Muhammad Ibrahim

Ayesha Mir

DHAKA: Bangladesh swore in its new prime minister on Tuesday amid heavy security and widespread celebrations, following a landslide election that marked the country&rsquo;s first national vote since the mass 2024 uprising that ended years of &quot;authoritarian rule.&quot; The capital, Dhaka, was placed under tight security throughout the day, with major roads repeatedly opened and closed to accommodate high-profile movements. Traffic across large parts of the city was severely disrupted, leaving commuters stranded for hours. Following the oath-taking ceremony, supporters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) poured onto the streets, chanting slogans and holding celebratory rallies. Crowds also gathered outside the parliament complex, lining the road beyond the main gate to witness the historic transition. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, whose five-year term begins immediately, was sworn in by President Mohammed Shahabuddin at a ceremony held at the South Plaza of the National Parliament. Rahman, 60, is the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia and former president Ziaur Rahman. He is Bangladesh&rsquo;s first male prime minister in 35 years. Since the restoration of democracy in 1991, the office had alternated exclusively between his mother and her longtime rival Sheikh Hasina. Rahman returned to Bangladesh in December last year after 17 years in self-imposed exile in London, shortly before his mother&rsquo;s death. He has pledged to restore democratic institutions in the South Asian nation of around 170 million people. The BNP and its allies secured 212 seats in the 350-member parliament, giving the party a decisive majority. An opposition alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami won 77 seats, while smaller parties and independents filled the remainder. Of the 300 directly elected seats, voting was held in 299 constituencies. Seven women were elected directly in the 13th national election, six of them on the BNP ticket. An additional 50 seats are reserved for women and allocated proportionally among winning parties. Security, crowds and public mood Earlier in the day, the head of the Election Commission administered the oath of office separately to all newly elected lawmakers. The presence of multiple foreign delegations prompted extensive security arrangements, with checkpoints and police deployments across central Dhaka. Despite disruptions, the atmosphere around parliament was celebratory. BNP supporters waved party flags and described the day as the culmination of years of political struggle and disenfranchisement. Pakistan signals engagement Foreign dignitaries attending the ceremony included Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, an Indian delegation, and representatives from Nepal, Sri Lanka and other countries. Pakistan was represented by Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal, who said he was attending on behalf of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. &ldquo;I am here to represent the Prime Minister of Pakistan and the people of Pakistan at a very historic moment when Bangladesh is making a democratic transition and a new government is being sworn in,&rdquo; Iqbal told Pakistan TV Digital. &ldquo;Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would very much like to visit Bangladesh as early as possible,&rdquo; he added. Iqbal said Islamabad viewed the change in Dhaka as an opportunity to deepen bilateral ties, particularly in trade, investment and people-to-people engagement. &ldquo;There is tremendous opportunity to promote trade between Pakistan and Bangladesh,&rdquo; he said, noting that bilateral trade remains below $1 billion. &ldquo;We look forward to a new journey between Pakistan and Bangladesh, towards prosperity and stability, not only for our region but for our people.&rdquo; Cabinet takes shape A total of 25 full ministers and two state ministers were sworn in as part of Rahman&rsquo;s new cabinet, covering portfolios ranging from finance and home affairs to foreign policy, energy, climate change and social welfare. Key appointments include Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury to finance and planning, Salahuddin Ahmed to home affairs, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir to local government, and Khalilur Rahman, a technocrat, as foreign minister. The election was overseen by an interim administration led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, which took charge after Sheikh Hasina was toppled during the 2024 uprising. Hasina&rsquo;s Awami League party was barred from contesting the vote, and all its political activities were suspended during the transition. From exile in India, Hasina rejected the election as unfair. At home, she has been sentenced to death on charges of crimes against humanity related to hundreds of deaths during the unrest. The vote was largely peaceful and was deemed acceptable by international observers, restoring electoral legitimacy after years of disputed polls and political turmoil. With a strong parliamentary mandate, a newly sworn-in cabinet and public celebrations spilling into the streets, Bangladesh&rsquo;s new government begins its term under intense domestic expectations and renewed regional scrutiny.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairman Tarique Rahman (R) takes oath as prime minister during a swearing-in ceremony at the National Parliament building in Dhaka on February 17, 2026. (AFP)

Bangladesh

Tarique Rahman becomes 11th prime minister as Bangladesh swears in new government after landslide election, signaling democratic transition, regional engagement and renewed ties with neighbors, including Pakistan.

