Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the process will be transparent and broadcast live as part of efforts to revive the loss-making national carrier under an IMF programme.

Pakistan to hold PIA bidding on December 23 under IMF bailout conditions

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the process will be transparent and broadcast live as part of efforts to revive the loss-making national carrier under an IMF programme.

Pakistan is set to hold the bidding to sell the state-owned airline after last year's failed attempt to offload it, state media reported on Wednesday.
The Pakistan government is trying to sell loss-making Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) as envisaged under a USD 7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
Fed up with the piling up losses, the government last year made a determined bid to sell it, but it could not get an attractive offer and cancelled the plan.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a meeting with all corporate entities and company representatives participating in the privatisation process of the national airline, according to a press release posted on X by state broadcaster PTV News.
&ldquo;PIA&rsquo;s bidding will take place on December 23, which will be broadcast live on all media,&rdquo; it quoted the prime minister as saying. He said the process was proceeding smoothly to restore the national carrier&rsquo;s &ldquo;lost prestige&rdquo; and align it with modern requirements.
&ldquo;We are ensuring transparency and merit in the privatisation process of PIA,&rdquo; he was quoted as saying.Sharif said the restoration of PIA&rsquo;s flights worldwide would provide convenience to overseas Pakistanis, stressing that aligning it with modern requirements was &ldquo;extremely essential&rdquo; for the tourism sector&rsquo;s development. It would be the country&rsquo;s first major privatisation in nearly two decades.

Severe floods across Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia have killed over 1,400 people, triggered massive displacement and highlighted stark economic inequalities in disaster response.

Devastating Floods and Landslides Ravage Asia, Over 1,400 Dead

Severe floods across Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia have killed over 1,400 people, triggered massive displacement and highlighted stark economic inequalities in disaster response.

Parts of Asia were reeling after torrents of rain unleashed catastrophic floods and landslides last week, killing more than 1,400 people in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia. The disaster has also laid bare stark economic disparities in the region.
Indonesia has borne the heaviest blow, recording at least 753 deaths, followed by Sri Lanka with 465. Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said it's too early to determine the exact number of dead in his country. At least 185 people in Thailand and three in Malaysia have also been confirmed dead.
Rescue teams on Wednesday were racing against time to reach isolated communities, as more than 1,000 remain missing and as villages lie buried under mud and debris amid ongoing power and telecommunications outages.
Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto visited a disaster zone Monday, promising aid and support for rebuilding though he has yet to declare a national emergency or sought international assistance like his counterpart in flood-stricken Sri Lanka.
Hard-hit Indonesia and Thailand, both middle-income economies with comparatively stronger fiscal capacity, are able to mobilise extensive rescue operations, deploy military assets and channel emergency funds, while Sri Lanka is responding under far more strained conditions.
Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya met with diplomats in Sri Lanka last week to urge them to support the government's efforts on relief and reconstruction. Still recovering from a severe economic crisis, the country faces limited resources, foreign exchange shortages and weakened public services, making a large-scale disaster response significantly more difficult and increasing its reliance on outside assistance.
Authorities in Indonesia, the worst-hit country, said the destruction from days of relentless downpours and a rare tropical storm that pounded the island of Sumatra was the deadliest disaster since the 2018 Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 4,300 people.
Washed-out roads, collapsed bridges and continuing landslides have left rescuers struggling to reach some of the hardest-hit areas, with the National Disaster Management Agency saying about 650 people are still unaccounted for in devastated North Sumatra, West Sumatra and Aceh provinces, where thousands in flooded towns were forced to cling to rooftops and treetops awaiting rescue in previous days.
The agency said Wednesday more than 1.5 million residents have been displaced during the disaster that damaged tens of thousands of homes and public facilities. With some 2,600 people injured and local hospitals overwhelmed, the government has deployed three hospital ships to the devastated provinces.
In Sri Lanka, the flooding is expected to have significant repercussions on the economy, which has only recently stabilized after an unprecedented economic crisis. The island nation is currently under an International Monetary Fund bailout programme that requires it to conserve foreign currency to repay defaulted external debt starting in 2028.
Although the full extent of the economic damage is still being assessed, the costs of rebuilding infrastructure, restoring livelihoods and reviving economic activity are likely to put severe pressure on the treasury. With vast rice-growing regions and the hill country, key suppliers of vegetables, devastated by the calamity, Sri Lanka may be forced to deplete its scarce foreign currency reserves.
Countries such as India, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates have already launched relief efforts, while other foreign diplomats who met the Sri Lankan prime minister have pledged additional support.
In Thailand, government spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek announced Wednesday that recovery efforts in southern Thailand are progressing well and that water and electricity have been restored in nearly all affected areas. She added that the government has disbursed over 1 billion baht ($31.3 million) in compensation to more than 120,000 households impacted by the floods.

The Trump administration has paused green card, naturalisation, and other immigration applications for people from 19 countries deemed high-risk, citing the recent shooting of two National Guard troops.

Trump Halts Immigration Applications Amid Security Concerns

The Trump administration has paused green card, naturalisation, and other immigration applications for people from 19 countries deemed high-risk, citing the recent shooting of two National Guard troops.

