WORLD
Vladimir Putin says AUKUS harms regional stability
"In my opinion, it is good to be friends with each other, but bad to be friends against someone. This impairs the stability that we all talk about and we all care about," Putin said during an interview with US TV channel CNBC on Wednesday, the Xinhua news agency reported.
PIA cites security reasons to suspend Kabul operations
PIA spokesperson Abdullah Khan confirmed the development, saying that Kabul operations of the airline will remain suspended until further notice. The spokesperson emphasised the fact that PIA had kept flying in and out of Kabul under "difficult circumstances" when others had ceased their operations.
'US, S.Korea working to restart dialogue with Pyongyang'
In a parliamentary audit on Wednesday, Lee said the countries are also discussing ways to bring North Korea back to the dialogue table that may include the provision of humanitarian assistance to the impoverished country, reports Yonhap News Agency. "(We) are discussing various ways to build trust such as the provision of humanitarian assistance to create a favourable condition for talks with North Korea," the diplomat said.
Mexico, US agree to reopen border in November
"The northern border will be opened. We will have normalcy on our northern border as of November 1," Lopez Obrador said during his daily press conference from the National Palace in Mexico City, Xinhua news agency reported. The Mexico-US border has been closed to "non-essential" traffic since March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Blinken warns of 'other options' if diplomacy fails on Iran nuke issue
Blinken on Wednesday met with his counterparts of Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the State Department over bilateral and trilateral cooperation as well as regional security issues, including Iran, reports Xinhua news agency. During a joint press conference after their trilateral meeting, Blinken reiterated that diplomacy is the most effective way to ensure that Iran would not develop a nuclear weapon.
'It was like death': World's oldest astronaut Star Trek-fame William Shatner
Shatner has broken the record of aviation pioneer Wally Funk, who, at 83, became the oldest person to have ever flown to space. The booster and capsule of the fully automated and reusable New Shepard rocket landed separately, with the capsule landing in the west Texas desert with the help of parachutes within minutes of their launch to space. "Capsule touchdown! Welcome home to the crew of #NS18!" the company tweeted.
Pakistan stocks take a beating on controversy over ISI chief appointment
Topline Securities CEO Mohammad Sohail said investors were worried over the controversy surrounding the appointment of the Inter-Services Intelligence chief, Dawn reported. Ahsan Mehanti from Arif Habib Corporation said stocks fell across the board on investor concerns for global equity sell off and rising inflation amid slump in rupee. "Uncertainty over outcome of ongoing Pak-IMF talks under EFF (Extended Fund Facility) and economic uncertainty amid surging trade deficit, bond yields played a catalyst role in the bearish close," he said.
US businesses suffer setbacks due to Biden's trade policy on China: US media
Biden will keep the Trump-era tariffs on billions of dollars of Chinese goods in place, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced last week, Xinhua news agency reported. KUAR interviewed Texas-based luggage store owner Tiffany Williams, who said the tariffs combined with Covid-19 and supply chain issues have hurt her business in recent years.
Daunting challenges from low poll numbers to Covid plague Biden presidency
The embattled president is plummeting in the polls amid multiple crises -- his botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, skyrocketing urban crime and a crisis at the US southern border, to name a few, Xinhua news agency reported. But the most pressing concern for the president remains the surging Delta variant, which is running rampant among the unvaccinated, analysts warned.
Wildfire in southern California triggers evacuation orders
The Alisal Fire started Monday afternoon near the Alisal Resevoir, north of the US Highway 101 along coastal Santa Barbara County, Inciweb said, adding "the fire is burning in dense chaparral and grass and is being pushed by strong winds and growing at a rapid rate of speed." Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors has declared a local state of emergency for the Alisal Fire.
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