United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says sustainable humanitarian aid to Gaza would be increased. “I welcome the start of the implementation of the ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza,” Guterres stated in a post on X. He offered the UN’s willingness to assist, saying: “We stand ready to support this implementation & scale up the delivery More
Israel has released the first batch of 90 Palestinian security prisoners in exchange for three hostages in the West Bank, a media report said on Monday. A ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Israel and Hamas was signed last week with the mediation of the United States, Egypt and Qatar. On Saturday, the Israeli security More
Over 880 Afghan refugees have been released from custody in Pakistan since the start of 2025 and efforts were underway for the release of the remaining 84 Afghan refugees, the Ministry of Refugee and Repatriation (MoRR) said on Sunday. On its X handle the MoRR said: “According to the Afghan Refugee Attaché in Islamabad, Pakistan, More
The long-awaited ceasefire in Gaza came into effect after a delay of nearly three hours on Sunday, the BBC reported. After months of talks, brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the US, the three-stage ceasefire agreement was achieved last week. The ceasefire, originally due to start at 08:30 (06:30 GMT) on Sunday, was delayed last-minute after More
TikTok has officially gone offline in the United States, a media report said on Sunday. TikTok went offline in the US on Saturday night, less than two hours before a ban was slated to go into effect, CNN reported. The broadcaster said the extraordinary blackout prevented access to one of the world’s most popular social More
At least 70 people have been killed and dozens wounded as a result of a fuel tanker truck explosion in northern Nigeria, a media report said on Sunday. The tanker overturned and spilled its contents in the Suleja area of North Central Niger state on Saturday, Reuters reported. It exploded moments after people began scooping More
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has congratulated US President-elect Donald Trump on his re-election, the foreign ministry in Beijing says. Xi was quoted as saying that both attached great importance to their interaction, hoping for a good start to the China-US relationship under the Trump presidency. In a statement on its website, the ministry said Xi, More
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the European Union (EU) have signed a new agreement to continue supporting displaced Afghans and host communities in Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and Central Asia. With substantial EU funding of EUR 36 million, the initiative will benefit hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees, returnees, and internally displaced persons (IDPs) by More
Russia and Iran have signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty, envisaging cooperation in different areas, including trade and military ties. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian, currently on a visit to Moscow, inked the treaty following talks at the Kremlin on Friday, TASS reported. Expected to boost Moscow-Tehran relations to a More
Two judges were killed and a third injured as a result of an armed attack in Tehran, the capital of Iran, on Saturday, a media report said on Saturday. The attack took place in front of the Supreme Court building in Tehran this morning, IRNA reported. The report added the assailant committed suicide after the More