The US government has halted immigration applications for citizens from 19 nations including Afghanistan, Yemen and Haiti, an official memorandum said Tuesday, deepening the nation's sweeping crackdown on migration.
Authorities paused green card and citizenship processing, according to the memo, for people from countries already subject to travel restrictions announced in June by President Donald Trump.
Those 19 nations also include Venezuela, Sudan and Somalia.
Senior US officials have signaled in recent days they would starkly tighten restrictions on immigration, a move fueled by the shooting of two National Guard soldiers last week.
The main suspect in the shooting, which killed one, is an Afghan national.
The man, who on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to murder charges, entered the United States during mass evacuations as foreign forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021.
"USCIS plays an instrumental role in preventing terrorists from seeking safe haven in the United States and ensuring that USCIS' screening and vetting and adjudications prioritize the safety of the American people and uphold all US laws," the memorandum said, referring to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The memorandum said the US had recently seen "what a lack of screening, vetting, and prioritizing expedient adjudications can do to the American people," citing the suspected shooter in last week's attack as an example.
Trump, who campaigned for the White House on a pledge to deport millions of undocumented migrants, said on November 26, following the shooting that he planned to "permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the US system to fully recover."
US Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem also urged on Monday an expansion of the list of countries covered by the June travel restrictions.
"I just met with the President. I am recommending a full travel ban on every damn country that's been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies," she said on X, without naming which countries she believed should be included.
The travel restrictions currently also apply to Burundi, Chad, Republic of Congo, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, Laos, Libya, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Turkmenistan.
Also on Tuesday, US media reported federal authorities planned in coming days to launch a major immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota that would focus on Somali immigrants, sparking pushback from local leaders who said state police would not cooperate.
"Our values and our commitments to the Somali community, to every community of immigrants and people in our city is rock solid and will be unwavering," said Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey.

High-stakes US-Russia talks on ending the Ukraine war failed to produce a breakthrough, with Moscow rejecting compromises on territory. Ukrainian President Zelensky stresses fair, transparent solutions.

US, Russia find 'no compromise' on key territory issue after Ukraine talks

High-stakes US-Russia talks on ending the Ukraine war failed to produce a breakthrough, with Moscow rejecting compromises on territory. Ukrainian President Zelensky stresses fair, transparent solutions.

High-stakes US-Russia talks on ending the war in Ukraine failed to yield a breakthrough on Tuesday, as the Kremlin said "no compromise" had been found yet on the key question of territory.
Russian President Vladimir Putin met US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff in the Kremlin, after earlier signalling that his forces were ready to fight on to achieve Russia's initial war goals.
The meeting is a crucial moment for Ukraine in what could be a fraught week following days of frantic diplomacy. At the heart of it is a US plan to bring peace, which has since been revised under pressure from Kyiv and its European backers.
On occupied Ukrainian territories, "so far we haven't found a compromise, but some American solutions can be discussed," top Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said after the meeting in the Kremlin.
"Some proposed formulations do not fit us, and work will continue," he added.
Trump said progress on ending the nearly four-year-long war would not be easy.
"Our people are over in Russia right now to see if we can get it settled," he said during a cabinet meeting at the White House.
"Not an easy situation, let me tell you. What a mess."
But in an interview broadcast Tuesday night on Fox News, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said talks with Russia "have made some progress" to end the war with Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that any plan must end the war for good, and not just lead to a pause in the fighting that began with Moscow's offensive in February 2022.
He also said in a social media post that "there will be no simple solutions".
"What matters is that everything is fair and transparent. That there are no games played behind Ukraine's back. That nothing is decided without Ukraine -- about us, about our future," he said.
 - Moscow rejects amended plan -
Kushner and Witkoff were to present Putin with the new version of the US plan, which has been hammered out after the initial version raised fears in Kyiv and elsewhere in Europe that it made too many concessions to Moscow.
Ushakov said the initial US plan was broken down into four parts, which were discussed during the five-hour meeting in the Kremlin.
"There were some points we could agree on," the top Putin diplomatic aide said, but "the president did not hide our critical, even negative, stance on a number of proposals".
Putin has demanded that Kyiv surrender territory Moscow claims as its own. The Kremlin also rejects any European force in Ukraine to monitor a truce.
In his social media post, Zelensky said "the most difficult questions are about territories, about frozen (Russian) assets... And about security guarantees."
Still, the talks in Moscow were "useful", Ushakov said, and Russia and US positions did not become farther apart after it.
 - Russian pressure -
Putin appeared to send a hawkish message shortly before the US talks began.
He said that Pokrovsk, an east Ukrainian stronghold that Russian forces claim they recently captured, was a "good foothold for solving all the tasks set at the beginning of the special military operation", using the Kremlin's term for the war.
Apart from Pokrovsk, Kyiv is under pressure on several fronts.
Russian forces advanced swiftly in November in eastern Ukraine, and Kyiv has been rocked by graft scandals that ended with the resignation of its top negotiator on the conflict -- Zelensky's right-hand man.
Moscow has also stepped up drone and missile attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks, leaving hundreds of thousands without electricity and heating, with Zelensky accusing the Kremlin of trying to "break" his country.
The Russian leader also accused Europe of sabotaging a deal on the conflict and sent a grim message, saying: "We are not planning to go to war with Europe, but if Europe wants to and starts, we are ready right now."
Zelensky has said he expects to discuss key issues with the US president and suggested Moscow's real motivation for the US talks was to ease Western sanctions.
 - Kushner included -
Europe is worried Washington and Moscow could strike a deal over its head or force Ukraine into making unfair concessions.
The original 28-point US plan revealed last month hewed so closely to Moscow's demands it prompted accusations that Russia was involved in drafting it, which Washington denied.
Bloomberg last month reported on an audio recording showing that Witkoff helped coach Russian officials on how Putin should speak to Trump.
Witkoff has met with Putin multiple times, but US media reported that it was the first time that Kushner -- who also helped broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza earlier this year -- has joined talks with Putin.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised President Trump for brokering multiple global peace deals, including the India-Pakistan ceasefire, calling his foreign policy transformational, while New Delhi denies any third-party intervention.

