Author: i2wtc

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA: US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met face-to-face in Alaska on Friday in a high-stakes summit that could determine whether a ceasefire can be reached in the deadliest war in Europe since World War Two. Ahead of the talks, Trump greeted the Russian leader on a red carpet on the tarmac at a US Air Force base. The two shook hands warmly and touched each other on the arm before riding in Trump’s limo to the summit site nearby. There, the two presidents sat with their respective delegations in their first meeting since 2019. A…

This photo taken on Aug. 7, 2025 shows a German version of John Rabe’s diaries and a book about him “Rabe and China” at the John Rabe Communication Center in Heidelberg, Germany. John Rabe Communication Center is dedicated to commemorating John Rabe for his role in protecting civilians during the Nanjing Massacre in 1937, an atrocity committed during Japan’s war of aggression against China. During the Nanjing Massacre in 1937, John Rabe, a then representative of Siemens in the war-ravaged Chinese city Nanjing, set up an international safety zone with other foreigners, and saved the lives of around 250,000 Chinese…

ISLAMABAD: The upper house of the parliament witnessed uproar on Friday as opposition lawmakers accused the government of politicising this year’s civil awards by allegedly favouring ministers and treasury benches, while ignoring deserving figures. The Senate session, chaired by Chairman Yousaf Raza Gillani, turned heated after he announced that several cabinet members and senators had been conferred national honours on August 14. Opposition members demanded disclosure of the criteria used for selection. Among the awardees were Ishaq Dar, Mohsin Naqvi, Musadik Malik, Azam Nazeer Tarar, Faisal Sabzwari, Senator Sherry Rehman, Senator Bushra Anjum, Ahsan Iqbal and Ahad Cheema. Irfan Siddiqui…

CHITRAL: A group of women trekkers returned to Chitral city here on Friday after successfully trekking to the base camp of Terich Mir, the highest peak of Hindukush system of mountains as part of the 75-year celebrations of its first successful ascent. Arranged by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture & Tourism Authority (KPCTA) under its ‘Year of Terich Mir 2025’ initiative, the group included trekkers from all the four provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and Islamabad Capital Territory. Supported by 36 local porters and three local guides, the trekkers braved the difficult paths, fast-flowing water and harsh glaciers to make it to the base camp…

The high-stakes summit on Friday between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin did not result in a breakthrough, even as Trump described it as “productive,” while Putin proposed another meeting in Moscow.The White House had played down the talks — initially seen as an attempt at securing a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine — with spokesperson Karoline Leavitt calling the summit, “a listening exercise for the president.” Following the Friday meeting Trump said, “There’s no deal until there’s a deal.”Ukraine was not part of the discussions, stoking concerns that a potential deal could have compromised the country’s sovereignty.…

BEIJING: A Chinese diplomat, who Reuters reported had been taken for questioning by Chinese authorities, appeared at a diplomatic event in Beijing on Friday evening. Sun Haiyan, a senior Chinese diplomat and former ambassador to Singapore, appeared as a guest at an event organised by India’s embassy in Beijing. In response to a question from Reuters at the event, Sun did not comment directly on whether authorities had detained or questioned her, saying, “Well, I’m here.” She called the Reuters report “irresponsible”. Reuters had reported on Friday that Sun had been taken for questioning by authorities earlier this month, citing…

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he holds a press conference with Russian President Vladimir Puting following their meeting to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S., August 15, 2025. Jeenah Moon | ReutersU.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he did not immediately need to consider retaliatory tariffs on countries such as China for buying Russian oil but might have to “in two or three weeks.”Trump has threatened sanctions on Moscow and secondary sanctions on countries that buy its oil if no moves are made to end the war in…

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the country on Friday to move towards more self-reliance, manufacture everything from fertilisers to jet engines and EV batteries, and vowed to protect farmers in the face of a trade conflict with Washington. With the punishing tariffs imposed on Indian exports by US President Donald Trump expected to hurt growth in the world’s fastest growing major economy, Modi announced lower goods and services taxes (GST) from October — a move that could help boost consumption. He also announced India would set up a new defence system called ‘Sudarshan Chakra’ in the aftermath of…

PESHAWAR: A deluge of biblical proportions struck upcountry areas as monsoon rains, cloudbursts and landslides wreaked havoc, claiming more than 200 lives in just 24 hours, officials reported on Friday — a catastrophe survivors likened to the ‘doomsday’. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) bore the brunt of the disaster of apocalyptic scale, with Buner district at the eye of the storm. Entire communities were swept off their feet, homes demolished and entire families lost in the blink of an eye. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issued a grim update late on Friday evening, confirming 194 fatalities nationwide. Of these, 180 were recorded in…

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday directed the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to scale up relief and rescue operations across flood-hit regions of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), as the death toll from the latest spell of torrential rains and landslides climbed to 189 in the past 24 hours. A special emergency cell has also been established at the Prime Minister’s Office to ensure 24/7 coordination of relief efforts and monitor the evolving situation. Chairing an emergency meeting to review the damage caused by monsoon rains and cloudbursts in northern Pakistan, the prime minister ordered the…