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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday repatriated 11 of its nationals along with 20 Iranian citizens from vessels seized by the United States on the high seas, in a coordinated operation involving Singapore, Thailand and Iran amid continued regional diplomatic engagement.&nbsp;Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar announced the repatriation in a statement posted on X, saying all individuals were safe and in good condition.&nbsp;&ldquo;All individuals are in good health and high spirits,&rdquo; Dar said.&nbsp;According to the statement, the group traveled from Singapore to Bangkok before boarding a flight to Islamabad late Friday.&nbsp;Pakistani authorities were then expected to facilitate the onward return of the Iranian nationals to Iran.&nbsp;The development comes amid heightened diplomatic coordination across the region following months of tensions linked to the Iran-US conflict, maritime security concerns and disruptions in international shipping routes.&nbsp;Dar said the welfare of Pakistanis abroad, particularly those facing distress situations, remained the government&rsquo;s &ldquo;highest priority.&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;Our Iranian brothers will then be facilitated to return to their homeland,&rdquo; the statement said.&nbsp;The foreign minister thanked the governments of Singapore and Thailand for supporting the repatriation process and acknowledged the role of Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi for &ldquo;reposing trust in Pakistan&rdquo; regarding the return of the Iranian nationals.&nbsp;Dar also expressed appreciation to the United States for &ldquo;close coordination&rdquo; in facilitating the return of the 31 Pakistani and Iranian nationals.&nbsp;&ldquo;My heartfelt thanks to my colleagues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior, and Pakistan&rsquo;s missions in Singapore and Thailand for their timely coordination and dedicated efforts in ensuring the smooth, safe, and successful completion of the repatriation process,&rdquo;&nbsp;

Foreign Affairs

Pakistan repatriated 11 of its nationals along with 20 Iranian citizens from vessels seized by the United States on the high seas, in a coordinated operation involving Singapore, Thailand and Iran amid continued regional diplomatic engagement.

Pakistan repatriates nationals from US-seized vessels: Foreign minister

SINGAPORE: Palestinian student Razan Shawar has travelled for 24 hours to showcase her team&#39;s AI-powered invention at World Robot Olympiad in Singapore, telling AFP innovation not war should be why people hear about her country. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The 15-year-old high school student from Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank said she dreams of making &quot;something big, so the world can know that the one who did this is Palestinian&quot;.&nbsp;Together with the rest of the Palestinian delegation, she made the journey from the West Bank via Jordan and Dubai to attend the three-day global robotic tournament in Singapore that ended on Friday.&nbsp;More than 1,500 competitors from over 90 countries and territories gathered in the Southeast Asian city for the event, aimed at harnessing the innovative spirit of the world&#39;s youth to find solutions for pressing challenges.&nbsp;Malaysia stamped its class in the tournament, winning a third of the contested medals in various categories, according to an AFP tally.&nbsp;Hong Kong, Costa Rica, Canada and the Philippines were also among the first-place awardees.&nbsp;For the Palestinian students, who left without a medal, it was important to represent their nation on the global stage.&nbsp;Palestinian delegations have attended World Robot Olympiads since 2014, but the Israel-Hamas war meant they did not send representatives at all to the 2023 edition in Panama, and since then, no participants from the Gaza Strip only the West Bank.&nbsp;Palestinians canCompeting in the Future Innovators senior category, this year&#39;s Palestinian delegation created a robot that can be used to boost agriculture production.&nbsp;The &quot;Agribot&quot;, supported by artificial intelligence technology, works by measuring six key soil parameters like moisture, acidity and nutrients using sensors.&nbsp;It takes precise readings with its mechanical arm, and the analysis can help farmers increase yield and reduce waste.&nbsp;The students now aim to make it easily available to farmers who mostly rely on traditional methods, said Razan.&nbsp;Jehad Abudayyeh, 16, said that agriculture &quot;is so important in our country because it&#39;s a way of life. I&#39;m very happy that my project will help them.&quot;&nbsp;Team member Mustafa Assi, who is also 16 and hopes to become an IT engineer, dreams of a more conducive environment for technology to thrive.&nbsp;&quot;I hope my country will be safer and the war ends,&quot; he said.&nbsp;Razan hopes to shine a light on other aspects of Palestinian life apart from conflict.&nbsp;&quot;We want to show the world that we are not just under war, that we can stand here and show people and the world that we can do this, we can be in this competition,&quot; she said.&nbsp;&quot;We made our project, we&#39;re proud of it,&quot; she added.&nbsp;&quot;Palestine has students who aim to be better, and show the world that Palestinians can.&quot;

Artificial Intelligence

Palestinian teens travelled from the West Bank to Singapore’s World Robot Olympiad, showcasing their AI-powered “Agribot” to highlight innovation over conflict. Though medal-less, they aimed to represent their nation proudly and show that Palestinian youth can excel globally.

Articles tagged with "Singapore"

Pakistan repatriates nationals from US-seized vessels: Foreign minister

Big dreams for Palestinian teens at Singapore robot fest

Pakistan repatriates nationals from US-seized vessels: Foreign minister