Trump deserves credit for 'very dangerous' peace deals like India-Pakistan: US Secretary of State Rubio

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised President Trump for brokering multiple global peace deals, including the India-Pakistan ceasefire, calling his foreign policy transformational, while New Delhi denies any third-party intervention.

US President Donald Trump has brokered several peace deals, including the &ldquo;very dangerous ones like India and Pakistan&rdquo;, and deserves &ldquo;tremendous credit&rdquo; for reshaping America's foreign policy, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said.
During a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Tuesday, Rubio said for the first time in decades, American foreign policy was guided solely by whether it made the US &ldquo;safer, stronger and more prosperous&rdquo;. &ldquo;If it is, he&rsquo;s (Trump) for it. If it doesn&rsquo;t, he&rsquo;s against it. And that sort of clarity is transformational,&rdquo; he said.
"Not to mention all the other peace deals, very dangerous ones like India and Pakistan or Cambodia and Thailand, and so on... Mr President, I think you deserve tremendous credit for the transformational aspect of our foreign policy,&rdquo; Rubio said.
Earlier, at the Cabinet meeting, Trump repeated his claim that he had resolved several global conflicts, including between India and Pakistan, as he asserted that he should get the Nobel Peace Prize for each of the "eight wars" he has ended.
&ldquo;We ended eight wars... But we're going to do one more, I think, I hope,&rdquo; Trump said, referring to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that within the first eight-nine months of his second term in the White House, he resolved conflicts between India and Pakistan, Thailand and Cambodia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Kosovo and Serbia, Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, Rwanda and Congo. He also credits himself for resolving the Israel-Hamas conflict.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday that Trump will host Congo President Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo and Rwanda President Paul Kagame to sign a "historic peace and economic agreement" brokered by the US president.
Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a &ldquo;full and immediate&rdquo; ceasefire after a &ldquo;long night&rdquo; of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 60 times that he &ldquo;helped settle&rdquo; the tensions between the two neighbours.
New Delhi has consistently denied any third-party intervention. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.
India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

India has deployed a mobile field hospital and over 70 medical personnel to Sri Lanka under Operation Sagar Bandhu, providing urgent healthcare and relief to flood- and landslide-affected areas following Cyclone Ditwah.

India Extends Aid to Sri Lanka Amid Flood Disaster

India has deployed a mobile field hospital and over 70 medical personnel to Sri Lanka under Operation Sagar Bandhu, providing urgent healthcare and relief to flood- and landslide-affected areas following Cyclone Ditwah.

India has sent a mobile field hospital and over 70 medical personnel to Sri Lanka as part of its continuing humanitarian assistance following the devastating floods and landslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah, the Indian mission in Colombo said on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.
As of Tuesday, 465 people have been killed, with 366 missing, in catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.
The Indian High Commission in a social media post said India has sent a "rapidly deployable field hospital" along with over 70 medical personnel to provide urgently required healthcare support in disaster-affected areas.
&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🇮🇳 is bringing a rapidly deployable Field Hospital urgently required in 🇱🇰 along with 70 personnel, providing healthcare support to disaster-affected areas. Watch stock images of how these hospitals will look when deployed. These field hospitals will reach Sri Lanka today(02)&hellip; <a href="https://t.co/a2LWZSdGWG">pic.twitter.com/a2LWZSdGWG</a>
&mdash; India in Sri Lanka (@IndiainSL) <a href="https://twitter.com/IndiainSL/status/1996057392992452678?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Citing a social media post by PRO Defence Jammu, it said an Indian Air Force C-17 Globemaster aircraft airlifted the para field hospital, along with equipment and 73 medical personnel from Agra, and landed in Colombo on Tuesday evening to augment ongoing relief efforts.
&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
IAF&rsquo;s C-17 Globemaster airlifted a Para Field Hospital with equipment &amp; 73 medical personnel from Agra, landing in Colombo at 1745 IST to support relief efforts. IAF Mi-17 helicopters continued operations, airlifting 8+ tonnes of relief material &amp; evacuating 65 survivors,&hellip; <a href="https://t.co/8iJp7MKojt">https://t.co/8iJp7MKojt</a>
&mdash; PRO Defence Jammu (@prodefencejammu) <a href="https://twitter.com/prodefencejammu/status/1996057618381467794?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
IAF Mi-17 helicopters have also been operating continuously, airlifting more than eight tonnes of relief material and evacuating 65 survivors, including foreign nationals, critically ill patients and a pregnant woman. Indian rescue teams are also conducting operations across multiple sites, the mission said.
In Badulla on Tuesday, a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team recovered another body in an &ldquo;exceptionally difficult&rdquo; operation, with remains located beneath layers of compacted debris. Search efforts at the site are continuing with &ldquo;determination and compassion,&rdquo; it said.
NDRF teams deployed in the Sedawatta and Nadeegama areas near Colombo have rescued more than 43 people so far, and continue to save those trapped in floodwaters ranging between 8 and 10 feet, the High Commission said in a social media post on Tuesday.
Under &lsquo;Operation Sagar Bandhu&rsquo;, Indian teams are prioritising the evacuation of the most vulnerable to ensure every life is brought to safety, it said.&nbsp;
India launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu' last month, a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) initiative, to aid Sri Lanka in its recovery from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.

