World Echo

Armed men have kidnapped 26 people including a pastor and a bride in two separate raids in Nigeria, the latest in a string of mass abductions to rock the west African country. A gang of criminals abducted the clergyman along with 11 worshippers on Sunday after storming an out-of-the-way rural church in Ejiba, in central Nigeria's Kogi State, the state's information commissioner told AFP. And in Sokoto State in the northeast a bride and 10 of her bridesmaids were among the 14 abducted in the night of Saturday to Sunday from the village of Chacho, a resident said. In recent weeks, gangs have kidnapped hundreds of people for ransom across Nigeria, which has struggled to respond to the threat posed both by jihadist groups and criminals known locally as "bandits". The unrest has heaped pressure on the Nigerian government, with US President Donald Trump threatening military intervention in Africa's most populous country over what he calls the killing of Christians by ra...

Iran and Turkiye have agreed to begin constructing a new joint rail link to serve as a strategic gateway between Asia and Europe, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday. The planned route, known in Iran as the Marand-Cheshmeh Soraya railway transit line and running towards Turkiye’s Aralik border region, will cover around 200 kilometres (120 miles}. It will cost roughly $1.6 billion and is expected to take three to four years to complete, Iranian authorities have said. Earlier this month, Iran’s transport minister Farzaneh Sadegh said the rail line would transform the southern section of what was once the Silk Road into an “all-rail corridor ensuring the continuity of the network between China and Europe”. Read More: Iran offers Pakistan diplomatic 'blank cheque' It would also ensure “fast and cheap transport of all types of cargo with minimal stops”, she added. At a joint press conference on Saturday with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, Araghchi said “emphasi...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked the country's president on Sunday for a pardon in his long-running corruption trial, arguing that criminal proceedings were hindering his ability to govern and a pardon would be good for Israel. Netanyahu, the country's longest-serving prime minister, denies the bribery, fraud, and breach of trust charges. His lawyers said in a letter to the president's office that the prime minister still believes the legal proceedings would result in a complete acquittal. "My lawyers sent a request for pardon to the president of the country today. I expect that anyone who wishes for the good of the country support this step," Netanyahu said in a brief video statement released by his political party, the Likud. Read More: Israeli raid in southern Syria kills 13, Damascus condemns ‘criminal attack’ Neither the prime minister, who has been on trial for five years, nor his lawyers made any admission of guilt. Opposition leader Yair Lap...

The death toll mounted to over 600 from floods and landslides caused by torrential rains across three countries in Southeast Asia, officials said on Sunday, as relief efforts for tens of thousands of displaced people continued over the weekend. Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand faced large-scale devastation after a rare tropical storm formed in the Malacca Strait fuelling heavy rains and wind gusts for a week. There were 435 dead in Indonesia, 170 in Thailand, and three deaths reported in Malaysia. Rescue and relief officials in the Southeast Asian countries were still trying to get access to many flood-hit areas on Sunday even as flood waters receded and tens of thousands of people were evacuated across the three countries. Over 4 million people have been affected - nearly 3 million in southern Thailand and 1.1 million in western Indonesia, according to official statistics. Rescuers evacuate an elderly person using a rubber boat during the flood in Medan, North Sumatra on November 28, ...

Ukrainian naval drones hit two sanctioned tankers in the Black Sea as they headed to a Russian port to load up with oil destined for foreign markets, an official said on Saturday, as Kyiv tries to pile pressure on Russia's vast oil industry. The two oil tankers identified as the Kairos and Virat were empty and sailing to Novorossiysk, a major Russian Black Sea oil terminal, the official at the Security Service of Ukraine told Reuters. Naval drones could be seen speeding towards hulking tankers followed by powerful explosions that caused fires on the vessels, video footage shared by the official showed. Also Read: Death toll from Gaza war surpasses 70,000: health ministry Reuters could not independently verify the identity of the tankers in the clips or the location and date of the footage. "Video shows that after being hit, both tankers sustained critical damage and were effectively taken out of service. This will deal a significant blow to Russian oil transportation," th...

