BEIJING: Before DeepSeek shook up the tech world and put Chinese artificial intelligence on the map, Wu Chenglin&rsquo;s own startup had nearly folded three times &mdash; but in the past year, it has raised $30 million. The January 2025 release of a low-cost generative AI model from DeepSeek, which performed at a similar level to <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/openai-introducing-ads-to-chatgpt" target="_blank">ChatGPT&nbsp;</a>and other top American chatbots,&nbsp;upended assumptions of US dominance in the sensitive sector. The breakthrough has galvanised China&rsquo;s AI scene, despite relations with the United States and fears of a global market bubble. &ldquo;It gave a lot of people confidence&rdquo; that China&rsquo;s AI community previously lacked, Wu told AFP. His venture, DeepWisdom, whose flagship product is an AI-powered software development platform, had struggled to stay afloat despite its popularity among programmers. But as excitement around DeepSeek fuelled a spending boom, Wu raised 220 million yuan in two funding rounds. Meanwhile, Shi Yaqiong and her team at Beijing-based Jinqiu Capital have closed deals with more than 50 AI firms over the past 12 months. Shi, the fund&rsquo;s vice-president, described a &ldquo;clear surge&rdquo; in enthusiasm around Chinese AI and competition among investors since the DeepSeek shock. &ldquo;The kind of projects with an initial valuation in 2024 of $10-20 million were, in 2025, expected to have initial valuations around $20-40 million,&rdquo; she said. Engineer dividendShares in two leading Chinese AI startups, Zhipu AI and MiniMax, soared on their Hong Kong market debuts this month. Frenzy over the much-hyped <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/asian-markets-bounce-as-nvidia-takes-centre-stage-amid-ai-bubble-fears" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">potential of AI&nbsp;</a>to change the world is driving global stocks to record highs, led by chipmakers and<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/meta-partners-with-us-nuclear-companies-to-power-ai-data-centers" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">&nbsp;tech giants</a>. But the big-spending euphoria has sparked fears of a market crash, with many investors hyper-focused on any sign the AI bubble could burst and questioning when new companies will become profitable. Access to top-end chips made by <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-says-us-will-allow-sale-of-nvidia-ai-chips-to-china" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">US giant Nvidia</a> is also restricted in China under White House policies aimed at curbing China&rsquo;s technological development. But that hasn&rsquo;t dampened the spirits of young developers in the world&rsquo;s second-largest economy. At an AI networking event held last week on a brisk winter afternoon in a stylish Beijing cafe, animated discussion filled the air about the future of the fast-moving industry. Chip export controls mean Chinese AI is more likely to be &ldquo;open-source and cheap&rdquo;, which could make it more useful to society, said one participant, entrepreneur Li Weijia. China is often said to enjoy an &ldquo;engineer dividend&rdquo; that benefits its AI sector, and talent is flocking to the field. Online hiring platform Zhilian Zhaopin reported a 39% increase in applications to AI-related jobs in the first three quarters of 2025, after DeepSeek&rsquo;s breakout. &lsquo;Cost-efficient&rsquo;&ldquo;China has a huge application developer ecosystem, and people are very good at building apps,&rdquo; Shen Qiajin, founder of ideaFlow, told AFP. &ldquo;But for a very long time, we didn&rsquo;t have a good, cost-efficient model,&rdquo; he said. That is a gap DeepSeek has now filled. The firm began in 2023 as a side project of a data-driven hedge fund co-founded in the tech hub Hangzhou by Liang Wenfeng, which had access to a cache of powerful Nvidia processors. Today, the company &mdash; expected to release its next AI model within weeks &mdash; holds 4% of the global chatbot market share, according to web traffic analysis company Similarweb. ChatGPT dominates at 68 percent, while Google&rsquo;s Gemini is catching up at 18%, according to Similarweb estimates. DeepSeek&rsquo;s decision to make its systems&rsquo; inner workings public, in contrast to the closed AI models sold by OpenAI and other Western rivals, has boosted adoption of its tools by developers and businesses, said Neil Shah at&nbsp; Counterpoint ResearchIts tools have had &ldquo;strong adoption in cost-sensitive emerging markets&rdquo;, he said. But in the West, users are more cautious, &ldquo;primarily on account of privacy and national security concerns&rdquo;. Even so, the domestic market is huge. By June 2025, more than half a billion Chinese internet users reported having used generative AI products, according to the China Internet Network Information Center. Entrepreneur Yang Yiwen said her parents had their first meaningful encounter with AI during last year&rsquo;s Chinese New Year, when they watched her use DeepSeek to plan a family trip. &ldquo;They found it quite fun,&rdquo; she said.

Asia

Before DeepSeek shook up the tech world and put Chinese artificial intelligence on the map, Wu Chenglin’s own startup had nearly folded three times — but in the past year it has raised $30 million.

Inside China's buzzing AI scene year after DeepSeek shock

WASHINGTON: North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) aircraft will soon arrive at a US military base in Greenland for &quot;long-planned&quot; activities, the organization said Monday. The announcement from NORAD, a joint US-Canada military organization for aerospace monitoring and defense, came amid rising tensions over President Donald Trump&#39;s demand for US control of the autonomous Danish territory. The statement did not describe the nature of the planned activities at Pituffik Space Base, which it said were aimed at &quot;defense cooperation.&quot; It said that the activities had been coordinated with Denmark and that Greenland had been informed. NORAD said that the arriving aircraft will operate alongside those from bases in the continental United States and Canada. &quot;They will support various long-planned NORAD activities, building on the enduring defense cooperation between the United States and Canada, as well as the Kingdom of Denmark,&quot; NORAD said. The statement added that NORAD &quot;routinely conducts sustained, dispersed operations in the defense of North America.&quot; Trump has stoked <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-links-greenland-threats-to-nobel-peace-prize-snub-bloomberg" style="color:#0073e6;">anxiety </a>among US transatlantic allies with threats to <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-warns-greenland-deal-will-happen-easy-or-hard-threatens-iran" style="color:#0073e6;">take over</a> Greenland &quot;one way or the other.&quot; Over the weekend, the US president <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-threatens-europe-with-tariffs-over-greenland-as-protesters-rally" style="color:#0073e6;">threatened</a>&nbsp;to wield new tariffs against countries that oppose his plans for the Arctic island, after several European nations sent small military delegations there for an exercise, to which the United States was also invited. Denmark has proposed that NATO start surveillance operations in Greenland to confront security concerns.