Malaysia will restart the deep-sea search for missing Flight MH370 on December 30, with Ocean Infinity conducting a 55-day operation in targeted Indian Ocean areas, offering hope for closure to families of the 239 passengers lost since 2014.

Deep-Sea Search for Malaysia Airlines MH370 to Resume by Year-End

Malaysia will restart the deep-sea search for missing Flight MH370 on December 30, with Ocean Infinity conducting a 55-day operation in targeted Indian Ocean areas, offering hope for closure to families of the 239 passengers lost since 2014.

The search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will resume at the end of December, Malaysia's transport ministry said on Wednesday, more than a decade after the plane disappeared.
The Boeing 777 carrying 239 people vanished from radar screens on March 8, 2014, while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in one of aviation's greatest enduring mysteries.
Two-thirds of the passengers were Chinese, while the others included Malaysians, Indonesians and Australians, as well as Indian, American, Dutch and French nationals.
Despite the largest search in aviation history, the plane has not been found.
Kuala Lumpur said in a statement it "wishes to update that the deep-sea search for (the) missing wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 will be resuming on 30 December 2025".
Maritime exploration firm Ocean Infinity will be conducting the search "in (a) targeted area assessed to have the highest probability of locating the aircraft", the ministry said.
The latest search in the southern Indian Ocean was suspended in April as it was "not the season".
It was conducted on the "no find, no fee" principle as Ocean Infinity's previous search, with the government only paying out if the firm finds the aircraft.
Ocean Infinity, based in Britain and the United States, led an unsuccessful hunt in 2018, before agreeing to launch a new search this year.
An initial Australia-led search covered 120,000 square kilometres (46,300 square miles) in the Indian Ocean over three years, but found hardly any trace of the plane other than a few pieces of debris.
The ministry said the latest development underscores its commitment in "providing closure to the families affected by the tragedy".
Relatives of the victims had voiced hope in February that a new search could finally bring some answers.

Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan alleged that his life is in danger inside Adiala Jail, claiming solitary confinement, lack of basic facilities and mental torture, even as authorities maintain he is in good health.

Imran Khan alleges 'threat to life' in Adiala Jail, claims death‑row‑like conditions

Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan alleged that his life is in danger inside Adiala Jail, claiming solitary confinement, lack of basic facilities and mental torture, even as authorities maintain he is in good health.

Former Pakistani prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan on Tuesday said he fears for his life as he remains lodged in Adiala Jail, where he is serving a 14-year sentence in the Al‑Qadir Trust graft case along with other corruption-related convictions that keep him in custody.
&ldquo;The military establishment has done all they could against me. All that is left for them is to now murder me," Khan said, according to a PTI statement released after his sister Uzma Khan met him inside the high‑security prison. He alleged that he is being held in conditions similar to those reserved for an inmate on death row.&nbsp;
&ldquo;If anything happens to me, the Army Chief and DG ISI will be responsible," he said. &ldquo;I have the same facilities that an inmate on death row has."
The PTI claimed Khan has been kept in solitary confinement with no electricity or sunlight, questionable food, no clean drinking water, no medical assistance and none of the basic facilities normally available to inmates. The party called the conditions inhumane.&nbsp;
Khan said, &ldquo;I was tortured by being confined in a cage and treated worse than animals. Electricity to my cell was shut off for five days. I was confined to the cell for ten days." Accusing the army chief of political persecution, he added, &ldquo;Asim Munir is the most tyrannical dictator in history and is mentally unstable."
Uzma Khan was permitted to meet her brother for the first time in more than a month, amid an unannounced ban on prison visits and rising speculation about Khan&rsquo;s health. The meeting, held inside Adiala Jail&mdash;located near the Pakistan Army&rsquo;s GHQ&mdash;lasted between 25 and 35 minutes. People close to her said Imran Khan appeared &ldquo;fine, fit, and in high spirits." They added that he remained mentally strong and conveyed a message for party leadership, along with remarks directed at what he termed an &ldquo;undemocratic regime." However, Uzma said Khan was angry over issues related to jail administration.
Speaking to the media after her visit, Uzma said, &ldquo;Praise be to Allah! His health is perfectly fine. However, he was very angry and said that they are subjecting him to mental torture." She claimed Khan told her he was being &ldquo;mentally tortured&rdquo; because he is kept inside his cell for most of the day and allowed out only briefly. &ldquo;He was not allowed to communicate with anybody," she said.
Adiala Jail authorities, however, maintained that Khan is in &ldquo;good health.&rdquo; He has been imprisoned since August 2023 in multiple cases.
The ban on family meetings had triggered public outrage, with the PTI saying Uzma was allowed to meet him only after large numbers of supporters gathered outside Adiala Jail. Meanwhile, the Punjab government deployed the entire Rawalpindi police force along Adiala Road to prevent PTI protests. Section 144, which bans gatherings of four or more people, has already been imposed in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
According to officials, &ldquo;an eight‑kilometre stretch has been completely sealed. Schools and colleges are closed. Residents are being required to show their ID card to pass through the area." A group of lawyers also staged a demonstration outside the Islamabad High Court against the government for keeping Khan in isolation.
Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said compliance with Section 144 would be enforced &ldquo;at any cost.&rdquo; &ldquo;Whether they come to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) or the Adiala jail, action under Section 144 would be carried out without any discrimination,&rdquo; he said.
Earlier, Imran Khan&rsquo;s son Kasim Khan demanded proof of his father&rsquo;s wellbeing. &ldquo;We demand proof of (Imran Khan)'s life,&rdquo; he said in a post on X.
Khan&rsquo;s party has warned of nationwide protests if his sisters are not allowed to meet him. They have also warned that if anything happens to the PTI founder, &ldquo;those involved and their families will not be spared by Pakistanis both here and abroad.&rdquo;