Bangladesh swears in new prime minister after landslide election

ISLAMABAD: In a speech delivered on the eve of the 24th anniversary of the tragic 9/11 attacks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a stark warning to Israel&#39;s adversaries across the globe, declaring that &ldquo;no place is safe&rdquo; for those who harbor or support the Palestinian group Hamas.&nbsp; The remarks followed Israeli airstrikes in Qatar, an unprecedented military action against a U.S. ally, which killed six people, including a Qatari security officer, and targeted senior Hamas leaders. The strike, carried out in Doha on Tuesday, drew swift international condemnation and escalated fears of a broader regional conflict. Netanyahu defended the move as a &ldquo;lawful act of self-defense,&rdquo; comparing Hamas&rsquo; October 7, 2023 attack on Israel to the 9/11 attacks on the United States. &ldquo;Just as the U.S. hunted down Al-Qaeda after 9/11, Israel will pursue those responsible for October 7, no matter where they hide,&rdquo; Netanyahu said. &ldquo;Expel them or bring them to justice. Otherwise, we will do it ourselves.&rdquo; He singled out Qatar as a &ldquo;safe haven&rdquo; for Hamas leadership, accusing the Gulf state of offering &ldquo;luxurious villas and full protection&rdquo; to individuals Israel considers terrorists. &ldquo;This is not harboring diplomacy; this is harboring terror,&rdquo; Netanyahu added. The remarks and the strike mark a dramatic expansion of Israel&rsquo;s doctrine of extraterritorial military operations, sending a message that Israel will act unilaterally, even in allied nations, if it believes its security is threatened. Saudi Arabia condemns &ldquo;brutal aggression&rdquo;The Israeli attack on Doha sparked a sharp rebuke from Saudi Arabia. In an annual address to the Shura Council delivered on behalf of King Salman, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman condemned what he described as Israel&rsquo;s &quot;brutal aggression&quot; against Qatar and the broader Palestinian population. &ldquo;We will stand with Qatar without limit,&rdquo; the crown prince said. &ldquo;Arab, Islamic, and international action is urgently needed to confront such aggression. These actions not only threaten Qatar but endanger the entire region&rsquo;s stability.&rdquo; He reaffirmed Saudi Arabia&rsquo;s commitment to the Arab Peace Initiative and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, calling Israel&rsquo;s recent actions &ldquo;flagrant violations of international law.&rdquo; Pakistan seeks emergency UN actionPakistan joined the chorus of international concern, labeling Israel&rsquo;s strike in Qatar a &ldquo;dangerous escalation.&rdquo; Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar announced on Wednesday that Islamabad has formally requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), along with Algeria and Somalia, to address Israel&rsquo;s &ldquo;brazen violation&rdquo; of international norms. &ldquo;The attack is an open challenge to international peace and security,&rdquo; Dar said on X. &ldquo;Israel has shown it is willing to attack any state it deems supportive of Palestinian resistance, even at the risk of global conflict.&rdquo; Dar revealed that Pakistan, in coordination with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), has also called for an urgent session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva to hold Israel accountable for its strikes on Doha. Pakistan praised Qatar&rsquo;s decision to host an Extraordinary Arab-Islamic Summit on September 15, offering to co-sponsor the gathering to forge a united response.Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also condemned the attack, describing it as a &ldquo;barbaric violation of every legal and moral boundary.&rdquo; Global tensions rise amid Gaza onslaughtThe timing of Netanyahu&rsquo;s threat, on the anniversary of 9/11, has raised alarms across the diplomatic world, with many interpreting the rhetoric as a direct challenge to the international system. Critics warn that Israel&rsquo;s expanding military actions risk triggering a wider regional war. The airstrike in Qatar came amid ongoing Israeli military aggression in Gaza, where over 64,600 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, according to local health authorities. The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate, and ceasefire negotiations have stalled. Qatari officials condemned Tuesday&rsquo;s airstrike as a &ldquo;criminal attack&rdquo; and a &ldquo;flagrant violation&rdquo; of sovereignty and international law. A government spokesperson said the strike endangered the safety of both Qatari citizens and the thousands of foreign nationals residing in the capital. Despite global outrage, Netanyahu doubled down, stating that Israel would not apologize for defending itself. &ldquo;We are not seeking war with the world,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but we will not be constrained by borders when our citizens are under threat.&rdquo; As world leaders prepare for the upcoming Arab-Islamic Summit in Doha, the question now is whether Israel&rsquo;s unprecedented action will force a diplomatic reckoning, or ignite a new front in an already volatile region.

Security

Israeli strikes in Doha draws global outrage; Pakistan urges UN action, calling it a threat to regional peace.

On 9/11 Anniversary: Israel threatens to strike 'foes' anywhere after Qatar attack