Americas

Trump has stoked anxiety among US transatlantic allies with threats to take over Greenland "one way or the other"; Denmark has proposed that NATO start surveillance operations in Greenland to confront security concerns.

Military aircraft to arrive in Greenland for 'long-planned' activities: US-Canadian command

KANO: Armed gangs kidnapped at least 163 Christian worshippers after storming two churches in Nigeria&#39;s northern Kaduna State on Sunday, a member of the clergy told AFP. Gangs &mdash; known in Nigeria as &quot;bandits&quot; &mdash; frequently <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/nigerian-gunmen-free-kidnapped-muslim-religious-travellers" style="color:#0073e6;">carry out</a>&nbsp;mass kidnappings for <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/abductors-free-12-young-girls-kidnapped-in-nigeria" style="color:#0073e6;">ransom</a> and loot villages, mainly in the northern and central parts of Africa&#39;s most populous country. Sunday&#39;s attacks are the latest in a <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/100-kidnapped-nigerian-schoolchildren-released-report" style="color:#0073e6;">wave of kidnappings</a> targeting both Christians and Muslims in Nigeria. &quot;The attackers came in numbers and blocked the entrance of the churches and forced the worshippers out into the bush,&quot; Reverend Joseph Hayab, head of the Christian Association of Nigeria for the country&#39;s north, said on Monday. &quot;The actual number they took was 172, but nine escaped, so 163 are with them,&quot; added Hayab. Ishaku Dan&#39;azumi, a traditional chief of Kurmin Wali, said 166 people were seized from three churches in the village during Sunday service. A security report prepared for the United Nations said &quot;armed bandits&quot; attacked multiple churches in the area on Sunday, abducting &quot;over 100 worshippers.&quot; Kaduna state police did not confirm the attack. But its chief told reporters after in Kaduna city that officers responded and went to the &quot;alleged scene of crime&quot; on Sunday. &quot;Till now there is no information about any attack or any kidnapping,&quot; police commissioner Muhammad Rabiu said in remarks broadcast on a local tv channel. State commissioner for internal security Sule Shauibu dismissed the &quot;narrative&quot; about the kidnapping as &quot;totally false, we do not have any evidence of such.&quot; Local chief Wali told AFP that &quot;it is only politicians that are denying the kidnapping of our people.&quot; &quot;They took away 177 people from three churches but 11 managed to escape. We now have 166 people in the hands of the kidnappers,&quot; he said. He said his village has lived under threat from gunmen &quot;who kidnap our people. This has affected our farming activities as we grow less food than we used to. &quot;We have never complained to the authorities over kidnappings in our area, as we have been the ones contributing to pay for the freedom of those kidnapped. Sometimes up to 20 are abducted, and we have never complained; we have been dealing with the problem on our own.&quot; &quot;This time we complained to the authorities because the number of those kidnapped is beyond our capacity to deal with,&quot; he said. Roughly evenly split between a mostly Christian south and Muslim-majority north, Nigeria is home to myriad conflicts, which experts say kill both Christians and Muslims, often without distinction. In November, armed gangs seized more than 300 students and teachers from a Catholic school in Niger state, with 50 escaping and the rest being released in two batches weeks later. US President Donald Trump has latched onto the insecurity in Nigeria, focusing on the killing of Christians and putting Abuja under diplomatic pressure. In late December, the United States launched strikes on what it and the Nigerian government said were militants linked to the Islamic State group in the northwestern Sokoto state. Nigeria said it approved the strikes. More attacks &#39;likely&#39;&nbsp;Kaduna is one of several states in northwest and central Nigeria that have for years been terrorized by criminal gangs who raid villages, abduct residents and burn homes after looting them. Kajuru district is a hotspot for bandit attacks in Kaduna State, which has witnessed clashes between Christian farmers and Fulani Muslim herders. The violence centers around competition for land and dwindling resources, although on the surface it falls along ethnic and religious lines. Nigeria&#39;s kidnappings are predominantly for ransom and the crisis has &quot;consolidated into a structured, profit-seeking industry&quot; that raised some $1.66 million between July 2024 and June 2025, according to a recent report by SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based consultancy.

Africa

Gangs frequently carry out mass kidnappings for ransom and loot villages, mainly in the northern and central parts of Africa's most populous country; Sunday's attacks are the latest in a wave of kidnappings targeting both Christians and Muslims in Nigeria.