US President Donald Trump reiterated that he resolved the India-Pakistan conflict and claimed he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for each of the eight wars he says he has ended, even as India maintains it allowed no third-party mediation.

Trump repeats claim of ending India, Pak conflict, says should win Nobel Prize

US President Donald Trump reiterated that he resolved the India-Pakistan conflict and claimed he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for each of the eight wars he says he has ended, even as India maintains it allowed no third-party mediation.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday repeated his claim of resolving the India-Pakistan conflict and asserted that he should get the Nobel Peace Prize for each of the eight wars he says he has ended.
&ldquo;We ended eight wars...But we're going to do one more, I think, I hope,&rdquo; Trump said in remarks at a Cabinet Meeting, referring to the Russia-Ukraine war.
&ldquo;Every time I end a war, they say, &lsquo;if President Trump ends that war, he's going to get the Nobel Prize&rsquo;. If I end that war, &lsquo;well, he won't get it for that war, but if he ever gets it for the next war&rsquo;.
"Now they're saying, &lsquo;if he ever ends the war with Russia and Ukraine, he's going to get the Nobel Prize&rsquo;. What about the other eight wars? India, Pakistan, think of all the wars I ended. I should get the Nobel Prize for every war, but I don't want to be greedy,&rdquo; Trump said.
The US President said he cares more about the lives being lost in these wars, and added that the 2025 Nobel Prize laureate Venezuelan activist Mar&iacute;a Corina Machado Parisca had said that he deserved the Nobel Prize.
Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a &ldquo;full and immediate&rdquo; ceasefire after a &ldquo;long night&rdquo; of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 60 times that he &ldquo;helped settle&rdquo; the tensions between the two neighbours.
New Delhi has consistently denied any third-party intervention.
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.
India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

Russia’s State Duma has ratified the Reciprocal Exchange of Logistic Support (RELOS) pact with India, strengthening military cooperation ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s December 4–5 visit to New Delhi.

'We value our ties with India': Russia ratifies RELOS pact ahead of Putin’s New Delhi visit

Russia&rsquo;s State Duma has ratified the Reciprocal Exchange of Logistic Support (RELOS) pact with India, strengthening military cooperation ahead of President Vladimir Putin&rsquo;s December 4&ndash;5 visit to New Delhi.

Russia's lower house of parliament, State Duma, on Tuesday ratified a key military pact with India ahead of President Vladimir Putin's state visit to New Delhi on December 4-5.
The Reciprocal Exchange of Logistic Support (RELOS) signed on February 18, between the two governments was sent to Duma last week for ratification by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
"Our relations with India are strategic and comprehensive, and we value them. We understand that today's ratification of the agreement is another step toward reciprocity and, of course, the development of our relations," Vyacheslav Volodin, Speaker of State Duma, said at the plenary session of the house.
The RELOS agreement sets the procedure for sending military formations, warships and military aircraft of Russia to India and vice versa, and the organisation of their mutual logistical support.
The agreement will regulate not only the dispatch of troops and equipment but also their logistics.
The established procedure will be used during joint exercises, training, humanitarian aid, disaster relief efforts after natural and man-made disasters, and in other cases as agreed.
In a note posted on the Duma website, the Russian Cabinet of Ministers stated that ratification of the document will facilitate mutual use of the two countries' airspace and port calls by Russian and Indian warships.
Furthermore, the agreement will strengthen military cooperation between the two countries, it said.

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The use of English or any other foreign language would invite a fine of up to &euro;100,000 or $108,705, as per the proposed legislation.

Italy govt wants to ban English in official communication

The use of English or any other foreign language would invite a fine of up to &euro;100,000 or $108,705, as per the proposed legislation.

Italy's right-wing government is planning to ban the use of English in official communication, as per reports.
Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni's party Brothers of Italy has reportedly introduced a legislation which seeks to punish the use of any foreign language in formal communication.
The use of English or any other foreign language would invite a fine of up to &euro;100,000 or $108,705, as per the proposed legislation.

India abstained from a UN General Assembly resolution demanding the immediate and unconditional return of Ukrainian children allegedly deported by Russia. The resolution was adopted with 91 votes in favour, 12 against and 57 abstentions.

India abstains from UNGA resolution demanding return of Ukrainian children from Russia

India abstained from a UN General Assembly resolution demanding the immediate and unconditional return of Ukrainian children allegedly deported by Russia. The resolution was adopted with 91 votes in favour, 12 against and 57 abstentions.

