Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has expressed optimism about restoring Pakistan’s ties with India and meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an interview with an Indian journalist, Barkha Dutt, on the eve of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. Pakistan is hosting the summit between October 15 and October 16. Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar is scheduled to attend the conference. Talking to Dutt with reference to Pakistan-India ties, Nawaz said he has always been a supporter of good relations with India. “I hope that there is an opportunity to revive our relationship,” The PML-N president, who served

3.2 million square metre mega farm in the kingdom sets a global benchmark in agriculture Saudi Arabia has etched its name in the Guinness World Records with a monumental achievement in agriculture. An extension farm of the Research Unit for Renewable Water Agriculture located in Wadi Bin Hashbal, Asir region, has been recognised as the world’s largest farm in terms of area. The accolade was officially acknowledged in a ceremony organised by the Saudi Reef Program at its headquarters in Riyadh. The Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen Al Fadhli, was honoured to receive the certificate of

Factors like demographics and turnout in this group of counties could play critical roles in the outcome of this year’s race for the White House – or in U.S. politics beyond. By Louis JacobsonThe presidential election officially is decided by the states through the Electoral College. But to fully understand the race’s dynamics, it also helps to look one level down – at counties. That’s what U.S. News has done through a series examining 15 battleground counties that could prove crucial in this year’s race for the White House – now pitting Vice President Kamala Harris against former President Donald Trump

By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States expanded sanctions against Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical sectors on Friday in response to an Iranian missile attack on Israel, the administration of President Joe Biden said. The U.S. move adds petroleum and petrochemicals to an executive order that targets key sectors of Iran’s economy with the aim of denying the government funds to support its nuclear and missile programs. “The new designations today also include measures against the ‘Ghost Fleet’ that carries Iran’s illicit oil to buyers around the world,” Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, said in a statement. “These measures

Former Barcelona, Real Madrid and Liverpool stars are among the 10 players with the most career hat-tricks in the 21st century. Most players are lucky if they score just one hat-trick in their entire career, but in order to make the cut for this list, you need a minimum of 18 hat-tricks to your name. Using stats from Transfermarkt, here are the 10 players with the most hat-tricks in the 21st century for club and country. Note: hat-tricks have only been counted when a player is active in a top 15 league. =8. Sergio Aguero – 18 The Argentine legend holds

North Korea said it would permanently seal its border with South Korea and cut off all roads and railways linking the neighbouring countries but stopped short, for now, of formally declaring Seoul its chief enemy. Pyongyang would “permanently shut off and block the southern border”, the official KCNA news agency reported, adding it would “fortify the relevant areas of our side with strong defence structures”. The military called it a “self-defensive measure for inhibiting war and defending the security” of North Korea as “the hostile forces are getting ever more reckless in their confrontational hysteria”. It was unclear how the decision would impact relations with South Korea, analysts said, given that travel and

Former President Donald Trump’s team has blown past a pair of key deadlines for his presidential transition in a break from precedent that could have longterm national security ramifications. With just over 100 days until a new president is inaugurated and less than a month until Election Day, delays in the transition planning could pose challenges for a peaceful transfer of power. In an environment of intense polarization and mistrust, Max Stier, the president and CEO of the nonprofit and nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service, starkly warned that transition activities are “optional at real risk.” “You’re going to need to engage, and

Dubai: Starting November 15, it will be easier for exporters in the UAE to reclaim VAT related input costs after the Ministry of Finance’s latest updates on the tax. This means there will be no more need for exit certificates from the free zone, if the goods are being exported from there, or any other such facility when it comes to VAT reclaims. All that’s needed would be standard documentation confirming that the goods had indeed left the UAE shores. “Until now, each such VAT refund claim required an exit certificate to prove the goods had left the country,” said

Story by AFP Arecord number of climbers are gathered in Tibet to complete mountaineering’s pinnacle achievement, summiting the world’s tallest 14 peaks. Only about 50 climbers have climbed all mountain peaks above 8,000 metres (26,250 feet), a feat that took most years, or even decades, to complete. About 20 are vying for the record books this month, some spurred by a blockbuster Netflix documentary giving the endeavour a wider profile. echnological advancements have made the feat easier to accomplish. “We are growing as a community, and we are representing mountaineering all over the world,” Pakistani climber Shehroze Kashif, 22, told AFP. “I

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -In the past year in the Gaza Strip, Israel has bombed more than 40,000 targets, found 4,700 tunnel shafts and destroyed 1,000 rocket launcher sites, the military said on Monday’s one-year anniversary of the Hamas-led militant attacks that triggered Israel’s assault on the enclave. Tallying troops whose names it received permission to publish, Israel’s military said 726 Israeli soldiers had been killed since Oct. 7, 2023. Of those, 380 died in the Oct. 7 attacks and 346 in Gaza combat starting Oct. 27, 2023. Injured troops numbered 4,576 since that date. Fifty-six soldiers died as a result of