GENEVA: Iran and the United States made &quot;significant progress&quot; in talks in Switzerland on Thursday, mediators said, after the latest round of negotiations to avert a war between the longtime foes, and agreed to further discussions next week in Austria. The Oman-mediated negotiations follow repeated threats from Donald Trump to strike Iran, with the US president last Thursday giving Tehran 15 days to reach a deal. While Iran has insisted the discussions focus solely on its nuclear program, the US wants Tehran&#39;s missile program and its support for militant groups in the region curtailed. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state TV that the talks &quot;made very good progress and entered into the elements of an agreement very seriously, both in the nuclear field and in the sanctions field.&quot; He said the next round would take place in &quot;perhaps less than a week,&quot; with technical talks at the UN&#39;s nuclear agency to begin in Vienna on Monday. Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi also announced technical discussions were to be held &quot;next week in Vienna.&quot; &quot;We have finished the day after significant progress in the negotiation between the United States and Iran,&quot; he said in a post on X. The negotiations took place as the US continued its largest military buildup in the Middle East in decades. The US and Iranian delegations held a morning session at the Omani ambassador&#39;s residence amid tight security, before pausing to hold consultations with their respective capitals. A second session began around 1700 GMT. Albusaidi said after the morning session that the two sides expressed &quot;unprecedented openness to new and creative ideas and solutions.&quot; UN nuclear chief Rafael Grossi joined the negotiations, a source close to the talks told AFP, with an Iranian state TV journalist also reporting he was attending. Dramatic buildup The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Trump&#39;s negotiating team would demand that Iran dismantle its three main nuclear sites and hand over all its remaining enriched uranium to the United States. Iran&#39;s President Masoud Pezeshkian insisted ahead of the talks that the Islamic republic was not &quot;at all&quot; seeking a nuclear weapon. As part of the dramatic US buildup, the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world&#39;s largest aircraft carrier, sent to the Mediterranean this week, left a naval base in Crete on Thursday, an AFP photographer said. Washington currently has more than a dozen warships in the Middle East: one aircraft carrier &mdash; the USS Abraham Lincoln &mdash; nine destroyers and three other combat ships. It is rare for there to be two US aircraft carriers, which carry dozens of warplanes and are crewed by thousands of sailors, in the region. The developments follow massive protests in Iran during which, rights groups say, thousands of demonstrators were killed. &#39;Sinister nuclear ambitions&#39; In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Trump accused Iran of &quot;pursuing sinister nuclear ambitions&quot;, though Tehran has always insisted its program is for civilian purposes. Trump also claimed Tehran had &quot;already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas, and they&#39;re working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America.&quot; The Iranian foreign ministry called these claims &quot;big lies.&quot; The maximum range of Iran&#39;s missiles is 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles), according to what Tehran has publicly disclosed. However, the US Congressional Research Service estimates they top out at about 3,000 kilometers &mdash; less than a third of the distance to the continental United States. Trump&#39;s State of the Union accusations in Congress were delivered in the same forum in which then-president George W. Bush laid out the case for the invasion of Iraq in 2003. &#39;People would suffer&#39; Araghchi, who led the Iranian delegation at the talks, had called them &quot;a historic opportunity,&quot; adding that a deal was &quot;within reach.&quot; The US was represented by envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who is married to Trump&#39;s daughter Ivanka. The two countries held talks earlier this month in Oman, then gathered for a second round in Geneva last week. A previous attempt at negotiations collapsed when Israel launched surprise strikes on Iran last June, beginning a 12-day war that Washington briefly joined to bomb Iranian nuclear sites. In January, Tehran launched a mass crackdown on nationwide protests that posed one of the greatest challenges to the Islamic republic since its inception. Protests have since resumed around Iranian universities. Tehran residents who spoke to AFP were divided on what renewed conflict would mean for them. &quot;There would be famine and people would suffer a lot. People are suffering now, but at least with war, our fate might be clear,&quot; 60-year-old homemaker Tayebeh said.

Americas

Middle East

The Oman-mediated negotiations follow repeated threats from Donald Trump to strike Iran, with the US president last Thursday giving Tehran 15 days to reach a deal.

Iran says 'good progress' in US talks, next round within a week

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: At least 36 operatives of the Afghanistan regime were killed while several others were wounded as Pakistan continued its &ldquo;robust and effective response&rdquo; to the unprovoked firing by Taliban forces along the Pakistan&ndash;Afghanistan border.&nbsp; As tension rises between the two neighbors, Pakistan&rsquo;s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said after the Taliban&rsquo;s &ldquo;defeat and exposure in the field of action, the Afghan Taliban regime is resorting to lies and propaganda.&rdquo; &ldquo;We will never allow the Afghan Taliban regime to hide behind lies,&rdquo; the information minister said in a post on X.&nbsp; He added that at least thirty-six operatives of the Afghan Taliban regime were killed, while several others were wounded. The firing by the Afghan Taliban regime in defense of the terrorist organizations within Pakistan&#39;s border areas has once again exposed to the entire world the Afghan Taliban regime&#39;s support for terrorists, Information Minister Tarar said. He added that two Pakistani soldiers had also embraced martyrdom in the clashes, and three others were wounded. Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry also confirmed that Afghan Taliban elements carried out provocative actions at multiple points along the border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In a statement posted on social media platform X, he said the enemy&rsquo;s advance was successfully thwarted in Chitral, Khyber, Mohmand, Kurram, and Bajaur sectors. &ldquo;According to initial reports, the opposing side suffered casualties and material losses, while several posts and military equipment were destroyed,&rdquo; he said. Chaudhry said Pakistan would not compromise on its territorial integrity, sovereignty, or the protection of its citizens. &ldquo;Pakistan believes in peaceful coexistence; however, any form of aggression will be met with an immediate, effective, and robust response,&rdquo; he added. Security sources said Afghan Taliban forces opened unprovoked fire at various locations along the Pakistan&ndash;Afghanistan border, triggering a full-force counter-operation by Pakistan&rsquo;s security forces. &ldquo;Pakistan&rsquo;s security forces are giving a befitting reply to the unprovoked Afghan aggression,&rdquo; the sources said, adding that Taliban hideouts were destroyed during the counter-attack, forcing Khawarij elements to flee. According to security sources, Pakistani forces precisely targeted and destroyed an Afghan Taliban check post in the Chitral sector, while additional operations were carried out in the Nawagai sector of Bajaur, Tirah in Khyber district, Mohmand district, and the Arandu sector. Security sources said two Afghan posts were destroyed in Bajaur alone, underscoring Pakistan&rsquo;s preparedness to defend its border and respond decisively to any hostile action. &ldquo;Pakistan&rsquo;s security forces are fully prepared to protect the border and will give a strong and immediate response against any kind of aggression,&rdquo; the sources said. Security analysts say the latest clashes reflect a dangerous shift along Pakistan&rsquo;s western frontier. &ldquo;What Pakistan is facing on the western border is not just terrorism, it is war,&rdquo; said Brigadier (retd) Nadir Mir, a defence analyst, speaking on Pakistan TV. &ldquo;This is not the action of a terrorist group alone. The Kabul regime, along with terrorist elements, is unleashing war against Pakistan.&rdquo; Visual material circulated by Afghan security-linked accounts showed armoured vehicles moving through rugged, mountainous terrain at night, with flashes of gunfire visible. Pakistan TV Digital could not independently verify the location, timing, or authenticity of the footage. The exchanges along the roughly 2,600-kilometre Pakistan&ndash;Afghanistan border mark the latest flare-up threatening a fragile ceasefire that followed deadly clashes last October. Pakistan said the current escalation follows a series of suicide bombings inside the country, including attacks during the holy month of Ramzan. According to the information ministry, Pakistan recently conducted precision airstrikes on seven terrorist camps and hideouts along the border after authorities established links between the attackers and Afghanistan-based militant leadership. The ministry said the strikes targeted camps linked to Fitna al Khwarij, Pakistan&rsquo;s term for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, and Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), groups Islamabad says were responsible for attacks, including a bombing at a mosque in Islamabad and incidents in Bajaur and Bannu. Pakistan has repeatedly urged Afghanistan&rsquo;s interim authorities to take verifiable action to prevent the use of Afghan territory for cross-border terrorism. Despite these efforts, officials said no substantive action was taken, leaving Pakistan with no option but to act to safeguard its citizens and national security. This is a developing story. Please refresh the page to see updated information as it becomes available.