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza on Saturday said more than 70,000 people have been killed since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted more than two years ago. The milestone comes as a fragile US-brokered ceasefire largely holds, but with both sides accusing the other of violating the terms of the deal. In a statement, Gaza’s health ministry said the death toll from the war had risen to 70,100. Also Read: Hezbollah open to new war with Israel The ministry said that since the ceasefire came into effect on October 10, 354 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli fire. Two bodies arrived at hospitals in the Gaza Strip in the past 48 hours, the ministry said, one of which had been recovered from beneath the rubble. Amnesty says Israel ‘still committing genocide’ in Gaza, despite truce It noted that the spike from the last death toll was due to the fact that the data relating to 299 bodies had been processed and approved by the authorities. Despite the ceasefire, the Palestinian ...

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela is to be closed in its entirety. Trump, in a Truth Social post said: "To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY." https://ift.tt/4lMQV7S Last week, the US aviation regulator warned major airlines of a "potentially hazardous situation" when flying over Venezuela due to a "worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around" the country. Venezuela revoked operating rights for six major international airlines that had suspended flights to the country following a warning from the US Federal Aviation Administration. Read More: Trump vows to freeze migration from all 'Third World countries' Reports of looming action have proliferated in recent weeks as the US military deployed forces to the Caribbean amid worsening relations with Ve...

The death toll from floods and landslides following cyclonic rains in the Indonesian island of Sumatra has risen to 303, the head of the country's disaster mitigation agency said on Saturday, up from a previous figure of 174 dead. Large parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have been stricken by cyclone-fuelled torrential rain for a week, with a rare tropical storm forming in the Malacca Strait. At least 279 people are still missing even as about 80,000 people have been evacuated and hundreds are still stranded in three provinces across Sumatra island, Indonesia's westernmost area, head of the agency Suharyanto told journalists. Read More: Sri Lanka floodwaters rise, death toll hits 69 Responders have used helicopters to deliver aid and for logistics in the northern part of the island, which was the hardest hit with roads cut off and communications infrastructure destroyed by landslides. "We are trying to open the route from North Tapanuli to Sibolga (in North Sumatra ...

The death toll from floods across large swathes of Southeast Asia rose to at least 321 on Friday, with authorities racing to rescue stranded citizens, restore power and communications, and coordinate recovery efforts as waters began to recede. Large parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have been hit by cyclone-fuelled torrential rain for a week, with a rare tropical storm forming in the Malacca Strait. Another 46 people were killed by a cyclone in Sri Lanka, authorities said. 'Running out of supplies and food' On Indonesia’s badly hit Sumatra island, 174 people were confirmed dead on Friday, Suharyanto, the head of Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency, said at a press briefing. While the rain had stopped, 79 people remained missing and thousands of families were displaced. Read More: Sri Lanka floods, landslides kill 40 with 21 missing after week of torrential rain Residents in Sumatra’s Padang Pariaman region, where 22 people died, were coping with water levels at least...

UN agencies on Friday appealed to Washington to continue allowing asylum seekers access to the United States and to ensure they receive due process, after President Donald Trump vowed to freeze migration from “Third World” countries following an attack near the White House. The comments mark a further escalation in migration measures Trump has ordered since Wednesday’s shooting, which investigators say was carried out by an Afghan national who entered the United States in 2021. Asked to respond to Trump’s remarks, UN human rights office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence told a Geneva press briefing: “They are entitled to protection under international law, and that should be given due process.” Read More: Pakistani immigration to US hits pause, but spared Trump green card wrath UN refugee agency spokesperson Eujin Byun echoed those remarks. “When people who need protection arrive in their territory, they have to have a due process of asylum. And then they have to have access to territory,” ...

Pakistanis in the middle of or hoping to immigrate to the United States will face a "permanent pause" in immigration as President Donald Trump pulled the plug after a man of Afghan origin shot and killed a member of the National Guard on Thursday. The US will pause immigration from all "third world" countries, Trump stated in a social media post. The Head of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Joseph Edlow, stated on X that green card holders from 19 countries will be audited. Pakistan is not on the list, which includes Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Congo, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Sudan, Venezuela, along with several African and Asian states. At the direction of @POTUS, I have directed a full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern. — USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow (@USCISJoe) November 27, 2025 Trump’s reaction was posted to his social media platform shortly after the 29-year-old Rahmanullah Laknawal r...