Gunmen kidnap 163 worshippers from two Nigerian churches: clergy

PARIS:&nbsp;Iran&#39;s top police officer issued an ultimatum on Monday to protesters who joined what authorities have deemed &quot;riots,&quot; saying they must hand themselves in within three days or face the full force of the law. But the government also pledged to tackle economic hardships that sparked the demonstrations, which were met with a crackdown that rights groups say has left thousands dead. The protests constituted the biggest challenge to the Iranian leadership in years, with the full scale of the violence yet to emerge amid an internet blackout. National police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan on Monday urged young people &quot;deceived&quot; into joining the &quot;riots&quot; to turn themselves in and receive lighter punishment. Those &quot;who became unwittingly involved in the riots are considered to be deceived individuals, not enemy soldiers&quot; and &quot;will be treated with leniency,&quot; he told state television. Officials have said the demonstrations were peaceful before descending into chaos, fuelled by Iran&#39;s arch-foes, the United States and Israel, in an effort to destabilise the nation. The heads of the country&#39;s executive, legislative, and judicial branches on Monday all pledged to work &quot;around the clock&quot; in &quot;resolving livelihood and economic problems&quot;, according to a joint statement published by state television. But they would also &quot;decisively punish&quot; the instigators of &quot;terrorist incidents,&quot; said the statement from President Masoud Pezeshkian, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei. The scale of the crackdown has emerged piecemeal as Iran remains under an unprecedented internet shutdown that is now in its 11th day. &#39;New test&#39;&nbsp;Alarm has grown over the possibility that authorities will use capital punishment against protesters. The United Nations on Monday warned the country was using executions as &quot;a tool of state intimidation.&quot; Iran reportedly executed 1,500 people last year, UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday that authorities &quot;must break the back of the seditionists.&quot; Internet access would &quot;gradually&quot; return to normal this week, Hossein Afshin, Iran&#39;s vice president for science, technology, and the knowledge economy, said Monday on state television, after limited access briefly returned the day before. Pezeshkian criticised the internet restrictions, urging &quot;better governance&quot; of cyberspace. Images from the capital Tehran, showed buildings and billboards destroyed during the rallies. In Iran&#39;s second-largest city of Mashhad, damage to public infrastructure exceeded $15 million, Mayor Mohammadreza Qalandar Sharif told state television. Outside Iran, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of neighbouring Turkey, in his first comments on the protests, described the unrest as a &quot;new test&quot; for Tehran, pledging Turkey would &quot;stand against any initiative&quot; that would drag the region into chaos. &quot;We believe that, with a... policy prioritizing dialogue and diplomacy, our Iranian brothers will, God willing, get through this trap-filled period,&quot; he said in a televised speech.

This image shows woman using mobile phone in Tehran.

The protests constitute biggest challenge to Iranian leadership in years, with the full scale of the violence yet to emerge amid an internet blackout; National police chief urges young people "deceived" into joining the "riots" to turn themselves in and receive lighter punishment.





Iran warns protesters who joined 'riots' to surrender

ROME: One of the top designers of his era, Italy&#39;s elegance aficionado Valentino Garavani spent nearly half a century dressing the world&#39;s great beauties, from Jackie Kennedy to Princess Diana before his death Monday at age 93.&nbsp;&quot;Valentino Garavani passed away today at his Roman residence, surrounded by his loved ones,&quot; wrote his Rome-based foundation on social media.&nbsp;A funeral is planned for Friday in the Italian capital, with a lying in state on Wednesday and Thursday.&nbsp;Best known as just Valentino, the designer&#39;s creations -- many of them in &quot;Valentino red&quot; -- were worn by the who&#39;s who of the international elite, from Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn and Nancy Reagan to Sharon Stone, Julia Roberts and Gwyneth Paltrow in recent years.&nbsp;When the empress of Iran, Farah Pahlavi, escaped the country during the 1979 revolution, she was wearing a coat made by Valentino.&nbsp;Dubbed &quot;the Sheik of Chic&quot; by Women&#39;s Wear Daily in the 1980s, Valentino was celebrated by the New York Times in 1997 for his &quot;single-minded dedication to glamour.&quot;&nbsp;On the catwalk and in his own life, Valentino exuded luxury down to the last detail of his immaculate hairdo and caramel tan.&nbsp;With his five pet pug dogs and a private jet, he shuttled between his Roman palace, New York apartment, chateau near Paris, chalet in Switzerland and his 50-metre (164-foot) yacht.&nbsp;Boyhood passionNamed after the star of silent cinema Rudolph Valentino, who was known for &quot;The Sheik&quot; among many other films, Valentino Garavani was born on May 11, 1932 in Voghera, a small town south of Milan. His father owned an electric cables business.&nbsp;As a boy he asked for made-to-measure shoes and was passionate about fashion. &quot;I have had this illness since childhood,&quot; he told the Italian edition of Elle magazine in 2007. &quot;I only like beautiful things.&quot;&nbsp;&quot;I do not like seeing men without ties, in a jumper, women with vulgar make-up and shapeless trousers. It is a sign of a bad education and a lack of self-respect.&quot;&nbsp;He left home when he was 17 to study at prestigious arts and fashion schools in Paris, where the decadent French style of Christian Dior had revitalised a grim post-World War II fashion industry and would deeply impact Valentino&#39;s later aesthetic.&nbsp;In 1952 he was hired by designer Jean Desses, who dressed wealthy clients including royalty, and five years later he went to work for Guy Laroche.&nbsp;Rome fashion empireIn 1960 Valentino opened his own fashion house in Rome -- at the time a thriving star-studded city thanks to its vast Cinecitta film studios that acted as a branch of Hollywood.&nbsp;He was assisted by his lover Giancarlo Giammetti, who had business know-how and would over the years transform the company into a global brand, shepherding it through successive buy-outs.&nbsp;&quot;Being the friend, lover and employee of Valentino for more than 45 years required a lot of patience,&quot; Giammetti said in the 2008 documentary, &quot;Valentino: The Last Emperor&quot;.&nbsp;Valentino turned heads immediately with his opening collection in 1962 in Florence, which already featured what would become his signature colour -- the deep rich &quot;Valentino red&quot;.&nbsp;JackieIn his first decade Valentino dressed the likes of Anita Ekberg, Sophia Loren and Liz Taylor, but it was a meeting with Jackie Kennedy in 1964 that would prove decisive.&nbsp;He transformed her wardrobe, and in 1968 she picked an ivory-coloured lace dress from his famous white collection for her second marriage to Greek shipping mogul Aristotle Onassis.&nbsp;It caused a sensation in the United States, and in 1970, Valentino was the first Italian designer to open a shop in New York. Over the years he would elevate the &quot;Made in Italy&quot; label to global prominence.&nbsp;&quot;I love a woman who eats food, who has a body, that is a woman and not a stick,&quot; he said, quoted in The New Yorker in 2005, and underscoring his preference for sensual, figure-hugging designs.&nbsp;Emperor bows outFor the 2006 Oscar-nominated Hollywood film &quot;The Devil Wears Prada&quot;, starring Meryl Streep as a powerful fashion editor, Valentino made a cameo appearance at the recreation of one of his shows.&nbsp;A year later and nearly a half-century after his first runway, he presented his last collection in Paris before retiring in January 2008.&nbsp;&quot;Valentino transported his audience to his world, where women in bubble gum pink cocktail dresses swing bags made of feathers and have high heels tied with satin ribbons and bows,&quot; said celebrated fashion critic Suzy Menkes in her write-up of the show in the New York Times.&nbsp;In 2011 the Valentino Garavani Virtual Museum opened, offering an immersive 3D experience into the history and creations of the fashion house, and giving the world its first-ever virtual fashion museum.&nbsp;&quot;At some point, you do get to the end,&quot; Valentino told The New Yorker in 2005 as he approached retirement. &quot;And when I do, I hope I will be remembered as a man who pursued beauty whenever he could.&quot;

Europe

Legendary Italian designer Valentino Garavani, famed for glamour and signature Valentino red, dressed icons from Jackie Kennedy to Princess Diana, built a global fashion empire died in Rome aged 93.