India abstained in the UN General Assembly from a draft resolution that demanded that Russia ensure the immediate, safe and unconditional return of all Ukrainian children forcibly transferred or deported since the start of the war.
The 193-member General Assembly adopted the draft resolution &lsquo;Return of Ukrainian children&rsquo; Wednesday, with 91 votes in favour, 12 against and 57 abstentions. India was among the nations that abstained in the UNGA on the resolution, along with Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The resolution expressed deep concern about the impact of the war on children, in particular the fate of all Ukrainian children who have been separated from their families since 2014, including those forcibly transferred within the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine by Russia and those deported to Russia.
The resolution demanded that Russia &ldquo;ensure the immediate, safe and unconditional return of all Ukrainian children who have been forcibly transferred or deported&rdquo; and urged Moscow to cease, without delay, any further practice of forcible transfer, deportation, separation from families and legal guardians, change of personal status, including through citizenship, adoption or placement in foster families, and indoctrination of Ukrainian children.
It stressed the need to investigate and ensure accountability for those responsible for forcible transfers and deportations of children, in accordance with international law.
The resolution deplored the legislative and administrative measures taken by Russia since 2022 that &ldquo;simplify&rdquo; the procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship for Ukrainian children, particularly orphans, children deprived of parental care and unaccompanied children.
Ukraine&rsquo;s Deputy Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa, presenting the draft resolution at the 11th emergency special session of the UNGA, said that as of October 2025, there are 6,395 deported and forcibly transferred children. In total, over 20,000 cases of deportation and forcible transfer are being investigated.
Russia&rsquo;s Deputy Permanent Representative Maria Zabolotskaya, in her remarks in the UNGA, said that the draft resolution is stuffed with &ldquo;mendacious accusations&rdquo;, adding that it contains baseless allegations of Russia's violations of international humanitarian law and does not mention that there may be children evacuated from the combat zone or children who lost ties with their relatives, which in no way can be regarded as violations.
&ldquo;The resolution expresses concern regarding a simplified procedure for Ukrainian refugees to acquire Russian citizenship. Such a procedure is something that refugees around the world would dream about, especially if, as is the case under the Russian legislation, they are not even obliged to renounce their Ukrainian citizenship, not to mention the fact that the procedure is purely voluntary,&rdquo; Zabolotskaya said.
She said that each vote in favor of the resolution is a &ldquo;vote in support of lies, war, and confrontation, while each vote against is a vote for peace.&rdquo;
President of the UN General Assembly Annalena Baerbock said that since February 2022, when Russia launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the General Assembly has reiterated its calls, across eight resolutions adopted during its Eleventh Emergency Special Session, for the immediate, complete, and unconditional withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine&rsquo;s internationally recognised territory.
&ldquo;That is why the question of returning Ukrainian children cannot be viewed in a vacuum, for this issue would neither have arisen nor persisted without the Russian Federation&rsquo;s invasion of Ukraine,&rdquo; she said.
Earlier this year, a resolution adopted by the General Assembly highlighted its concern that the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia has persisted for three years, and continues to have devastating and long-lasting consequences not only for Ukraine, but also for other regions and global stability, Baerbock added.

India dispatches a Bailey bridge and 500 water purification units to Sri Lanka under Operation Sagar Bandhu, aiding disaster-hit regions after Cyclone Ditwah caused floods, landslides, and major infrastructure damage.

India Provides Aid to Cyclone-Hit Sri Lanka with Bridges and Water Units

India dispatches a Bailey bridge and 500 water purification units to Sri Lanka under Operation Sagar Bandhu, aiding disaster-hit regions after Cyclone Ditwah caused floods, landslides, and major infrastructure damage.

India has sent a Bailey bridge and hundreds of water-purification units to cyclone-hit Sri Lanka as part of its ongoing humanitarian support to reconnect isolated communities and restore essential services in the island nation.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse triggered by Cyclone Ditwah, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.&nbsp;
At least 479 people have been killed and 350 are missing as of Wednesday evening due to catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.
An IAF aircraft on Wednesday transported the prefabricated Bailey bridge and 500 water purification units to help ensure access to safe drinking water in cyclone-affected regions.
"Bridging gaps and restoring hope under Operation Sagar Bandhu. A C-17 has flown in a Bailey Bridge along with 500 water purification units, paving the way for reconnecting isolated communities and ensuring access to safe drinking water,&rdquo; the Indian High Commission in Colombo posted on social media on Thursday.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Bridging gaps and restoring hope under <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OperationSagarBandhu?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OperationSagarBandhu</a>! A <a href="https://twitter.com/IAF_MCC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IAF_MCC</a> C-17 has flown in a Bailey Bridge along with 500 water purification units, paving the way for reconnecting isolated communities and ensuring access to safe drinking water in areas impacted by&hellip; <a href="https://t.co/flTHpqtIR4">pic.twitter.com/flTHpqtIR4</a>
&mdash; India in Sri Lanka (@IndiainSL) <a href="https://twitter.com/IndiainSL/status/1996438122822070484?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 4, 2025</a></blockquote>
&nbsp;
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In another post, the mission said disaster-management cooperation between the two neighbours also continued in the digital sphere. In a virtual meeting held on Wednesday, Bhaskar Katamneni, Secretary of Real Time Governance, Andhra Pradesh, shared a "digital toolkit" showcasing the state government's best practices in disaster preparedness and response with Hans Wijayasuriya, Chief Advisor to the Sri Lankan President on Digital Economy, and the GovTech team.
India has been extending humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka under Operation Sagar Bandhu, with extensive air, sea and ground operations delivering urgent relief to those affected.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in a social media post on Wednesday expressed appreciation for Prime Minister Narendra Modi for India&rsquo;s steadfast support to Sri Lanka. &ldquo;India&rsquo;s prompt assistance under the SAGAR-BANDHU initiative underscores the depth of our partnership and the enduring goodwill between our nations,&rdquo; he said.
Officials estimate a total economic loss of between USD 6 billion and 7 billion, which is roughly 3-5 per cent of the island nation's GDP, due to the cyclone.

