inflation under pressure. Dar said the foreign ministers &quot;expressed their full support&quot; for potential US-Iran talks in Islamabad and agreed to form a committee of senior officials to coordinate follow-up modalities.&nbsp;&quot;The foreign ministers advocated dialogue and diplomacy as the only viable pathway to prevent conflict and to promote regional peace and harmony,&quot; he told reporters. In the past days, Dar and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have held several calls with Iranian leaders, including President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, while actively coordinating with the US administration. &quot;In this context, Pakistan is very happy that both Iran and the US have expressed their confidence in Pakistan to facilitate the talks,&quot; he said, adding that Pakistan would be &quot;honored to host and facilitate meaningful talks between the two sides in the coming days.&quot;

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in Tianjin, northern China, on July 16, 2025. (File photo: Xinhua)

Says the upcoming visit will provide an opportunity for both sides to hold in-depth discussions on regional developments, as well as bilateral and global issues of mutual interest.

PM Sharif briefs European Council president on Pakistan's US-Iran mediation efforts

Related Articles

Pakistani PM appreciates Saudi, Turkiye, Egypt's support after Mideast talks

Pakistan cuts government spending, rejects oil price hikes amid Gulf oil crisis

Latest News

Pakistan emerges as a trusted mediator in global conflicts: Haqqani

OpenClaw creator says new tool shows rise of everyday AI assistants

Indian rupee hits fresh record low past 95 per dollar

PM Sharif briefs European Council president on Pakistan's US-Iran mediation efforts

Taliban courts sentence three women to public flogging across Afghanistan