Presidents of Russia and Tajikistan are set to meet today (Tuesday) on issues of common interest, including the situation in Afghanistan. President Vladimir Putin has arrived in St. Petersburg for meetings with Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) leaders, says a media report. Ahead of the main event scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, Putin is due More

For the first time, Israel has publicly acknowledged that it assassinated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, reports the BBC. In July this year, Haniyeh was killed in a building where he was staying in Tehran in an attack widely blamed on the Jewish state. In a speech on Israeli Monday, the Israeli defence Minister made the More

At least 12 people were killed and five others were injured as a blast ripped through an explosives factory in northwestern Balikesir province of Turkey, media reports said on Tuesday. Balikesir province governor Ismail Ustauglo told Anadolu the roof of the factory collapsed completely after the explosion. The explosion occurred this morning exactly where capsuls More

At least 16 Pakistani soldiers have been killed as militants attacked a check-post in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s South Waziristan tribal district, says a media report. In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said militants attempted to attack a security forces’ check post in the general area of Makeen on Friday night, Anadolu News agency reported. More

At least two people, including a child, were killed after a car drove into crowds at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg. At least 68 other people were injured, including 15 who were left in a critical state, according to the city government. The suspect, a 50-year-old Saudi doctor, is believed to More

The US administration has scraped a $10 million reward for the arrest of Ahmad Al-Sharaa, the Syrian Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) leader, say media reports. The US government took the decision following a meeting that diplomats called “pragmatic” with representatives of the de facto Syrian leader. Earlier, Washington had announced the reward for any information leading to More

Pakistan has criticized the United States for imposing new sanctions on the country’s long-range ballistic missile program, calling the move “unfortunate and biased.” On Wednesday, the US State Department announced sanctions against four Pakistani entities under Executive Order (E.O.) 13382, which targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems. The sanctions specifically More

The United States government could face a temporary shutdown at midnight Friday if Congress does not approve a stopgap spending bill. This comes as President-elect Donald Trump pressures lawmakers to reject the proposed legislation and act on the nation’s debt ceiling before he assumes office on January 20, according to Reuters. Congress is required to More

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned Israeli airstrikes on Syria, calling them violations of the country’s sovereignty and demanding they “must stop.” Since the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government earlier this month, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes, claiming they target strategic weapons and military infrastructure. “Syria’s sovereignty, territorial unity, and More

A devastating cyclone ripped through the French Indian Ocean territory, leaving several hundred people dead in Mayotte. In the wake of the worst storm in almost a century, rescuers were trying to reach some communities as they searched for survivors, a media report said on Monday. The BBC said entire settlements were razed by Cyclone More