Islamabad says security forces engage Afghan Taliban positions after unprovoked cross-border fire, reporting damage to multiple posts and equipment while asserting its actions aim to protect sovereignty and civilian security along frontier areas.

36 Taliban killed as Pakistan responds to unprovoked Afghan border fire

CHENNAI: Defending champions India thrashed Zimbabwe by 72 runs in their Super Eights T20 World Cup match on Thursday, a result that guaranteed South Africa a place in the semi-finals.&nbsp;India posted a mammoth 256-4 and then restricted Zimbabwe to 184-6 in Chennai to make their clash with West Indies on Sunday a winner-takes-all decider for the last semi-final berth.&nbsp;South Africa hammered the West Indies by nine wickets earlier in Ahmedabad.&nbsp;At Chennai&#39;s M.A. Chidambaram stadium, opener Abhishek Sharma blasted 55 and Hardik Pandya an unbeaten 50 as India piled up the second highest total in the history of the tournament after being invited to bat first.&nbsp;Zimbabwe, who stunned Australia and Sri Lanka to reach the Super Eights, were never in the chase despite a brisk start as the asking rate kept rising.&nbsp;Opener Brian Bennett was not out 97, the highest individual score by a Zimbabwean in T20 World Cup history, as his side exited the semi-final reckoning with a game still to play.&nbsp;India&#39;s left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh took 3-24 from his four overs.&nbsp;Zimbabwe&#39;s bowlers conceded 510 runs in 40 overs in two Super Eights matches after West Indies posted 254-6 against the tournament&#39;s surprise packages on Monday.&nbsp;Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza won the toss and opted to field for the second match running, and again saw his bowlers hit to all parts.&nbsp;Left-handed Abhishek, who had struggled with three ducks in four innings in this tournament, hit four fours and four sixes to return to form.&nbsp;Pandya and left-handed Tilak Varma, who hit a 16-ball 44, put on an unbeaten stand of 84 at the end.&nbsp;But India ended just short of the T20 World Cup record 260-6 made by Sri Lanka against Kenya in 2007.&nbsp;Wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson returned to the team to break the left-handed opening combination of Abhishek and Ishan Kishan and handed India a flying start.&nbsp;Samson fell for 24 off Blessing Muzarabani but Abhishek kept up the charge, reaching his fifty off 26 balls in a 72-run stand with Kishan (38).&nbsp;Abhishek fell to Tinotenda Maposa, caught at long-on, but his knock laid the platform for a big total.&nbsp;Skipper Suryakumar Yadav hit 33 off 13 balls.&nbsp;Pandya finished with a flourish with two sixes off Brad Evans to get to 50 on the final ball of the innings.

Cricket

India beat Zimbabwe by 72 runs in Chennai after posting 256-4, powered by Abhishek Sharma’s 55 and Hardik Pandya’s unbeaten 50. Zimbabwe managed 184-6 despite Brian Bennett’s 97, confirming South Africa’s T20 World Cup semi-final berth.