Floods and landslides triggered by heavy rain killed at least 40 people and injured 10 across Sri Lanka this week, with 21 others missing, authorities said Thursday. Most of the deaths occurred in the central tea-growing district of Badulla, where 21 people were buried alive when mountain slopes crashed onto their homes overnight, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said in a statement. Another four were killed in a similar manner in the adjoining Nuwara Eliya district. The remaining fatalities were reported elsewhere. More than 425 homes were damaged in mudslides, with over nearly 1,800 families moved to temporary shelters. The DMC said river levels were rising across Sri Lanka and warned residents in low-lying areas to move to higher ground. Sri Lanka is currently experiencing the northeast monsoon season, but rain has intensified due to a depression east of the island, it added. The government suspended final year school examinations nationwide for two days because of the weather. ...

A court in Bangladesh sentenced ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday to 21 years in prison for corruption, a week after she was given the death penalty for crimes against humanity. Hasina, 78, is currently residing in India and has defied court orders that she return to Bangladesh. She was sentenced in absentia on November 17 to be hanged for crimes against humanity after ordering a deadly crackdown against a student-led uprising last year that eventually ousted her. But three other cases had been brought against the ex-leader by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over land grabs of lucrative plots in a suburb of the capital Dhaka. Read More: Pak-Bangladesh flights to start in December Hasina's conduct "demonstrates a persistent corruption mindset rooted in entitlement, unchecked power, and a greedy eye for public property", ruled judge Abdullah Al Mamun. "Treating public land as a private asset, she directed her greedy eye toward state resources and man...

A man suspected of shooting two National Guard soldiers near the White House was an Afghan national who had served alongside American troops in Afghanistan, US media reported Wednesday, as Washington labelled the incident an "act of terror." Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, opened fire and wounded the soldiers on patrol Wednesday afternoon, before he was shot and hospitalized, The New York Times, CBS, NBC and others reported. Without naming him, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on social media that the suspect "was one of the many unvetted, mass paroled into the United States under Operation Allies Welcome". The program, launched by former president Joe Biden, offered vulnerable Afghans, including those who served alongside US forces, the chance to resettle in the United States after the return of the Taliban government. More than 190,000 Afghans have been resettled to the United States since the Taliban takeover, according to the US State Department. NBC qu...

NASA has confirmed that it will contribute to Europe’s Martian rover Rosalind Franklin, which is scheduled to launch in 2028 after repeated delays, the European Space Agency said on Wednesday. The rover aims to be the first on the red planet capable of drilling up to two metres (6.5 feet) below the surface to search for extraterrestrial life. However, the mission relies on several elements from NASA, which US President Donald Trump has targeted with steep budget cuts since returning to the White House in January. ESA director general Josef Aschbacher said he had received “a letter from the NASA administration to confirm the contributions” of the US space agency to the mission. “That is good news,” Aschbacher said on the sidelines of the ESA’s ministerial council meeting being held this week in the German city of Bremen. The mission was originally intended to launch in 2020, but suffered several setbacks. In 2022, it was suspended after the ESA ended cooperation with Russia — the ag...

Two members of the National Guard were shot on Wednesday in a busy area near the White House in downtown Washington, officials said, putting the building into lockdown with President Donald Trump away in Florida. West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey initially said in a post on X that both victims were members of his state's National Guard and had died from their injuries, but he soon posted a second statement citing "conflicting reports" about their condition. It is with great sorrow that we can confirm both members of the West Virginia National Guard who were shot earlier today in Washington, DC have passed away from their injuries. These brave West Virginians lost their lives in the service of their country. We are in ongoing contact… — Governor Patrick Morrisey (@wvgovernor) November 26, 2025 Trump administration official said the suspected shooter had been transported to a hospital with gunshot wounds. The motive for the shooting was not immediately clear. Trump is...

A huge fire that engulfed a Hong Kong residential estate has killed at least 36 people and left more than 200 unaccounted for in the city's worst blaze in decades. The fire, which started on Wednesday afternoon and was still burning in the early hours of Thursday, shocked the Chinese financial hub, which has some of the world's most densely populated and tallest apartment blocks. Huge flames first took hold on bamboo scaffolding on several apartment blocks of Wang Fuk Court, which contains nearly 2,000 flats in eight towers in the northern district of Tai Po and was reportedly undergoing estate-wide maintenance. City leader John Lee on Thursday updated the death toll to 36 and said that 279 people were unaccounted for. Fresh Footage captured just minutes ago shows a major fire that broke out earlier this afternoon at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, Hong Kong, China. The de@th toll has risen from 4 to 30 And it may goes up till 100 by morning Many are still trapped inside pic.twitter....