Valentino, Italy's fashion king who pursued beauty at every turn, dies at 93

WASHINGTON: The IMF upgraded its 2026 global growth forecast Monday, citing a boost from tech investments but warning that a reevaluation of AI productivity gains or renewed trade tensions could bring disruptions.&nbsp;World economic growth is projected to hold steady at 3.3 percent this year, the International Monetary Fund said, raising its forecast by 0.2 percentage points from October. This would be the same pace of growth as in 2025.&nbsp;But the Washington-based lender cautioned in its World Economic Outlook update that &quot;the resilience exhibited so far is driven largely by a few sectors,&quot; signaling vulnerability.&nbsp;While the global economy appears to be &quot;shaking off the trade and tariff disruptions of 2025,&quot; this does not mean they had no impact, said IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas.&nbsp;Instead, the challenges were offset by &quot;tailwinds from the AI and tech investment boom,&quot; he told reporters.&nbsp;This was especially true in North America and Asia, the IMF said.&nbsp;The private sector also showed adaptability in dealing with trade shocks, while fiscal and monetary support provided boosts.&nbsp;Looming tariffsAfter he returned to the White House last January, US President Donald Trump unleashed sweeping tariffs that hit allies and competitors alike, roiling financial markets and supply chains while causing trade tensions to rocket.&nbsp;But temperatures cooled over the year as the Trump administration struck tariff deals with several partners and crucially reached a temporary truce with the world&#39;s second-biggest economy, China.&nbsp;For now, global inflation is expected to drop from an estimated 4.1 percent in 2025 to 3.8 percent in 2026.&nbsp;Trump&#39;s latest tariff threats against eight European countries in a standoff over the Danish territory of Greenland have thrown a spanner in the works.&nbsp;&quot;We see that we&#39;re in this world in which trade tensions can erupt, geopolitical tensions can erupt. And that&#39;s a downside risk for the global economy,&quot; Gourinchas told AFP during an interview in Brussels.&nbsp;Heightened uncertaintyNonetheless, the IMF said trade policy uncertainty remains much higher than in January 2025 and there could still be occasional flare-ups.&nbsp;The US Supreme Court is also due to rule on the legality of Trump&#39;s use of emergency economic powers to impose tariffs on goods from virtually all trading partners.&nbsp;The high court is widely expected to deliver a decision in early 2026, the fund said.&nbsp;The strikedown of some duties would &quot;inject another dose of trade policy uncertainty into the global economy,&quot; Gourinchas added.&nbsp;One concern is how Trump could tap other legal authorities to reimpose tariffs. Another issue is how the court ruling would impact government revenues, and therefore fiscal policies, he added.&nbsp;Besides trade, the AI boom pushing the global economy forward comes with its own risks, Gourinchas said.&nbsp;He flagged the risk of a &quot;market correction&quot; if expectations about AI gains, productivity and profitability are not realized.&nbsp;A major catalyst of recent Wall Street stock records has been bullish sentiment about artificial intelligence.&nbsp;However, if growth due to AI turns out to be unrealistic, a big drop in the stock market -- a correction -- could damage the economy if consumers pull back.&nbsp;DivergenceThe pickup in tech investment and expenditure was estimated to add around 0.3 percentage points to average annualized US GDP growth in the first three quarters of 2025.&nbsp;This offset a drag from the lengthy government shutdown late in the year.&nbsp;Gourinchas noted the divergence between the United States -- which is seeing a jump in AI tech investment -- and other advanced economies.&nbsp;The IMF estimates US growth at 2.4 percent this year, 0.3 percentage points higher than predicted in October.&nbsp;In contrast, it expects euro area growth of 1.3 percent, and a slower pace in Japan.&nbsp;Growth in China and India is also &quot;relatively strong&quot; compared with other emerging markets, Gourinchas said.&nbsp;Most of the upward revision in global growth this time was accounted for by the United States and China, the IMF said.&nbsp;Looking ahead, Gourinchas stressed the need for central bank independence, so that they can pursue their mandate of price stability and financial stability.&nbsp;He did not comment on an ongoing US Justice Department probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.&nbsp;But he noted that the importance of the US dollar for the international monetary system means it is &quot;even more important&quot; the Fed is able to do its job and do it well.

Artificial Intelligence

IMF raised its 2026 global growth outlook to 3.3%, citing AI and tech investment resilience, but warned that renewed trade tensions, tariff uncertainty, or overestimated AI productivity could trigger market corrections and economic disruption globally.

