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?

Tell Me Why: left hand and right hand drive

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.&nbsp;&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;&nbsp;Sources described the Taliban&rsquo;s arguments during the talks as &ldquo;illogical and opposite to ground realities,&rdquo; suggesting that Kabul may be pursuing an agenda not aligned with regional stability.&nbsp;&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; This is a developing story....

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 percent, 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 percent 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 percent

Web Desk

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

LONDON: Liverpool were tipped to turn the Premier League title race into a prolonged coronation this season, but instead the champions find themselves mired in an unexpected crisis after their latest shock defeat. The Reds were beaten 3-2 at Brentford on Saturday as they crashed to a fourth successive league loss. Coming hot on the heels of a first defeat against Manchester United at Anfield since 2016, Liverpool suddenly look more vulnerable than at any time in Arne Slot&#39;s reign. Liverpool are languishing in sixth place after four defeats in their first nine league matches, with leaders Arsenal having seizing their mantle as the top-flight pace-setters. Liverpool have already lost as many Premier League games this season as in their entire title-winning campaign. It is a remarkable fall from grace after Slot&#39;s side romped to the trophy last season, finishing 10 points clear of second-placed Arsenal and wrapping up the title with four games to spare. Fuelled by a &pound;446 million ($593 million) spending spree in the close-season, Liverpool started the campaign as odds-on favourites to extend their reign with a record 21st English title. But Liverpool&#39;s decision to overhaul their already battle-tested squad has backfired. They twice smashed their transfer record in the summer with blockbuster deals for Bayer Leverkusen playmaker Florian Wirtz and Newcastle striker Alexander Isak. Slot also brought in Hugo Ekitike, Giorgi Mamardashvili, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, while Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Jarell Quansah were among the notable departures from Anfield. There were early warning signings that Slot&#39;s revamp would not go smoothly when Liverpool were beaten on penalties by Crystal Palace in the Community Shield. Although the Reds won their first seven games in all competitions this term, they rarely impressed and needed late goals to emerge victorious in six of those games. Palace gave Liverpool a dose of their own medicine with a late goal in a 2-1 victory that finally exposed the flaws in Slot&#39;s team. Defeats at Galatasaray and Chelsea followed before United emerged from their own crisis to plunder a 2-1 win at Anfield. By the time Brentford punished Liverpool&#39;s sloppy defending to leave the champions in turmoil, Slot was looking increasingly bewildered on the touchline. &lsquo;Nowhere near good enough&rsquo;Slot&#39;s issues are spread throughout the side, with Wirtz looking completely out of sync, while British record signing Isak has managed just one goal in eight appearances. Mohamed Salah has been anonymous since late last season and Slot has already dropped him twice this term in a bid to spark the Egypt forward into life. Frimpong and Kerkez have struggled at full-back and even captain Virgil van Dijk has been below par as Liverpool find themselves targeted by a barrage of long balls. The tragic death of Diogo Jota in a car crash during the close-season has also taken its toll. But most alarming for Liverpool fans is Slot&#39;s admission that he has no answers to the pressure being applied to his crumbling defence by opponents&#39; direct tactics. &quot;Teams seem have a certain playing style against us, which is a very good strategy to play, and we haven&#39;t found an answer yet,&quot; he said. &quot;You cannot even compete, which we don&#39;t do at the moment, because we simply concede too many goals. &quot;It definitely also has to do with if you change quite a lot during the summer, then I think it&#39;s not a surprise that it can go a bit like this. But I didn&#39;t expect it to go with four losses in a row, let that be clear.&quot; Liverpool are only the fourth reigning champions to lose four consecutive games. It is also the first time they have lost four consecutive league games since February 2021. Liverpool left-back Andrew Robertson offered no excuses for their struggles ahead of Palace&#39;s visit to Anfield in the League Cup on Wednesday. &quot;In a difficult moment, the only way to get out of it is work even harder, run that bit more and look after yourself that bit better,&quot; he said. &quot;The results have been nowhere near good enough over the last five, six games. We&#39;re the only ones who can get us out of it. &quot;We need to start playing better and we need to start showing a lot more consistency.&quot;

Football

In a growing crisis, Liverpool suffer a fourth straight league defeat, slipping to sixth as Arne Slot’s squad overhaul falters. Key signings struggle, Mohamed Salah is off form and defensive issues mount, leaving Slot searching for solutions.