Taiwan will introduce a $40-billion supplementary defence budget to underscore its determination to defend itself in the face of a rising threat from China, President Lai Ching-te said on Wednesday. China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has ramped up military and political pressure over the past five years to assert its claims, which Taipei strongly rejects. As Taiwan faces calls from Washington to spend more on its own defence, mirroring US pressure on Europe, Lai said in August he hoped for a boost in defence spending to 5% of gross domestic product by 2030. Unveiling the T$1.25 trillion ($39.89 billion) package, Lai said history had proven that trying to compromise in the face of aggression brought nothing but "enslavement". "There is no room for compromise on national security," he said at a press conference in the presidential office. "National sovereignty and the core values of freedom and democracy are the very foundatio...

US President Donald Trump has announced that he has accepted an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit Beijing in April, adding that he has invited Xi to the United States for a state visit later next year, according to the Associated Press. The development followed a phone call between the two leaders nearly a month after their in-person meeting in Busan, South Korea, during which they discussed Taiwan, Ukraine, and ongoing trade negotiations. Trump revealed the exchange in a Truth Social post, writing: “Our relationship with China is extremely strong! Now we can set our sights on the big picture. To that end, President Xi invited me to visit Beijing in April, which I accepted, and I reciprocated where he will be my guest for a state visit in the US later in the year.”  He added that the call touched on the Russia-Ukraine war, fentanyl and US agricultural exports, including soybeans. CNBC quoted White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt as saying that the call — ...

The Australian government has expanded digital access for Pakistani visa applicants with the rollout of the Australian Immi App, allowing eligible users to submit passport details and facial biometrics through their smartphones rather than travelling to biometric centres. The Australian High Commission said in a media release on Tuesday that the app was now available to visa applicants in Pakistan. “The process to apply for an Australian visa just got easier in Pakistan, thanks to the rollout of the Australian Immi App.” According to the High Commission, “from today, eligible applicants in Pakistan can use the free Australian Immi App to submit passport details and facial biometrics directly from their smartphones—without needing to travel to a biometric collection centre”. The media release added that “to be eligible, clients must have previously provided their biometrics (facial image and fingerprints) to the Department of Home Affairs, and hold a valid passport”. Applying for an Aus...

US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll held talks on late on Monday and Tuesday with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi as part of an intense new push by President Donald Trump's administration to end the war in Ukraine, Driscoll's spokesperson said. US and Ukrainian officials are trying to narrow the gaps between them over a peace plan, with core issues still unresolved and Ukraine wary of being strong-armed into accepting a deal largely on the Kremlin's terms. "Late Monday and throughout Tuesday, Secretary Driscoll and team have been in discussions with the Russian delegation to achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine. The talks are going well and we remain optimistic. Secretary Driscoll is closely synchronized with the White House...as these talks progress," said US Army Lieutenant Colonel Jeff Tolbert, a spokesperson for Driscoll. The exact nature of the discussions was not immediately clear, and it was not known who was in the Russian delegation. A US official said that Drisc...

The Afghan Taliban regime accused Pakistan on Tuesday of launching air strikes in Afghan territory overnight.  In a post on X, Afghan Taliban Spokesperson wrote Pakistan had “bombed” Afghanistan's Khost province and carried out air strikes in Kunar and Paktika. Islamabad has not yet officially responded to this statement.  پاکستانی فوج کی جانب سے ایک بار پھر افغانستان کی فضائی حدود کی خلاف ورزی پر ردعمل گزشتہ شب پاکستانی فوج کی جانب سے افغانستان کے صوبہ پکتیکا، خوست اور کنڑ میں کیے گئے فضائی حملے نہ صرف افغانستان کی خودمختاری اور فضائی حدود کی صریح خلاف ورزی ہیں، ۴/۱ — Zabihullah (..ذبـــــیح الله م ) (@Zabehulah_M33) November 25, 2025 The aforementioned strikes were reportedly carried out on the same day Federal Constabulary (FC) soldiers repelled multiple attackers, including a suicide bomber, who attempted to storm their headquarters in Peshawar. At least three paramilitary personnel were martyred and 11 others were injured in the attack. Pak-Afghan tens...

