Chinese consul general says Beijing against hegemony, power politics

KARACHI: Chinese Consul General Yang Yundong has stated that China opposes power politics and hegemony, while maintaining peaceful foreign policy. In his remarks at a media briefing on “China Two Sessions 2025,” in Karachi, the consul general emphasised the importance of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the National People’s Congress (NPC) in China’s governance structure. Discussing China’s development across various sectors, Yang said that the government work report reviewed past achievements and outlined future strategies. He noted that these sessions also present learning opportunities for Pakistan. Yang…

Trump doubles down on Greenland control, in talks with NATO chief

WASHINGTON: Former US President Donald Trump has reiterated his push for American control over Greenland, as he told NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte that the strategic Arctic territory is crucial for international security. “You know, Mark, we need that for international security, not just security – international – we have a lot of our favourite players cruising around the coast, and we have to be careful,” Trump told Rutte as they sat side by side in the White House Oval Office for talks. “We’ll be talking to you.” Asked directly about the…

Elimination of terrorism in Balochistan, KP must for country’s progress: PM Shehbaz

QUETTA: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said that Pakistan cannot move forward on the path of progress without eliminating the menace of terrorism in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.       Addressing a high-level meeting on law and order situation in Quetta, PM Shehbaz paid tribute to Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir and the security forces for successfully recovering 339 Jaffar Express passengers who were taken hostage by the terrorists in Bolan area of the province. “The terrorists who attacked the train did not even care about the…

US energy secretary slams Biden’s ‘irrational’ climate policies

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright has pledged to reset federal energy policy to favour fossil fuels, marking a major departure from the previous administration’s approach to climate change, AFP reported. Addressing industry leaders at the Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) conference, Energy Secretary Chris Wright criticised the Biden administration’s policies, calling them “irrational quasi-religious” restrictions that burdened US citizens. Wright highlighted the Trump administration’s swift action in reducing bureaucratic hurdles for oil projects and promoting liquefied natural gas exports. “The Trump administration will end the Biden administration’s irrational quasi-religious policies on climate…

Govt rejects notion of ‘usurping’ Sindh’s water for Cholistan project

Amid escalating tensions between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) over the Cholistan canal project, the federal government has rejected notion of depriving Sindh of its water share.  “Certain politicians, doing the fringe politics, are fanning the flames of controversy…it is not that someone was eyeing Sindh’s water or usurping it,” Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said while speaking on Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’. His remarks came hours after President Asif Ali Zardari kicked off the second parliamentary year…

Ukraine’s Zelensky reaffirms commitment for meaningful dialogue with US

KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has reaffirmed his country’s commitment to engage in a constructive dialogue with the United States representatives in Saudi Arabia next week over ways to end the war with Russia. Since taking office in January, US President Donald Trump has paused US military aid to Ukraine as well as intelligence-sharing with Kyiv. He has accused Zelensky of not being serious about reaching a peace agreement with Russia, which invaded Ukraine three years ago and has seized about 20% of its territory. “Ukraine has been seeking peace from the…

JIT summons 25 PTI leaders again over ‘anti-state propaganda’ on social media

ISLAMABAD: Several members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were summoned once again by a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) on Friday in connection with an ongoing anti-state propaganda case involving social media activities. Sources revealed that only Barrister Gohar, Rauf Hassan and Shah Farman appeared before the team despite summons notices being issued for 25 party leaders. The team interrogated the three party leaders for five hours, during which Farman, who was thrown some additional tough questions, behaved inappropriately, the sources added. Furthermore, the PTI leaders, including Hassan, Salman Akram Raja, and Firdous Shamim…