IMF lifts 2026 global growth forecast but flags AI, trade risks

KABUL:&nbsp;A blast at a Chinese restaurant in central Kabul on Monday killed at least seven people and wounded more than a dozen others, emergency services said. An AFP journalist saw police vehicles and an ambulance at the scene following the explosion on a street known for its flower sellers in the Shahr-e-Naw area. Kabul police spokesperson Khalid Zadran said the explosion occurred at the Chinese Noodle restaurant, which he said mainly served Chinese Muslims. &quot;A Chinese Muslim, Ayub, and six Afghans were killed, and several others were wounded. The blast occurred near the kitchen,&quot; Zadran said in a statement. The police spokesman, who said the cause was under investigation, had earlier said the blast hit a hotel. The Islamic State armed group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement, the SITE Intelligence Group reported, saying it was a suicide attack targeting Chinese nationals. &quot;The Islamic State in Afghanistan has placed Chinese nationals on its list of targets, especially in light of the escalating crimes committed by the Chinese government against the oppressed Uyghur Muslims,&quot; the IS statement said. Italian NGO EMERGENCY said its hospital near the targeted restaurant had received &quot;seven people dead on arrival&quot;, with 13 others admitted to the surgical department. &quot;Among the wounded are four women and a child,&quot; Dejan Panic, the NGO&#39;s country director, said in a statement. The owner of a flower shop, requesting anonymity for security reasons, said the blast happened at around 3:30 pm (1100 GMT) at the other end of the street from his business. He told AFP he heard the &quot;strong sound&quot; of a blast in the crowded area. &quot;It was an emergency situation. Everybody feared for his own life,&quot; he said. &quot;I could see at least five wounded.&quot; Within hours of the blast, the street was reopened to traffic, with cars streaming past the restaurant&#39;s covered entrance. Windows in the building opposite were smashed, according to an AFP photographer. Taliban officials have vowed to restore security to the country and are courting foreign investors to secure crucial revenue streams as foreign aid funding dries up. Chinese business visitors have flocked to Afghanistan since the Taliban government took power in 2021 for the second time. The following year, the Islamic State group claimed a deadly attack on a Kabul hotel popular with Chinese guests. China, which shares a rugged 76-kilometre (47-mile) border with Afghanistan, has close ties with the Taliban government.

At least seven people were killed and over a dozen injured in a blast in central Kabul's Shahr-e-Naw area Monday. The explosion occurred near restaurants and flower shops, injuring four women, a child, and two Chinese citizens.

Blast at Chinese restaurant in Kabul kills 7

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited to join US President Donald Trump&rsquo;s &ldquo;Board of Peace,&rdquo; aimed at resolving conflicts globally and overseeing governance and reconstruction in Gaza, the Kremlin said Monday. Moscow has for years tried to balance relations with all major players in the Middle East &mdash; including Israel and the Palestinians. But since the Israel-Hamas war and Russia&rsquo;s assault on Ukraine, Putin has moved away from Israel, boosting ties with its foes such as Iran. &ldquo;President Putin also received an invitation to join this Board of Peace,&rdquo; spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists, including AFP. Russia was seeking to &ldquo;clarify all the nuances&rdquo; of the offer with Washington, he said, without adding whether the Kremlin chief was inclined to join. &#39;Board of Peace&#39; The White House has reached out to various figures around the world to sit on the so-called &ldquo;Board of Peace,&rdquo; chaired by the US president himself. Putin has previously praised Trump&rsquo;s efforts to resolve conflicts. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s really doing a lot to resolve these complex crises, which have lasted for years, even decades,&rdquo; Putin said last October. Referring to the situation in the Middle East, Putin said: &ldquo;If we succeed in achieving everything Donald has strived for... it will be a historic event.&rdquo; The assault on Ukraine and the war in Gaza have strained Moscow&rsquo;s traditionally good relations with Israel, home to a large Russian-born community. The Kremlin has repeatedly criticised Israel&rsquo;s response to the October 7 attacks and called for restraint. &ldquo;The Gaza Strip is experiencing a humanitarian catastrophe in the full sense of the word,&rdquo; Putin was quoted as saying by the news agency RIA Novosti at a meeting with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas last May. &ldquo;Russia, as a friend of the Palestinian people, is trying to provide regular assistance,&rdquo; the Russian president added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting on the development of autonomous systems at the Aminyevskoye depot of the Moscow Metro in Moscow on January 16, 2026. (AFP)

 Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited to join US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace,” aimed at resolving conflicts globally and overseeing governance and reconstruction in Gaza, the Kremlin said Monday.

Putin invited to Trump's 'Board of Peace': Kremlin

SUZHOU: In a dimly lit workshop in eastern China, craftsman Zhang measured and shaped a block of wood into a foot as dozens of half-completed life-sized Buddha statues looked on silently. Zhang is one of a dwindling number of master woodcarvers in the village of Chongshan near the city of Suzhou, where generations of residents have made a living creating Buddhist and Taoist sculptures for display in temples across <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-embassy-hosts-beijing-job-fair-linking-students-with-chinese-firms" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">China</a>. Carving the intricate statues, which are often adorned with bright paint and gold leaf, was an art he learned from his father as a teenager. &quot;My grandpa and my grandpa&#39;s grandpa were also craftspeople,&quot; Zhang told AFP in his dusty studio. But &quot;once our generation retires, there will be no one left to carry on the tradition&quot;. He blamed a combination of unattractive pay and youngsters&#39; unwillingness to dedicate time and energy to mastering the craft. &quot;You need to do this for at least five or six years before you can set up shop on your own.&quot; Zhang said the village had received a boom in orders starting in the late 20th century, after a loosening of tight government restrictions on worship led to a resurgence of interest in religion across the country. But now, fewer people are commissioning new pieces with the market already &quot;saturated&quot; and most <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/another-historic-mosque-dragged-into-hindu-temple-narrative-storm" style="color:#0073e6;">temples</a> around the country already furnished with statues, Zhang told AFP. Gu, a 71-year-old artisan at another workshop in Chongshan, said she remembered producing secular handicrafts during the Cultural Revolution, when religion was considered an archaic relic to be eliminated from society by leader Mao Zedong&#39;s followers. &quot;At the time, the temples were all closed,&quot; Gu told AFP. Gu, who specialises in carving the heads of Buddha sculptures, proudly showed off the subtle expressions on the faces of a row of gilded figures in her storeroom. &quot;Every face has an expression, smiling or crying,&quot; Gu said. She grinned as she explained that some sculptures of the famed Buddhist monk Ji Gong even showed him smiling on one side of his face and frowning on the other. In comparison, wood carver Zhang took a more practical view of his craft. &quot;People look at us like we&#39;re artists,&quot; he said. &quot;But to us, we&#39;re just creating a product.&quot;

In this picture taken on January 16, 2026, an artisan carves a wooden Bodhisattva sculpture at a workshop in Chongshan village, Suzhou, in eastern China's Jiangsu province. (Photo by JADE GAO / AFP)

China

Traditional woodcarving of Buddhist statues in Suzhou is fading, as aging artisans cite low pay, long training, and a saturated market, leaving few young successors to preserve the craft.