Liverpool crisis mounts as Slot searches for answers

LONDON: UK police arrested Ethiopian asylum-seeker and convicted sex offender Hadush Kebatu on Sunday after officials mistakenly released him from prison in a serious error.&nbsp;Nearly 48 hours prior, the London Metropolitan Police apprehended Kebatu in north London, having been tipped off that he was at a bus stop in the Finsbury Park area and later found inside the park.&nbsp;&ldquo;Kebatu would now be deported,&rdquo; Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on X, adding: &ldquo;We have ordered an investigation to establish what went wrong. We must make sure this doesn&rsquo;t happen again.&rdquo;&nbsp;The 38-year-old had served the first month of a one-year sentence for sexually assaulting a teenage girl and a woman. He was reportedly due for deportation when a Prison Service error led to his release on Friday. Kebatu&rsquo;s case earlier this year in Epping, northeast of London, had triggered anti-immigration protests in towns across England, where asylum-seekers were believed to be housed, along with counter-protests.&nbsp;According to reports, Kebatu had been wrongly categorized for release on license and handed a &pound;76 ($100) discharge grant. Officers had issued an appeal on Saturday for him to turn himself in after witnesses described him as &ldquo;very confused&rdquo; and reluctant to leave Chelmsford prison.&nbsp;A delivery driver who saw Kebatu outside the jail told Sky News: &ldquo;He was starting to get upset, he was getting stressed.&rdquo;&nbsp;The father of Kebatu&rsquo;s teenage victim said the mistaken release demonstrated that &ldquo;the justice system has let us down.&rdquo; Kebatu was originally arrested in July after repeatedly attempting to kiss a 14-year-old girl, making sexually explicit comments, and later touching the thigh of an adult woman who intervened. At the time, he was staying at the Bell Hotel in Epping, a facility used to house asylum-seekers and the focus of repeated protests.

United Kingdom

British police rearrest Ethiopian asylum-seeker and convicted sex offender Hadush Kebatu nearly 48 hours after his mistaken release, as Prime Minister Starmer orders an inquiry into the prison error and says Kebatu will be deported.

UK police arrest asylum-seeker sex offender after prison blunder

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s security forces have foiled coordinated infiltration attempts by two groups of militants attempting to cross from the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, killing 25 militants, including four suicide bombers, the military said on Sunday.&nbsp;In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the movements of the infiltrating groups were detected on 24&ndash;25 October in the Ghaki area of Kurram District and in Spinwam, North Waziristan District, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.&nbsp;&ldquo;Own troops effectively engaged these groups of khwarij,&rdquo; the statement said, adding that &ldquo;as a result of precise and skillful engagements, 15 khwarij including four suicide bombers belonging to the Indian proxy Fitna al Khwarij were sent to hell in Spinwam, while another ten were killed in Ghaki.&rdquo;&nbsp;A large quantity of weapons, ammunition and explosives was recovered from the militants.&nbsp;Islamabad uses the term &ldquo;Khawarij&rdquo; for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), invoking a historical label for an extremist sect in early Islam that rejected legitimate authority and declared other Muslims to be apostates.&nbsp;ISPR confirmed that five Pakistan Army soldiers were martyred during the exchange of fire. The fallen were identified as Havildar Manzoor Hussain, 35, from Ghizar; Sepoy Nauman Ilyas Kiyani, 23, from Poonch; Sepoy Muhammad Adil, 24, from Kasur; Sepoy Shah Jehan, 25, from Vehari; and Sepoy Ali Asghar, 25, from Pakpattan.&nbsp;The statement said the soldiers &ldquo;fought gallantly and paid the ultimate sacrifice while defending the nation.&rdquo;&nbsp;The military noted that the infiltration attempts came as Pakistani and Afghan delegations are engaged in talks in T&uuml;rkiye, saying the timing &ldquo;casts doubt on the intentions of the interim Afghan government regarding the issue of terrorism emanating from its soil.&rdquo;&nbsp;Pakistan has repeatedly urged the Afghan authorities to ensure effective border management and fulfill commitments under the Doha Agreement, including preventing the use of Afghan territory for attacks against Pakistan.&nbsp;ISPR reaffirmed that Pakistan&rsquo;s security forces &ldquo;remain resolute and unwavering in their commitment to defend the nation&rsquo;s frontiers,&rdquo; adding that the sacrifices of the martyred soldiers &ldquo;further strengthen our resolve.&rdquo;&nbsp;A sanitization operation is currently underway in the area, and the military said the counterterrorism campaign under the framework of Azm-e-Istehkam, as approved by the Federal Apex Committee on the National Action Plan, will continue with full determination to eliminate foreign-sponsored terrorism from the country.