Chinese President Xi Jinping told US President Donald Trump during a phone call on Monday that Taiwan's "return to China" is a key part of the post-war international order, state news agency Xinhua reported. "China and the United States once fought side by side against fascism and militarism, and should now work together to safeguard the outcomes of World War Two," Xi was quoted as saying by Xinhua. A White House official confirmed Trump and Xi had spoken by phone but gave no details. Read More: Zelensky thanks Trump as US leader blasts at Kyiv China regards Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to take control of it, though the island's government rejects Beijing's claim and says only Taiwan's people can decide their future. China is locked in its biggest diplomatic crisis for years with Japan, after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said this month a hypothetical Chinese attack on democratically governed Taiwan...

A delegation from a Turkish parliamentary commission overseeing the disarmament of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militant group paid their first visit to its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan on Monday, the parliamentary speaker's office said. In their meeting in a prison on the island of Imrali off Istanbul, the delegation asked Ocalan about the PKK's dissolution and disarmament as well as the implementation of an agreement with the Syrian government and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a statement said. Fighters with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) walk to a disarmament ceremony marking a significant step toward ending the decades-long conflict between Turkey and the outlawed group, in the Qandil mountains, Iraq October 26, 2025.PHOTO:  REUTERS According to Daily Sabah, the President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday welcomed a parliamentary committee’s decision to visit PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan in prison, calling it a step that could “accelerate an...

Alphabet closed in on a $4 trillion valuation on Monday, set to become only the fourth company to enter the exclusive club, as the Google parent rides an artificial intelligence-driven rally. Shares of the company rose more than 5% to hit a record high of $315.9, giving it a market capitalization of $3.82 trillion. The stock has climbed nearly 70% so far this year, far outperforming AI rivals Microsoft, and Amazon.com. Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple, have previously hit a $4 trillion valuation. Only Nvidia and Apple remain on the list. The surge reflects a striking reversal in sentiment toward Alphabet after some investors feared the company had lost its AI edge to OpenAI after the 2022 launch of ChatGPT, even though it invented much of the underlying technology behind generative AI. Read More: AI in Action: Aga Khan University Explores the Future of Work and Human-AI Synergy Alphabet has regained momentum this year by turning its cloud business, once an also-ran, into a key growth drive...

Israeli forces killed three Palestinians in Gaza near the line demarcating areas of Israeli control on Monday, underlining the struggle to broaden a fragile ceasefire deal approved over six weeks ago to global acclaim. Palestinian medics said Monday's incidents involved an Israeli drone firing a missile at a group of people east of Khan Younis, killing two and wounding another, and a tank shell killing a person on the eastern side of Gaza City. Israel's military said it had fired after identifying what it called "terrorists" crossing the so-called yellow line and approaching its troops, posing an immediate threat to them. Read More: 22 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza despite ceasefire Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel signed a truce on October 9 halting two years of devastating warfare but the agreement left the most intractable disputes for further talks, freezing the conflict without resolving it. Both sides have since accused each other...

Bangladesh reported 778 new dengue cases and eight new deaths on Sunday, taking the tally to 90,264 and the death toll to 364 so far this year, the Ministry of Health said. According to the data, 20,402 dengue cases were recorded so far in November, after 22,520 in October. Dengue fever, typically a monsoon-season illness in Bangladesh, is now spreading beyond its usual June-September period.  According to the Bangladeshi outlet New Age, three of the newly reported deaths occurred in the Mymensingh division, two in the Dhaka South City Corporation area, and one each in the Barishal, Dhaka and Chattogram divisions. Read More: Cold weather brings engue season to an endd This year, 37.7% of dengue patients have been female and 62.3% male, the report said. Among the fatalities, 51.9% were men and 48.1% were women. In 2024, dengue claimed 575 lives, while 101,214 cases and 100,040 recoveries were recorded during the same period. from Latest World News, International News | Breaki...

A Hamas delegation was in Cairo on Sunday to meet with Gaza war mediators, an Egyptian security source and a Hamas source said, as both Israel and the Palestinian militant group continue to trade accusations of ceasefire violations. The Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the delegation would be discussing Israel's "continued violation of the ceasefire agreement". Read More: Pakistan condemns Israeli attacks killing civilians in Gaza Egypt, Qatar and the US have been mediating between Hamas and Israel, securing the ceasefire that came into effect last month. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said the country's military killed five senior Hamas members on Saturday after a fighter was sent into Israeli-controlled Gaza territory to attack Israeli soldiers there. Health officials in Gaza had said Israeli air strikes killed at least 20 people on Saturday. The military on Sunday said a local Hamas commander was among those killed in the Satu...

