WORLD

ISTANBUL, 24 October, 2026 (Kamran Raja): Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Friday warned that any renewed attack on Iran would intensify tensions and widen the regional conflict, stressing that diplomacy and dialogue remained the only viable way to end the war. Fidan made the remarks after meeting his counterparts from Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Germany, France, Britain and Italy in Istanbul to discuss developments in the Iran war, attacks on Saudi Arabia by Iran-backed Houthi militants and Russia’s war in Ukraine. The meeting marked the first collective gathering of the Regional Four (R4) and European Union’s E3 countries, alongside Italy. “We are all in agreement that a new attack on Iran would expand the war in the region,” Fidan said at a press conference, adding that milita...

SEOUL, 24 October, 2026 (Nosheen): North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in China on Saturday via the newly opened New Yalu River Bridge, which connects the two neighbouring countries, a South Korean government official said. Kim entered China through the border city of Dandong, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to comment publicly. Another South Korean official familiar with the matter said Chinese Premier Li Qiang met Kim in Dandong. The visit comes one day before the anniversary of China’s entry into the 1950–1953 Korean War. South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported that Kim was expected to return to North Korea after the visit, while a South Korean official told Reuters that a trip to Beijing before the Chinese Communist ...

WEST BANK, 24 October, 2026 (Ghufran): Israeli forces began demolishing buildings and ordering residents to evacuate a neighbourhood in the occupied West Bank on Friday, following a shooting attack in Hebron that killed two Israeli soldiers and lightly wounded three others at a military checkpoint. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said two Palestinian gunmen carried out the attack, prompting Israeli authorities to launch a multi-day security operation in the area. The incident occurred just four days before Israel’s elections, placing security concerns at the centre of a crucial political test for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has sought to project a tough stance on security. Following the shooting, the IDF announced a “full siege” on Hebron, while Netanyahu said he had ordered a c...

 BEIJING, 24 October, 2026 (Kamran Raja): China’s ruling Communist Party announced key personnel changes in six provinces on Saturday, ahead of a closed-door party conclave scheduled to take place in Beijing from October 26 to 29. The meeting, known as the fifth plenum, is officially expected to focus on party governance and discipline, although personnel matters may also feature in discussions. Wang Zhijun, deputy secretary-general of the State Council, was appointed Communist Party secretary of the southern province of Hunan, replacing Shen Xiaoming. Wang is a full member of the party’s Central Committee, one of its principal decision-making bodies. Mo Gaoyi, a vice minister in the party’s publicity department and director of the State Council Information Office, was appointed p...

 Beijing, October 23, 2026 (Nosheen): The number of people injured in a magnitude 7 earthquake that struck China's southwestern Tibet region has risen to 65, while the death toll remains at 16, local authorities said on Friday. The earthquake, whose epicentre was in Nagqu, a sparsely populated, high-altitude city in northern Tibet, is the strongest to hit China since January 2024. More than 300 police officers, including traffic and community police personnel, have been deployed to the affected area to carry out rescue and emergency relief operations, according to the Nagqu police department. Authorities said officers were inspecting damaged homes and helping residents relocate to safer locations. More than 12,000 people have been safely relocated, state media outlet Xinhua repo...

Tehran, 23 October, 2026 (Ghufran): Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spokesman Brigadier General Hossein Mohebi has said the United States has suffered strategic defeats in its war against Iran, failing to change the country’s political system or divide its territory. In a statement, Mohebi said the enemy had divided its objectives into 13 parts but had failed to achieve any of them. He added that the US military presence in the region had failed to guarantee peace, arguing that American military bases had become sources of insecurity rather than protection. Mohebi said the war had raised questions about claims of US intelligence superiority, exposing vulnerabilities in American intelligence facilities and military bases. He further claimed that attacks on US warplanes and t...

Tehran, 23 October, 2026 (Kamran Raja): Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned the United States of serious consequences over alleged violations of Iranian regulations in the Strait of Hormuz, threatening to target American military bases across the Middle East if US forces continue providing security escorts to vessels transiting the strategic waterway. According to media reports, the IRGC said in a statement that continued US military protection for ships in the Strait of Hormuz would be considered unlawful and could trigger retaliatory attacks on American military installations throughout the region. The IRGC also claimed that its naval forces had simultaneously struck four vessels involved in oil transfers in the Gulf, setting them ablaze. The Strait of Hormuz is on...