 China's Buddha artisans carve out a living from dying trade

HONG KONG:&nbsp;Gold and silver hit record highs on Monday, while most equity markets fell after Donald Trump revived trade war fears by threatening several European nations with tariffs over their opposition to the United States buying Greenland. The US president has fanned already-rising geopolitical tensions this month by insisting that Washington would take control of the <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-threatens-europe-with-tariffs-over-greenland-as-protesters-rally" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">North Atlantic island</a>, citing national security needs. And on Saturday, after talks failed to resolve &quot;fundamental disagreement&quot; over the Danish autonomous territory, he announced he would hit eight countries with fresh levies over their refusal to submit to his demands. He said he would impose 10% tariffs on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland from February 1 -- rising to 25% from June 1 -- if they did not agree to the takeover. Tariffs threats&nbsp;The announcement drew an immediate response, with a joint statement from the countries saying: &quot;Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.&quot; The move also threatened a trade deal signed between the United States and European Union last year, with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul telling ARD television: &quot;I don&#39;t believe that this agreement is possible in the current situation.&quot; &lsquo;Anti-coercion instrument&rsquo;Meanwhile, aides to French President Emmanuel Macron said he would ask the EU to activate a never-before-used &quot;anti-coercion instrument&quot; against Washington if Trump makes good on his threat. This measure allows for curbing imports of goods and services into the EU, a market of 27 countries with a combined population of 450 million. Bloomberg reported member states were discussing the possibility of retaliatory levies on &euro;93 billion ($108 billion) of US goods. Trade war&nbsp;The prospect of a trade war between the global economic heavyweights shook markets, with <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/gold-soars-past-4500-as-safehaven-demand-hits-record-levels" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">safe-haven</a> assets extending gains that had come on the back of Trump&#39;s threats against Iran last week and the US ouster of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/gold-price-hits-record-high-of-438376-on-us-rate-cut-bets" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gold</a>, a key go-to in times of turmoil, hit a peak of $4,690.59, while silver struck $94.12. On equity markets, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, and Wellington retreated, though there were gains in Seoul and Taipei.&nbsp;European and US futures sank. &lsquo;Next signpost&rsquo;The dollar also retreated against its peers, with the euro, sterling, and yen all higher. &quot;The next signpost is whether this moves from rhetoric to policy, and that is why the concrete dates matter,&quot; wrote Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo Markets. &quot;On the European side, the decision path matters as much as the headline, because there is a difference between merely mentioning the anti-coercion instrument as a signal and formally pursuing it as action. &quot;Even if the immediate tariff threat gets negotiated down, the structural risk is that fragmentation keeps rising, with more politicized trade, more conditional supply chains, and higher policy risk for companies and investors.&quot; There was little major reaction to data showing China&#39;s economy expanded five percent last year, in line with its target.&nbsp; However, growth in the final three months slowed sharply from the previous quarter. Investors in Seoul and Taipei brushed off a warning from US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick that South Korean chipmakers and Taiwan firms not investing in the United States could be hit with 100% tariffs unless they boost output in the country. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Key figures at around 0230 GMT </h2>Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.0% at 53,412.88 (break) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.7% at 26,670.01 Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1% at 4,099.23 Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1628 from $1.1604 on Friday Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3397 from $1.3382 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 157.54 yen from 158.07 yen Euro/pound: UP at 86.79 pence from 86.69 pence West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.1% at $59.52 per barrel Brent North Sea Crude: FLAT at $64.15 per barrel New York - Dow: DOWN 0.2% at 49,359.33 (close) London - FTSE 100: FLAT at 10,235.29 (close)

Business

Gold, a key go-to in times of turmoil, hit a peak of $4,690.59, while silver struck $94.12; on equity markets, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore and Wellington retreated; there were gains in Seoul and Taipei.

Gold, silver hit records and stocks fall as Trump fans trade fears

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: History was made in the United States as Ghazala Hashmi was sworn in as the country&rsquo;s first Muslim female lieutenant governor, taking her oath of office on the Holy Quran. The milestone was widely welcomed as a significant step for representation and inclusion in American politics.&nbsp;She is the second Muslim American to have <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/mamdani-leftist-opponent-of-trump-sworn-in-as-new-york-mayor" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">taken the oath on the Holy Quran</a>, after the newly elected New York mayor, Zohran Mamdani.&nbsp; <iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 849px; 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=2012657303653085679&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fsections%2F&sessionId=7bdd20ae7c9fba126672b91d7986c03baad82662&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe><div class="fr-embed" style="line-height: 2;"> </div>Alongside Hashmi, Abigail &ldquo;Abby&rdquo; Spanberger became the first woman to serve as Virginia&rsquo;s governor. Jay Jones made history as the state&rsquo;s first Black attorney general.&nbsp;Hashmi&rsquo;s oath underscored the increasing presence of religious and ethnic minorities in American politics. The ceremony included an interfaith prayer breakfast, where Imam Sharif led a special prayer in honor of the occasion.&nbsp;The event drew elected officials, community leaders, and representatives from civic organizations. Senator Saddam Azlan Saleem attended, alongside groups like the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, who participated in a ceremonial parade led by community members Rizwan Jaka, Ahsanullah, and Bethany Rashid.&nbsp;In her speech, Governor Spanberger highlighted her administration&rsquo;s commitment to inclusive governance and pledged to address the everyday challenges Virginians face.