India thrash Zimbabwe in T20 World Cup, S.Africa into semi-finals

AHMEDABAD: South Africa captain Aiden Markram led from the front with an unbeaten 82 as South Africa all but secured a T20 World Cup semi-final berth with a brutal nine-wicket thrashing of the West Indies in Ahmedabad on Thursday.&nbsp;After the West Indies fought back from deep trouble at 83-7 to post 176-8, Markram and Quinton de Kock put on 95 for the first wicket to set the platform for a thumping victory.&nbsp;South Africa raced to their target with 23 balls to spare, scoring 177-1. Ryan Rickleton was not out on 45 at the end.&nbsp;&quot;The wicket got really good again for batting, it was slightly tacky earlier when we bowled,&quot; said Markram.&nbsp;&quot;Steep bounce came from the tackiness. Fortunately, we ended up on the right side of the toss. The guys bowled really well up front to take wickets.&quot;&nbsp;South Africa are the only unbeaten side, having also dismantled the pre-tournament favourites India by 76 runs in the Super Eights.&nbsp;An India win against Zimbabwe in Chennai later Thursday will guarantee South Africa&#39;s progress to the last four.&nbsp;It will also make India&#39;s clash against the West Indies in Kolkata on Sunday a winner-takes-all decider for the final semi-final berth.&nbsp;Markram reached fifty off 27 balls and hit four sixes and seven fours.&nbsp;De Kock scored 47 off 24 balls, with four sixes and Rickleton hit two sixes in his 28-ball knock in an utterly dominant display of batsmanship.&nbsp;Record standThe West Indies earlier needed a record eighth-wicket partnership by Romario Shepherd and Jason Holder to set a target of 177 after an early collapse.&nbsp;The pair came together with their team in deep trouble at 83-7 and put on 89, the highest eighth-wicket stand in the history of T20 internationals.&nbsp;Shepherd was unbeaten on 52 off 37 balls with four sixes. Holder was run out off the penultimate ball of the innings for 49 off 31 balls with three maximums.&nbsp;&quot;Very important to get a big score, and losing so many wickets in the powerplay cost us,&quot; said West Indies captain Shai Hope.&nbsp;&quot;We were 40-50 runs short. Must commend the guys in the bottom half for giving us a chance.&quot;&nbsp;Both teams came into the match with a perfect five wins in the T20 World Cup so far.&nbsp;South Africa have played four of their five matches in Ahmedabad and captain Aiden Markram had no hesitation in opting to bowl when he won the toss.&nbsp;The West Indies took 17 off the first over, bowled by left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj.&nbsp;Kagiso Rabada&#39;s introduction halted their charge as Hope (16) edged his second ball to keeper Quinton de Kock.&nbsp;Shimron Hetmyer was dropped at mid-on by Corbin Bosch off the next delivery, but lasted only two more when he miscued to midwicket where Maharaj snapped up the catch.&nbsp;Lungi Ngidi got in the act in his first over when Brandon King on 21 edged to De Kock and two balls later Roston Chase chopped on.&nbsp;From 29-0 after two overs, the West Indies had slumped to 43-4 after four.&nbsp;Ngidi took 3-30 from his four overs, Rabada 2-2 and Bosch 2-31.

South Africa captain Aiden Markram struck an unbeaten 82 to lead the South Africa to a commanding nine-wicket victory over West Indies , comfortably chasing 177 to book their place in the T20 World Cup semi-finals.

South Africa thrash West Indies in T20 World Cup statement win

BERLIN: At least 7,667 people died or went missing last year on migration routes around the world, but the true death toll is likely higher, the UN&#39;s migration agency reported Thursday. The figure was down on 2024 when almost 9,200 deaths were recorded, but the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said numbers nonetheless reflected the &quot;global scale&quot; of the crisis faced by migrants. &quot;The continued loss of life on migration routes is a global failure we cannot accept as normal,&quot; said IOM Director General Amy Pope. She argued for safer legal routes, adding: &nbsp;&quot;These deaths are not inevitable.&quot; Funding cuts for aid groups, crackdowns on humanitarian NGOs and limited access to data are making it more difficult to accurately track deaths, the UN agency said. Sea crossings such as the perilous journey across the Mediterranean Sea from Africa to Europe remain among the deadliest routes for migrants, the report said. At least 2,108 people went missing while trying to cross the Mediterranean in 2025, and another 1,047 died or vanished while trying to cross to Spain&#39;s Canary Islands, according to IOM. The actual figures are &quot;likely higher&quot;, it said. The first two months of 2026 have already seen &quot;an unprecedented number of migrant deaths&quot; in the Mediterranean, the agency warned, with 606 people recorded dead on the crossing as of Tuesday -- even as arrivals in Italy decline sharply. &quot;There are reports of hundreds more missing at sea that cannot yet be verified,&quot; IOM said. The organization said the remains of 23 people had been washed up on southern Italian and Libyan coasts in the past two weeks. Globally, the decline in the number of dead and missing last year was partly due to fewer people attempting dangerous migration routes, particularly in the Americas, according to the agency. Lower numbers were trying to get through the US-Mexico border or cross the Darien jungle between Colombia and Panama, the organization said. The IOM recorded the fewest deaths &ndash; 409 &ndash; since the reports began in 2014 in the Americas last year, although final numbers will come later in the year.

Migrants including children picked up at sea while attempting to cross the English Channel, are escorted off a National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) Lifeboat upon arrival in Ramsgate, southeast England, on February 25, 2026. (AFP)

Europe

The figure was down on 2024 when almost 9,200 deaths were recorded, but the International Organization for Migration said numbers nonetheless reflected the "global scale" of the crisis faced by migrants.

