Ex-British defence official Patrick Turner has been appointed as head of the NATO Representation in Ukraine (NRU). On Wednesday, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced Turner would take up the role in Kyiv in September 2024. He previously served as NATO’s assistant secretary-general for operations and as assistant secretary-general for defence policy and planning, as well More
US President Joe Biden has once again contracted corona virus, showing mild symptoms, the White House said on Thursday. Biden, 81, was vaccinated and boosted after testing positive for Covid-19, the BBC quoted his press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre as saying. After visiting supporters in Las Vegas and speaking at an event, the president scrapped a More
Sixteen people were killed after a fire broke out at a shopping mall in southwest China on Wednesday, according to state media. Chinese investigators suspect construction work sparked the fire in the southwestern city of Zigong. The fire broke out around 6:00 p.m. Wednesday and took almost 10 hours to be extinguished, state media reported. More
Pakistan has summoned the deputy head of the Afghan mission in Islamabad over a suicide attack on the Bannu Cantonment in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The current interim government in Kabul has repeatedly denied Afghanistan’s involvement in fuelling instability in Pakistan. On Monday, militants attacked the Bannu Cantonment and killed eight military personnel, according to ISPR. More
The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) says two bureaus have failed to provide enough documents to determine that Afghanistan programmes complied with States vetting guidance. In a report on Wednesday, the US federal watchdog said three of the five State bureaus that had active awards in Afghanistan from March 1, 2022, through November More
At least 57 Palestinians have been killed and several others wounded in fresh Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip, a media report said on Wednesday. Reuters quoted Palestinian health officials as saying: “Israeli forces battled Hamas-led fighters in several parts of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday.” At least 57 people were killed in Israeli bombardments More
Centres for the distribution of electronic identity cards will be set up in several foreign countries, says the National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA). An NSIA team recently set in motion the process of issuing electronic ID cards to Afghans in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said Mohammad Haleem Rafi, spokesman for the authority. NSIA More
Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party Chairman Mahmood Khan Achakzai has been acquitted in a land-grab case. A division bench of the Balochistan High Court (BHC), comprised of Justice Mohammad Ejaz Swati and Justice Amir Nawaz Rana, threw out the case on Monday. The court directed the provincial government to quash the FIR filed against the Pakhtun More
People-to-people contacts are the foundation of its historical relationship with Afghanistan, says India. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said India was supporting Afghans with humanitarian assistance, including food, essential medicines and pesticides. He told Kazinform News Agency in Astana: “I think some of the concerns raised at the SCO summit are very valid. And we More
Eight security personnel and 10 alleged militants have been killed in Monday’s suicide attack in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military said on Tuesday. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the 10 terrorists tried to enter Bannu Cantonment in the early hours of Monday, but their effort was “effectively thwarted” by security personnel. Frustrated by More