The US State Department mandates all H-1B and H-4 visa applicants to make social media profiles public starting December 15, expanding security screening amid stricter immigration policies targeting foreign workers.

US Expands Social Media Vetting for H-1B, H-4 Visa Applicants

The US State Department mandates all H-1B and H-4 visa applicants to make social media profiles public starting December 15, expanding security screening amid stricter immigration policies targeting foreign workers.

The US government has expanded screening and vetting measures for H-1B visa applicants and their H-4 dependents, directing them to keep the privacy settings on all their social media profiles set to "public".
In a new order issued Wednesday, the State Department said beginning December 15, a review of the online presence for all H-1B applicants and their dependents will be conducted. Students and exchange visitors were already subject to such scrutiny, which has now been extended to include those applying for H-1B and H-4 visas.
&ldquo;To facilitate this vetting, all applicants for H-1B and their dependents (H-4), F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas are instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to 'public',&rdquo; the State Department said.
Underscoring that a US visa is a privilege and not a right, the department said it uses all available information in screening and vetting to identify visa applicants who are inadmissible or pose a threat to America's national security or public safety. "Every visa adjudication is a national security decision," it said.
The department said the US &ldquo;must be vigilant&rdquo; to ensure applicants do not intend to harm Americans and that all visa applicants credibly establish eligibility and intent to comply with the terms of their admission.
The directive is the latest in a series of steps by the Trump administration to tighten immigration rules. The administration has launched a massive crackdown to check abuse of the H-1B visa programme, used largely by US technology companies to hire foreign workers. Indian professionals, including tech workers and physicians, form one of the largest groups of H-1B visa holders.
In September, US President Donald Trump issued a proclamation, titled &lsquo;Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers&rsquo;, imposing a one-time USD 100,000 fee on new H-1B work visas, an order that could significantly impact Indian workers seeking temporary employment in the US.
Separately, Washington has also paused with immediate effect Green Card, US citizenship and other immigration applications for people hailing from 19 &ldquo;countries of concern&rdquo;, following the shooting of National Guard soldiers by an Afghan national.
A policy memorandum issued Tuesday directs the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to &ldquo;place on hold&rdquo;, effective immediately, all asylum applications, regardless of the immigrant&rsquo;s country of nationality, pending a comprehensive review. The pause also applies to all immigration applications from nationals of 19 countries previously covered by the administration's travel ban. These countries are Afghanistan, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Congo, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, and Yemen. The applications will be on hold &ldquo;pending a comprehensive review, regardless of entry date&rdquo;, the directive said.
The new guidance follows the shooting of US Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and US Air Force Staff Sgt Andrew Wolfe, 24. Beckstrom succumbed to her injuries, Trump said Thursday during a Thanksgiving call with service members, while Wolfe remains in critical condition.
The accused, Lakanwal, 29, had entered the US through &lsquo;Operation Allies Welcome&rsquo;, a Biden-era programme for Afghan nationals fleeing the Taliban takeover in 2021.

Former US President Donald Trump claimed Vladimir Putin wants to end the Ukraine war after inconclusive Moscow talks, while US envoys plan follow-up meetings with Kyiv.