Nearly 8,000 died or vanished on migrant routes in 2025: UN 

MOSCOW: Moscow is in no hurry to reach a deal to end the war in Ukraine, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggested in comments to state media on Thursday.&nbsp;Negotiators from both countries were in Geneva on Thursday for separate talks with US officials, part of a fraught negotiation process being pushed by President Donald Trump in a bid to end the fighting.&nbsp;Several rounds of discussions have failed to clinch a deal, with Moscow insisting on hardline territorial and political demands that Kyiv has ruled out as tantamount to capitulation.&nbsp;Top officials in Russia on Thursday again <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/ukraine-marks-four-years-since-russian-invasion" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">pushed back</a> on the idea a deal was close.&nbsp;&quot;Have you heard anything from us about deadlines? We have no deadlines, we have tasks. We are getting them done,&quot; state news agencies quoted Lavrov as saying.&nbsp;Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said it was too early to make &quot;forecasts&quot; or say at what stage the peace process was at.&nbsp;&quot;It would be a big mistake to try right now to define some kind of stage or make some kind of forecasts. I don&#39;t want to make those mistakes,&quot; he told state media.&nbsp;Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly said a meeting with Russia&#39;s Vladimir Putin is needed to agree on the key sticking points, like the fate of territory in eastern Ukraine that Russia is fighting to seize control of.&nbsp;Peskov repeated on Thursday that Russia will not agree to a summit until the very end of talks, and only to sign off on a deal thrashed out between the negotiating teams.

Moscow signaled it is not rushing Ukraine deal, as Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, while talks in Geneva with United States officials continue under Donald Trump’s push to end fighting.

Russian says 'no deadlines' to end Ukraine war

HANGZHOU: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ended his two-day visit to China on Thursday in the tech hub of Hangzhou, identifying &quot;challenges that we must overcome together&quot; after meeting President Xi Jinping and announcing an Airbus deal. Merz&#39;s first official visit to China came as Berlin and Beijing seek to build on decades-old economic ties to weather global uncertainty sparked by US President Donald Trump&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-announces-hike-in-us-global-tariff-rate-from-10-to-15" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">tariff blitz</a>&nbsp;and erratic foreign policies. China, the world&#39;s number two economy, overtook the United States last year to become Germany&#39;s biggest trade partner. At the same time, Berlin regards the Asian country as a systemic rival to the West. The German leader was accompanied in China by a large delegation of business leaders, including executives of auto giants Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes. Merz visited a Mercedes plant in Beijing on Thursday morning, where he was shown a demonstration of self-driving vehicles. He then travelled to Hangzhou, where he visited the sites of Germany&#39;s Siemens Energy and Chinese&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/japan-introduces-ai-robot-monk-to-the-public" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">humanoid robot</a>-maker Unitree. The eastern city is home to several other major Chinese tech companies like AI unicorn&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/inside-chinas-buzzing-ai-scene-year-after-deepseek-shock" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">DeepSeek</a>&nbsp;and e-commerce giant Alibaba. European business leaders, who broadly complain China is flooding the EU market with cheap goods, have urged Merz to keep a cavernous trade imbalance at the top of his agenda. Germany&#39;s trade deficit with China hit a record $105 billion last year. &quot;We have good cooperation in China. However, there are also some challenges that we must overcome together,&quot; Merz said Thursday, singling out &quot;issues relating to competition&quot; and &quot;high capacity in China&quot;. Merz said consultations between his government and Beijing &ndash; interrupted by political developments in Berlin and the pandemic &ndash; would take place &quot;at the beginning of next year at the latest, possibly even this year&quot;, with China as host. &#39;New levels&#39; Following talks with Xi and top Chinese leaders in the capital on Wednesday, Merz said that China had agreed to purchase up to 120 Airbus aircraft, adding that it &quot;demonstrates how worthwhile such trips can be&quot;. Other contracts were in the pipeline, Merz added. The two leaders stressed their commitment to developing closer strategic relations, with Xi telling Merz he was willing to take relations to &quot;new levels&quot;. Merz said he had also touched on the sensitive topic of Taiwan, the self-ruled island China claims as its territory and which it has not ruled out the use of force to annex. Any &quot;reunification&quot; must be done peacefully, Merz said. He also discussed the Ukraine war with Xi, who, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua, said diplomacy was &quot;key to the issue&quot;. Merz said he urged Beijing to use its influence over Moscow, such as choking off the supply of items with potential military uses. &quot;I hope that in my talks I was able to foster a little understanding for the fact that the leadership of this country should also contribute to ending the war in Ukraine,&quot; Merz told reporters on Thursday before departing for Berlin. Merz was the latest in a string of Western leaders to court Beijing recently. He follows Britain&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/britains-starmer-hails-good-progress-after-meeting-chinas-xi" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Keir Starmer</a>, France&#39;s Emmanuel Macron and Canada&#39;s Mark Carney, as they recoil from the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-announces-hike-in-us-global-tariff-rate-from-10-to-15" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">mercurial policies</a>&nbsp;of Trump, who is also expected to visit from March 31.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz gives a statement at Siemens Energy plant in Hangzhou, in eastern China’s Zhejiang Province on February 26, 2026. (AFP)

Asia

Merz's first official visit to China comes as Berlin and Beijing seek to build on decades-old economic ties to weather global uncertainty sparked by US President Donald Trump's tariff blitz and erratic foreign policies.