The United States is poised to launch a new phase of Venezuela-related operations in the coming days, four US officials told Reuters, as the Trump administration escalates pressure on President Nicolas Maduro's government. Reports of looming action have proliferated in recent weeks as the US military deployed forces to the Caribbean amid worsening relations with Venezuela. Two of the US officials said covert operations would likely be the first part of the new action against Maduro. Two US officials said that the options under consideration included attempting to overthrow Maduro, who has been in power since 2013. He has contended that Trump seeks to oust him and that Venezuelan citizens and the military will resist any such attempt. A military buildup in the Caribbean has been underway for months, and Trump has authorised covert CIA operations in Venezuela. The US Federal Aviation Administration on Friday warned major airlines of a "potentially hazardous situation" when ...

The G20 group of major world economies is “at risk” as it struggles to tackle international crises, French President Emmanuel Macron told a summit boycotted by the United States Saturday. Macron was among two dozen world leaders at South Africa’s G20 summit marked by the absence of President Donald Trump, who is at loggerheads with Pretoria on a range of issues. “The G20 may be coming to the end of a cycle,” the French leader told the gathering in Johannesburg.  “We are living in a moment of geopolitics in which we are struggling to resolve major crises together around this table, including with members who are not present today,” Macron said. G20 envoys agree draft leaders’ declaration without US at summit, sources say The summit adopted a declaration addressing the climate crisis and other global challenges on Saturday after it was drafted without US input in a move a White House official called "shameful". The declaration, using language to which Washington has been oppose...

A Washington State resident receiving treatment for H5N5 avian influenza died on Friday, the state's health department said, in the first confirmed human case of this variant globally. The deceased - of Grays Harbor County - was an older adult with underlying health conditions, the department said in a statement released late on Friday, adding the person owned a backyard flock of mixed domestic birds. The department found the avian flu in the flock's environment, pointing to domestic poultry or wild birds as the likely source of exposure. It said that the risk to the general public remains low, and no other individuals involved in the case have tested positive for avian influenza, commonly called bird flu. "Public health officials will continue to monitor anyone who was in close contact with the patient for symptoms," the department said, adding: "There is no evidence of transmission of this virus between people." Those who had exposure to the backyard flock...

Negotiators scrambled Friday to salvage UN climate talks in Brazil as oil-producing nations were accused of resisting any reference to a fossil fuel phaseout in the final deal. After nearly two weeks of negotiations in the Amazonian city of Belem, a new draft agreement unveiled by COP30 host Brazil made no mention of “fossil fuels” or the word “roadmap” that President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had himself publicly supported. European Union climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said the text was “unacceptable” and that the summit risked ending without an agreement. “I am saying it with a heavy heart, but what is now on the table is clearly no deal,” Hoekstra told reporters as negotiators huddled again in efforts to reach a compromise. More than 30 countries — including wealthy nations, emerging economies and small island states — had warned in a letter to Brazil that they would reject any deal that did not include a plan to move away from fossil fuels. France’s ecological transition minis...

The UK government has recently unveiled a new fast-track pathway to residency, specifically designed for high earners, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer seeks to retain skilled workers within the City of London and other key sectors amid a broader clampdown on migration. This move enables certain highly paid professionals and entrepreneurs to significantly reduce the time required to apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR), the primary step toward British citizenship. The announcement by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood outlined that settling in the UK is a privilege, not a right, and must be earned. The proposals represent a shift away from earlier plans that suggested doubling the standard ILR application period to 10 years. If you are a Pakistani seeking the quickest route to permanent status in the UK, follow these steps to determine your eligibility and prepare your application: Step one: Establish your visa and earnings criteria Determine if you qualify for the fastest path (three ...

The UK government has recently unveiled a new fast-track pathway to residency, specifically designed for high earners, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer seeks to retain skilled workers within the City of London and other key sectors amid a broader clampdown on migration. This move enables certain highly paid professionals and entrepreneurs to significantly reduce the time required to apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR), the primary step toward British citizenship. The announcement by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood outlined that settling in the UK is a privilege, not a right, and must be earned. The proposals represent a shift away from earlier plans that suggested doubling the standard ILR application period to 10 years. If you are a Pakistani seeking the quickest route to permanent status in the UK, follow these steps to determine your eligibility and prepare your application: Step one: Establish your visa and earnings criteria Determine if you qualify for the fastest path (three ...