Ghazala Hashmi takes oath on Holy Quran as first Muslim female Virginia Lt Governor

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will lead a high-level Pakistani delegation to the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2026 from January 20 to 22 in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-heads-into-davos-storm-with-an-eye-on-home" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Davos-Klosters</a>, Switzerland, the Foreign Office said Tuesday.&nbsp;The prime minister will be accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, along with other senior officials. During the visit, PM Sharif is set to participate in a series of substantive engagements aimed at strengthening Pakistan&rsquo;s global economic and diplomatic outreach.&nbsp;As part of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-to-attend-world-economic-forum-in-davos-next-week-organizers" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">WEF program</a>, the prime minister will take part in the Informal Gathering of World Economic Leaders session titled &ldquo;Restoring a Spirit of Dialogue in a Divided World.&rdquo; He will also host and chair a Pakistan-specific High-Level Business Roundtable, engaging with leading international corporate executives to highlight investment opportunities in Pakistan. The premier is expected to hold interactions with several world leaders and prominent business executives. He will articulate Pakistan&rsquo;s perspective on global and regional peace and development, while underscoring the government&rsquo;s vision, reforms, and achievements in the areas of economy, trade, and investment. The World Economic Forum&#39;s annual meeting brings together political leaders, business executives, heads of international organizations, and civil society representatives to deliberate on the world&#39;s key geopolitical, economic, social, and environmental challenges.

Foreign Affairs

During the visit, the prime minister will participate in a series of substantive engagements to strengthen Pakistan’s global economic and diplomatic outreach.

PM Sharif to lead Pakistan delegation at World Economic Forum

ISLAMABAD: The Taliban government in Afghanistan has instituted a &ldquo;systematic and institutionalized campaign aimed at erasing Afghan women and girls, including through a plethora of restrictive edicts,&rdquo; United Nations experts said in a <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/01/treaty-crimes-against-humanity-states-must-give-afghan-women-central-voice" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">press release</a>&nbsp;on Monday.&nbsp; &ldquo;The de facto authorities have banned girls from education beyond grade 6, severely restricted women&rsquo;s right to work, and effectively criminalized their presence in public life,&rdquo; the press release said.&nbsp; The Taliban government has moved backwards when it comes to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/taliban-detains-woman-journalist-in-northern-afghanistan" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">rights</a>&nbsp;for women ever since it came to power in 2021. The government has ratified laws that restrict&nbsp;women&#39;s access to education,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/un-calls-on-taliban-to-lift-ban-on-afghan-women-in-its-offices" target="_blank">public-sector</a>&nbsp;jobs, and even amusement parks.&nbsp; According to a press release issued by the UN, states must ensure the meaningful participation of Afghan women leaders and gender justice activists in the imminent negotiations on the new treaty.&nbsp; &ldquo;For the treaty on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity to be a transformative instrument of justice, it cannot be drafted in a vacuum,&rdquo; the experts said.&nbsp; The experts included five members from the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett. The experts, according to the press release, said that the treaty&#39;s legitimacy would depend on whether it &ldquo;enables the meaningful participation of those who are living under the very atrocities the treaty seeks to address and prevent.&rdquo; &ldquo;States must therefore stand in solidarity with Afghan women, girls, and others targeted based on their gender by ensuring their meaningful inclusion, and with serious consideration of the lived realities on the ground in Afghanistan,&rdquo; it said. Separately, in a post on X, former Afghan parliamentarian Fawzia Koofi welcomed the statement from the UN experts, urging the &ldquo;UN sixth committee to ensure women, especially survivors, are heard and included in every step of the negotiation process on the convention on crimes against humanity.&rdquo; According to the press release, experts urged the member states to heed the calls of Afghan women and other activists &ldquo;to include the crime of gender apartheid within the new treaty.&rdquo; They said that Afghanistan stood as one of the &ldquo;clearest and most urgent examples of why inclusive survivor participation is indispensable.&rdquo; &ldquo;The voices of Afghan women in civil society are not merely testimonies; they are authoritative sources and primary experts on the oppression they face,&rdquo; they said, adding that their participation was essential to &ldquo;ensuring that international law evolves to address the realities of the atrocities unfolding today.&rdquo; They called on states to ensure the &ldquo;codification of gender apartheid as a crime against humanity, and uphold gender-responsive provisions throughout the treaty.&rdquo; &ldquo;At the same time, we urge states to strengthen other modes of support for Afghan women, girls, and gender-diverse persons, including through actively preventing normalization of the Taliban de facto regime, establishing safe, legal and long-term immigration pathways and providing sustained funding for women-led civil society,&rdquo; UN experts said. &ldquo;Naming gender apartheid is a necessary step toward dismantling it,&rdquo; they added. &ldquo;We must stand in solidarity with those on the front lines by providing a legal name for their lived reality, ensuring the international community can hold perpetrators accountable for the totality of their crimes,&rdquo; the press release concluded.

Afghanistan

The Taliban government has moved backwards when it comes to rights for women ever since they came into power in 2021; the government has ratified laws that restrict women from accessing education, public sector jobs, and even going to amusement parks. 

Taliban govt ran ‘systematic, institutionalized campaign’ to erase Afghan women: UN experts 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s kinnow exports registered strong growth despite the closure of the Afghan market, following the redirection of consignments to alternative international destinations, the Press Information Department (PID) said in a statement on Monday. According to estimates shared in the statement, Pakistan earned approximately $40 million from kinnow exports within just 45 days, covering the peak export period of December and the first half of January. &ldquo;The data shows that exports maintained a steady pace throughout December, followed by sustained momentum during the first 15 days of January &mdash; an encouraging sign amid regional trade constraints,&rdquo; the statement said. Due to the leadership of Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan, and in close coordination with the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), exporters were facilitated, and consignments were redirected to alternative international markets, it added. &ldquo;These efforts ensured continuity in shipments and protected growers and exporters from potential losses,&rdquo; the statement said. The minister emphasized that overcoming the impact of the Afghan market closure required a &ldquo;whole-of-government and whole-of-sector approach,&rdquo; and appreciated the dedication of officers and stakeholders who worked tirelessly to keep export channels open and competitive. Officials attributed the performance to focused market outreach, enhanced trade facilitation, and close engagement with exporters, the statement added. It said priority was given to expanding access to markets in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and other non-traditional destinations, while ensuring compliance with international quality and phytosanitary standards. These efforts were complemented by TDAP through targeted export promotion, coordination with overseas trade missions, and continuous support to exporters in logistics and documentation. Improved coordination between federal authorities and the private sector helped maintain shipment schedules and preserve Pakistan&rsquo;s reputation as a reliable citrus supplier, the statement added. The continued momentum in kinnow exports is being viewed as a positive signal for the broader agricultural export sector, reaffirming the government&rsquo;s commitment to export-led growth and market diversification, the statement concluded.