Merz says Germany, China must overcome trade gaps 'together'

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Federal Minister for Interior and Narcotics Control, Mohsin Naqvi, announced that Pakistan, Italy, Spain, and Greece have agreed on a coordinated strategy to fight illegal migration, human smuggling, and drug trafficking, including a joint policy framework and a rapid-response mechanism. Naqvi, in a post on X on Thursday, wrote that he had a productive meeting in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-security-agencies-seize-over-135-million-in-nationwide-antismuggling-operations" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rome</a>&nbsp;with his counterparts from Italy, Spain, and Greece at the 4-nation&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-navy-ship-seizes-drugs-worth-nearly-1-bn-in-arabian-sea" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">conference</a>&nbsp;on curbing illegal migration. <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" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2026935215914975708&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=359767f66ae58c6eb6812d51c17a3cb8284785ef&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 652px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>&ldquo;Pakistan, Italy, Spain &amp; Greece agreed on a coordinated strategy against&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-customs-seizes-266000-worth-of-smuggled-goods-near-afghan-border" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">illegal migration</a>, human smuggling and narcotics, including a joint policy framework and rapid-response mechanism.&rdquo; &ldquo;European partners appreciated Pakistan&rsquo;s strong actions, noting a 47% reduction in illegal migration, and agreed on enhanced EU-supported capacity building,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;Consensus also reached on promoting legal pathways to effectively counter illegal migration, repatriation of criminals to face the law, and holding the next meeting in Pakistan later this year,&rdquo; he said.

Foreign Affairs

Pakistani interior minister says ‘European partners appreciated Pakistan’s strong actions, noting a 47% reduction in illegal migration, and agreed on enhanced EU-supported capacity building.’

Pakistani, European ministers agree on coordinated strategy to combat illegal migration

PARIS: The United Nations announced Thursday the approval of the first carbon credits under a global market aimed at reducing emissions, a mechanism that has faced scrutiny over greenwashing concerns. The UN-run market, established under the Paris climate accord, allows companies and countries to offset their excess emissions by financing projects that cut greenhouse gases in other nations. Critics fear that if set up poorly, such schemes can undermine the world&#39;s efforts to curb global warming by allowing countries or companies to greenwash &mdash; or overstate &mdash; their emissions reductions. The first credits issued under the new carbon market involve a project in Myanmar that distributes efficient wood-burning cook stoves that reduce harmful household air pollution and ease pressure on local forests, the UN&#39;s climate agency said. Implemented in partnership with a South Korean company, the project will generate credits that will count towards the climate targets of South Korea and Myanmar. The UN climate agency said the credited emissions reductions are 40%&nbsp;lower than under a previous scheme as more conservative calculations are applied under the new Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM). &quot;Our focus is on building confidence in this market from the outset, and this first issuance shows that the system is working as intended,&quot; Jacqui Ruesga, vice chair of the UN body supervising the PACM, said in a statement. More than two billion people around the world cook using open fires or inefficient stoves fueled by kerosene, coal or biomass such as wood, crop waste or dung, according to the World Health Organization. The resulting air pollution kills millions of people each year. The stoves in the Myanmar project burn woody biomass more efficiently, meaning it needs less fuel and spews far less smoke inside the home. But at current rates, only 78% of the population is expected to have access to clean cooking by 2030, the WHO said. &quot;Clean cooking protects health, saves forests, cuts emissions and helps empower women and girls, who are typically hardest hit by household air pollution,&quot; UN climate chief Simon Stiell said. &quot;The opportunities presented by this UN carbon market across all regions are vast, particularly now that strong environmental safeguards, robust standards, and a clear system for redress are in place to ensure integrity, inclusiveness and efficiency,&quot; he said. The 2015 Paris Agreement, which commits the world to limiting warming to well below 2C and ideally at 1.5C, also envisaged that countries could take part in cross-border trade of carbon reductions. New rules were agreed at the UN&#39;s COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan in 2024 for the carbon market mechanism. At the time, Greenpeace said the agreement left loopholes that would allow fossil fuel companies to continue polluting. But other environmentalists said that, while not perfect, it provided some clarity that was absent from global efforts to regulate carbon credits.

Smoke Stacks. (Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Color Photographs.)

Climate

The UN-run market, established under the Paris climate accord, allows companies and countries to offset their excess emissions by financing projects that cut greenhouse gases in other nations.