In a statement released by Pakistan’s military media wing notes the infiltration comes amid ongoing Pakistan-Afghanistan talks in Türkiye, raising concerns about Kabul’s current commitment to curb cross-border militancy and prevent TTP operations.

Pakistan kills 25 militants in Afghan-border infiltration attempt: military

SANAA: Yemen&#39;s Houthis arrested three local United Nations staff, including two women, accusing them of spying for Israel, a security source from the rebel group told AFP on Sunday. &quot;Two women working for the World Food Programme were taken from their homes on Saturday&quot; in the rebel-held capital Sanaa, the source said, adding that a Yemeni man also working for the WFP was arrested that night. &quot;Security and intelligence services in Sanaa still have a list of people wanted for collaborating with the Israeli and American enemy,&quot; the source added. They are the latest in a wave of arrests targeting UN and other NGO workers, with seven other local UN staffers arrested earlier this week on accusations of colluding with Israel. Last week, the rebels raided the UN compound in Sanaa, holding 20 staffers, including 15 foreigners, inside before they were released shortly afterward. Twelve of the 15 international staffers left the country on Wednesday. The United Nations on Friday said that the Huthis had arrested 55 of its personnel since 2021. Rebel leader Abdulmalik al-Huthi has claimed that UN agencies, including the WFP and UNICEF, have participated in &quot;aggressive espionage.&quot; He accused some of them of playing a role in Israeli strikes that targeted a cabinet meeting in August, killing the rebel prime minister. Since the Gaza war began in October 2023, Yemen&#39;s Huthis have repeatedly targeted both Israel and Red Sea shipping routes in a campaign they say is in solidarity with the Palestinians. Israel has responded with heavy strikes on rebel-held areas of Yemen.

Middle East

Houthis arrested three local United Nations staff, including two women, accusing them of spying for Israel, a security source from the rebel group told AFP on Sunday.

Yemen's rebels arrest three UN staff on charges of spying for Israel

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Sunday a successful final test of a new nuclear-powered cruise missile, the Burevestnik, praising the &ldquo;unique&rdquo; nuclear-capable weapon with a range of up to 14,000 kilometers (8,700 miles). &ldquo;The decisive tests are now complete,&rdquo; Putin, who is waging an offensive in neighboring Ukraine, said in a video released by the Kremlin during a meeting with military officials. He ordered the preparation of &ldquo;infrastructure to put this weapon into service in the Russian armed forces.&rdquo; Putin called the missile a &ldquo;unique creation that no one else in the world possesses,&rdquo; adding that the Burevestnik has &ldquo;unlimited range.&rdquo; During the last test on Oct. 21, the missile spent &ldquo;about 15 hours&rdquo; flying 14,000 km, said Russia&rsquo;s military chief of staff Valery Gerasimov, adding that this was not the upper limit for the weapon. &ldquo;The technical characteristics of the Burevestnik allow it to be used with guaranteed precision against highly protected sites located at any distance,&rdquo; he said.Putin announced the Russian military&rsquo;s development of the missile in 2018.

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin gives a speech at a meeting of the Russian Geographical Society in Moscow on October 23, 2025. (Photo by Kristina Kormilitsyna / POOL / AFP)

Europe

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Sunday a successful final test of a new nuclear-powered cruise missile, the Burevestnik, praising the “unique” nuclear-capable weapon with a range of up to 14,000 kilometers (8,700 miles).

Tell Me Why: left hand and right hand drive

Latest News

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

French government under pressure over wealth tax proposal

Trump increasing tariffs on Canada by 10 percent

US seeks to broaden strategic partnership with Pakistan: Rubio

Tell Me Why: left hand and right hand drive