Culture

Efforts complemented by TDAP through targeted export promotion, coordination with overseas trade missions, and continuous support to exporters in logistics and documentation; improved coordination between federal authorities and the private sector helped maintain shipment schedules and preserve Pakistan’s reputation as a reliable citrus supplier.





Pakistan Kinnow records strong growth despite Afghan market closure

ISLAMABAD:&nbsp;The United Arab Emirates and India on Monday signed a major liquified natural gas supply agreement worth more than $2.5 billion, while reaffirming their ambition to double bilateral trade to $200 billion by 2032. The 10-year <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/drone-strike-hits-iraq-gas-complex-cuts-supply-official" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">LNG deal</a> was signed between ADNOC Gas, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, and India&rsquo;s state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. Under the agreement, ADNOC Gas will supply 0.5 million metric tons of LNG annually to India. ADNOC Gas said the contract raises the total value of agreements supported and operated by the company to more than $20 billion and positions India as its largest natural gas customer. From 2029 onward, Indian companies are expected to account for just over one-fifth of ADNOC Gas&rsquo;s annual production capacity of 15.6 million tons. The agreement was finalized on the sidelines of a visit by <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/uae-president-al-nahyan-to-visit-pakistan-on-dec-26" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">UAE President</a> Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to New Delhi, where he held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a joint statement, the two leaders welcomed the strong growth in trade since the signing of a comprehensive economic partnership agreement in 2022 and committed to doubling bilateral trade to $200 billion by 2032. Beyond energy and trade, the two sides also moved to deepen strategic cooperation. India and the UAE signed a letter of intent to begin drafting a framework for a strategic defense partnership, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said. The proposed agreement aims to expand defense collaboration across special operations, interoperability, cyberspace, and counterterrorism. Misri said the initiative was a natural progression of existing defense ties and not a response to any specific regional developments. The latest agreements underscore the rapidly expanding economic, energy, and strategic relationship between India and the UAE, reflecting growing alignment between the two countries across multiple sectors.

Middle East

The two countries aim to double bilateral trade to $200 billion by 2032.

UAE, India sign $2.5B LNG deal

Saima Ayub

Every morning tells a story. Some mornings begin with light, routine, and quiet purpose. Others begin with shouting. In many homes, the day opens not with sunlight but with raised voices. &ldquo;Hurry up.&rdquo; &ldquo;You&rsquo;re late again.&rdquo; &ldquo;How many times have I told you?&rdquo; These words are spoken quickly, often without cruelty, often with worry behind them. Yet their effect is deeper than we imagine. A child who begins his day with scolding does not leave those words at the doorstep. He carries them into the classroom, into his notebook, into his behavior, and into his sense of self. A child&rsquo;s mind in the morning is not prepared for battle. It is soft, just waking, trying to gather itself. When the first sound it hears is anger, the body reacts before the brain can reason. The heart beats faster. Muscles tighten. The mind shifts into defense. By the time the child reaches school, he is already tired. Teachers often notice this without knowing the cause. The child is distracted, restless, unusually quiet, or unusually aggressive. He forgets his books, avoids eye contact, or argues over small things. We label him careless, lazy, or illmannered. But often, he is simply recovering from his morning. Academics suffer quietly. A mind that is anxious cannot focus deeply. Reading requires calm attention. Writing requires confidence. Mathematics requires patience. A child who has been shouted at begins the day believing he is already wrong. When the teacher asks a question, he hesitates. When he makes a mistake, it confirms what he was told at home. Slowly, learning becomes a place of fear rather than curiosity. Behavior follows the same pattern. Some children withdraw. They sit silently, trying not to be noticed, afraid that attention will bring more criticism. Others do the opposite. They talk back, disturb the class, or pick fights. Both behaviors come from the same root: emotional imbalance. A shaken child will either shrink or shake others. Morning scolding shapes how a child thinks about himself for the rest of the day. Repeated often, it becomes a quiet belief: &ldquo;I am always late. I am always wrong. I always disappoint.&rdquo; Parents do not intend this. Morning is genuinely difficult. Time is short. Responsibilities are many. Yet discipline delivered in shouting loses its purpose. It may speed the child for a moment, but it slows him for the whole day. Parent&#39;s roleThere is another way, simpler but requiring effort. First, prepare the night before. School bags packed, uniforms laid out, shoes placed where they belong. A prepared morning needs fewer words. Second, wake children earlier than necessary. Rushing creates shouting. Time creates calm. Third, replace commands with reminders. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s time to wear your shoes&rdquo; works better than &ldquo;Why are you still sitting?&rdquo; Fourth, lower your voice intentionally. A calm voice demands attention more effectively than a loud one. Children mirror tone before they understand meaning. Fifth, offer one sentence of encouragement before they leave. &ldquo;Have a good day.&rdquo; &ldquo;I know you&rsquo;ll do well.&rdquo; These words travel with the child far longer than scolding ever will. Lastly, remember this: school tests knowledge, but mornings shape character. A child who leaves home feeling safe will face the world with confidence. A child who leaves home feeling small will spend the day trying to protect himself. We cannot control everything that happens to our children outside. But we control the first hour of their day. And often, that hour decides the rest. The morning does not need perfection. It needs peace.

Blogs

Morning scolding quietly shapes a child’s emotions, learning, and behavior. Anxious beginnings drain focus and confidence all day. Calm preparation, gentle reminders, time, and encouragement create mornings that help children learn, behave, and face school.

Articles by AFP

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