Trump says Putin wants to end war, US to hold new talks with Ukraine

Former US President Donald Trump claimed Vladimir Putin wants to end the Ukraine war after inconclusive Moscow talks, while US envoys plan follow-up meetings with Kyiv.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he believes Russia's Vladimir Putin wants to end the Ukraine war despite inconclusive talks in Moscow, as US officials prepared for a follow-up meeting with Kyiv's top negotiator.
Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner huddled into the early hours with Putin in the Kremlin but reached no breakthrough on halting Europe's worst conflict since World War II.
The Kremlin said afterward it found parts of the US plan to end the war unacceptable, even though the proposal includes Ukraine ceding parts of the eastern Donbas region it still holds nearly four years after Russia's invasion.
"I can tell you that they had a reasonably good meeting with President Putin," Trump said when an AFP reporter asked him about the talks, adding afterwards that the talks were "very good."
Trump said it was too soon to tell what would happen "because it does take two to tango."
Pressed on whether Witkoff and Kushner got any sense that Putin genuinely wanted to halt Russia's nearly four-year-old invasion, Trump replied: "He would like to end the war. That was their impression."
Trump added that Ukraine "pretty well" backed the US proposal, although he added that Kyiv should have done so earlier when he had a notoriously heated meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval office in February.
Witkoff and Kushner were now due to meet top Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov in Florida on Thursday, two US officials told AFP, to follow up on the Kremlin talks.
 - 'Successes of the Russian army' -
But while the White House had voiced optimism ahead of the Kremlin talks, Moscow said that the two sides had failed to reach a compromise and that more work was needed.
The Kremlin added Wednesday that its army's recent battlefield successes in Ukraine had bolstered its position and that Kyiv's ties to NATO remained a key question.
Russia's advance in eastern Ukraine gathered pace last month and Putin has said in recent days that Moscow is ready to fight on to seize the rest of the land it claims if Kyiv does not surrender it.
"The progress and nature of the negotiations were influenced by the successes of the Russian army on the battlefield in recent weeks," Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, who took part in the US-Russia talks, told reporters, including AFP.
Moscow insisted it was incorrect to say Putin rejected the plan in its entirety.
It also said Russia was still committed to diplomacy, despite Putin's stark warning earlier this week that Moscow was prepared to fight Europe if it wanted war.
"We are still ready to meet as many times as is needed to reach a peace settlement," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
 - 'Opportunity to end the war' -
In Kyiv, Zelensky said that though a window of opportunity for peace has opened, it must be accompanied by pressure on Moscow.
"The world now clearly feels that there is an opportunity to end the war, and the current activity in negotiations must be supported by pressure on Russia," he said in a regular evening address.
The fresh talks come as NATO pledges to buy hundreds of millions of dollars worth of US arms for Kyiv.
NATO chief Mark Rutte said it was positive that peace talks were ongoing, but that the alliance should make sure that "Ukraine is in the strongest possible position to keep the fight going".
Russian troops have been grinding forward across the front line against outgunned and outnumbered Ukrainian forces.
Earlier this week, Moscow claimed to have captured the important stronghold of Pokrovsk, but a Ukrainian army unit fighting in the city said urban combat was still ongoing.
European countries have expressed fears Washington and Moscow will reach agreements without them and have spent the last weeks trying to amend the US plan so that it does not force Kyiv to capitulate.

Salvador Plasencia, the doctor who supplied ketamine to “Friends” star Matthew Perry before his fatal overdose in 2023, was sentenced to 30 months in California.

Doctor who sold ketamine to 'Friends' star Matthew Perry gets 2.5 years in prison

Salvador Plasencia, the doctor who supplied ketamine to &ldquo;Friends&rdquo; star Matthew Perry before his fatal overdose in 2023, was sentenced to 30 months in California.

A doctor who supplied "Friends" star Matthew Perry with ketamine in the months before he fatally overdosed, musing to a fellow physician over "how much this moron will pay" for the drug, was jailed in California on Wednesday.
Salvador Plasencia, 44, is the first of five people to face justice over Perry's 2023 death in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home.
Plasencia was ordered to serve 30 months in prison for supplying the drug to the actor -- who had well documented struggles with addiction -- at grossly inflated prices.
In a victim impact statement filed with the court, Perry's mother Suzanne Perry and his stepfather, Keith Morrison, said Plasencia -- who did not supply the fatal dose of the drug -- had neglected his duty as a doctor.
"Matthew's recovery counted on you saying NO," they wrote.
"Your motives? I can't imagine. A doctor whose life is devoted to helping people?"
Plasencia's attorneys, Karen Goldstein and Debra White, who had argued for a probationary sentence, said their client, who has surrendered his medical license, was filled with regret.
"He is not a villain. He is someone who made serious mistakes in his treatment decisions involving the off-label use of ketamine -- a drug commonly used for depression that does not have uniform standards," they said after the sentencing.
"The mistakes he made over the 13 days during which he treated Mr. Perry will stay with him forever."
Another doctor, Mark Chavez, pleaded guilty in October to conspiring to distribute ketamine to Perry.
Plasencia allegedly bought ketamine off Chavez and sold it to the American-Canadian actor at hugely inflated prices.
"I wonder how much this moron will pay," Plasencia wrote in one text message presented by prosecutors.
The four other people who have also admitted their part in supplying drugs to the actor will be sentenced over the coming months.
They include Jasveen Sangha, the alleged "Ketamine Queen" who supplied drugs to high-end clients and celebrities, who could be jailed for up to 65 years.
Perry's live-in personal assistant and another man pleaded guilty in August to charges of conspiracy to distribute ketamine.
 - Addiction struggles -
The actor's lengthy struggles with substance addiction were well-documented, but his death at age 54 sent shockwaves through the global legions of "Friends" fans.
A criminal investigation was launched soon after an autopsy discovered he had high levels of ketamine -- an anesthetic -- in his system.
In a plea deal with prosecutors, Plasencia said he went to Perry's home to administer ketamine by injection and distributed 20 vials of the drug over a roughly two-week period in autumn 2023.
Perry had been taking ketamine as part of supervised therapy for depression.
But prosecutors say that before his death he became addicted to the substance, which also has psychedelic properties and is a popular party drug.
First airing between 1994 and 2004, the televised comedy "Friends" followed the lives of six New Yorkers navigating adulthood, dating and careers, drew a massive following and made megastars of previously unknown actors.
Perry's role as the sarcastic man-child Chandler brought him fabulous wealth, but hid a dark struggle with addiction to painkillers and alcohol.
In 2018, he suffered a drug-related burst colon and underwent multiple surgeries.
In his 2022 memoir "Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing," Perry described going through detox dozens of times.
"I have mostly been sober since 2001," he wrote, "save for about sixty or seventy little mishaps."

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