UN approves first carbon credits under Paris Agreement

ISLAMABAD:&nbsp;Pakistan marked 19 years since the Samjhauta Express bombing, saying justice remains elusive for the 68 people killed in the 2007 attack, including 44 Pakistanis, according to the Foreign Office on Thursday. At a weekly briefing, Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi expressed &ldquo;severe disappointment&rdquo; over India&rsquo;s &ldquo;callousness&rdquo; toward victims&rsquo; families. He said they continue to wait for justice nearly two decades later. He condemned the acquittal of four individuals, including Swami Aseemanand, whom he said publicly confessed to masterminding the attack, Lieutenant Colonel Purohit and Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur. The spokesperson said the exoneration confirmed India&rsquo;s role as an &ldquo;official and political accomplice&rdquo; in the attack carried out on its soil. Pakistan demands a fair trial for the perpetrators and abettors, he said. He termed the exoneration an example of &ldquo;Indian duplicity and state sponsorship of terrorism against Pakistan.&rdquo; He added that &ldquo;Hindutva extremism and saffron terror&rdquo; behind the attack had intensified under India&rsquo;s current government. <h3 style="line-height: 2;">Afghanistan strikes Andrabi confirmed intelligence-based, selective strikes on seven militant camps and hideouts along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The action followed recent terrorist attacks in Bajaur and Bannu, he said.</h3> The spokesperson stated the strikes were proportional and carefully planned. They targeted identified militant sites with &ldquo;utmost caution&rdquo; to prevent civilian harm. He described reported remarks from Afghan authorities about Pakistan&rsquo;s law-and-order situation as &ldquo;discouraging and disappointing.&rdquo; Attacks have increased over the past 12 to 18 months since the Taliban takeover, he said, as that militants operating from Afghanistan conduct attacks against Pakistan. Pakistan will respond &ldquo;swiftly, strongly&rdquo; in exercise of its right to self-defense, he said. Security forces remain vigilant as there is currently no structured dialogue with Kabul, and no decision has been taken on contributing troops to an ISF force discussed in Washington. <h3 style="line-height: 2;">Kashmir Andrabi condemned the extrajudicial killing of three Kashmiri youths in the Kishtwar district of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). He called it another manifestation of &ldquo;state-sponsored terrorism.&rdquo;</h3> He referred to the Kunan Poshpora incident as a grave human rights violation and said perpetrators remain unaccounted for. He stated that Pakistan will continue urging the international community and `UN human rights bodies to hold India accountable and seek a peaceful resolution in line with UN Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. He also said Pakistan expects &ldquo;foolproof, complete security&rdquo; for its diplomats and nationals in Afghanistan, adding that Islamabad extends the same seriousness to Afghan diplomats in Pakistan. <h3 style="line-height: 2;">Israel occupation in West Bank Andrabi stated that Pakistan will outline its stance on Israel&rsquo;s recent move to annex parts of the occupied West Bank at an upcoming ministerial meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).&nbsp;</h3>&nbsp;He said that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will represent Pakistan at the OIC&#39;s Open-Ended Extraordinary Ministerial Session, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 26-28.&nbsp; The meeting &ldquo;has been convened to consider the illegal decision by the Israeli occupation authorities aimed at expanding settlements, pursuing annexation, and attempting to impose Israel&#39;s sovereignty over the occupied West Bank,&rdquo; the spokesperson said. Dar will present Pakistan&rsquo;s case during the session. <div class="fr-embed" style="line-height: 2;"><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fphoto.php%3Ffbid%3D1374272581405477%26set%3Da.251429287023151%26type%3D3&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="748" style="border:none;overflow:hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div> In a Facebook post, the Foreign Office said Dar will &ldquo;hold sideline meetings with counterparts from OIC&rdquo; member states. Andrabi said Israel&rsquo;s measures in the occupied West Bank have drawn condemnation from the OIC and other Muslim states, as well as &ldquo;European and other world countries,&rdquo; including Brazil, France, Denmark, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. &ldquo;In this statement, we described these changes as wide-ranging and amounting to reclassifying Palestinian land as so-called Israel state land, accelerating illegal settlement activity, and further entrenching Israeli administration,&rdquo; he said. Restating Pakistan&rsquo;s long-standing position on Israel&rsquo;s occupation of Palestinian lands, Andrabi said the country issued &ldquo;a joint statement&rdquo; with &ldquo;eight other countries&rdquo; condemning a statement by the US ambassador to Israel suggesting it would be acceptable for Israel to exercise control over territories belonging to Arab states. He said Egypt, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine, along with the OIC Secretariat and the League of Arab States, &ldquo;strongly condemned&rdquo; the remarks. The US envoy&rsquo;s comment was &ldquo;dangerous, inflammatory, and clear violation of international law and the UN Charter,&rdquo; Andrabi said. He added that it threatened regional security and stability. Qatar Separately, Andrabi addressed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif&rsquo;s recent state visit to Qatar at the invitation of the emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. PM Sharif met the Qatari emir and discussed enhancing cooperation in several areas, including economic ties. Both sides agreed on resolving international disputes peacefully through &ldquo;dialogue&rdquo; and &ldquo;diplomacy.&rdquo; Sheikh Tamim will &ldquo;visit Pakistan later this year,&rdquo; he added. During the visit, PM Sharif also met Qatar&rsquo;s defense minister, Sheikh Saud Al Thani, who expressed interest in expanding defense cooperation between the two countries and &ldquo;appreciated the professionalism and expertise of Pakistan&#39;s armed forces.&rdquo;

Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi speaking at a weekly press briefing in Islamabad, on February 26, 2026. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs/X)

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will represent Pakistan at the Open-Ended Extraordinary Ministerial Session of the OIC.

Articles by Muhammad Ibrahim