Category: INTERNATIONAL

Iran War News 2026: Pakistan Steps Up Mediation as Strait of Hormuz Remains Shut

Kainat R
Pakistan and Iran flags side by side representing Iran war news and Pakistan Iran diplomatic relations 2026

Pakistan has intensified its diplomatic push to help broker an understanding between Iran and the United States, with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi holding high-level meetings in Tehran this week. The visit comes as the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed to commercial shipping more than five months into the 2026 Iran war, and as Islamabad simultaneously manages an active border conflict with Afghanistan. Together, these three threads — Iran war news, US-Iran war news, and Pakistan’s own security situation — are shaping one of the most consequential stretches of regional…

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North Korea Missile Range: What Pyongyang’s Growing Arsenal Means for the Region

Kainat R
North Korea ballistic missile launch seen from a coastal military site

North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the sea on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, marking its second weapons test in less than a week. The missile, launched from the Wonsan area on the country’s eastern coast, traveled roughly 700 kilometers before falling into the waters off Japan’s coastline. The launch adds fresh urgency to long-running questions about North Korea’s missile range and the size of its nuclear stockpile. Background: Decades of Missile and Nuclear Development North Korea’s weapons program did not appear overnight. The country began pursuing ballistic missile technology…

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US Sends Disaster Response Team and $15.5 Million in Emergency Aid

Nadeem Ali

The United States has announced a $15.5 million aid package and is deploying a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to support communities affected by a major disaster. The emergency assistance is aimed at helping provide immediate relief, support recovery efforts and address urgent humanitarian needs following the disaster. US Deploys Disaster Response Team The US Disaster Assistance Response Team is being sent to assess conditions on the ground and coordinate with local authorities and humanitarian organisations. The team is expected to help identify the most urgent needs, support emergency operations…

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July Becomes Hottest Month on Record as Extreme Heat Grips Europe and Other Regions

Nadeem Ali

July has recorded the highest global average temperature ever measured for the month, highlighting the growing impact of extreme heat and worsening climate conditions across several parts of the world. Western Europe has been particularly affected, with France and Spain experiencing their hottest July on record. Other regions, including parts of the Sahel and Central America, also endured exceptional temperatures, exposing hundreds of millions of people to dangerous heat. Extreme Heat Raises Climate Concerns The latest temperature records have renewed concerns about the accelerating effects of climate change. Scientists have…

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Global Natural Disaster Losses Hit $100 Billion in First Half of 2026: Swiss Re

Nadeem Ali

Economic losses caused by natural disasters worldwide reached an estimated $100 billion in the first six months of 2026, according to reinsurance giant Swiss Re, although the figure was significantly lower than the losses recorded during the same period last year. Swiss Re said the estimated losses were down from approximately $152 billion in the first half of 2025 and were also around 10% below the average recorded over the past decade. Despite the decline, the reinsurer warned that the lower figure should not be interpreted as a sign that…

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Afghanistan Girls Education Ban: 2.2 Million Still Locked Out of School

Kainat R
Afghan girls sitting outside a closed school building in Afghanistan

Afghanistan remains the only country on earth where a government has formally barred girls from secondary and higher education. Five years after the Taliban seized power, roughly 2.2 million adolescent girls are still shut out of classrooms beyond grade six, according to UNESCO and UNICEF.The restriction has not eased. It has hardened into policy, decree by decree, since August 2021. Background: How the Ban Took Shape The Taliban returned to power in August 2021. Girls’ secondary schools closed first, in March 2022. Universities followed in December of that year. By…

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Smart Zone Strikers Win Quaid-e-Azam Independence Cup 2026 in Jeddah

Amir Muhammad Khan

  Smart Zone Strikers Win Quaid-e-Azam Independence Cup in Jeddah   Eight teams compete in two-day tournament organized to mark Pakistan’s Independence Day JEDDAH — Amir Muhammad Khan Smart Zone Strikers won the **Quaid-e-Azam Independence Cup 2026** in Jeddah, defeating Karam Al-Balad by 37 runs in the final of the two-day cricket tournament organized as part of Pakistan’s Independence Day celebrations. The tournament was organized under the auspices of **Chaudhry Shafqat Mahmood, President of the Pakistan Investors Forum Saudi Arabia**, and attracted a large number of cricket enthusiasts and members…

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Tel Aviv Rocked by Wave of Grenade Attacks as Police Launch Urgent Investigation

Kainat R
Police and bomb disposal officers investigate the scene of a grenade explosion at a residential building in Tel Aviv.

A series of grenade attacks has struck Tel Aviv and nearby cities in recent days, alarming residents and prompting an urgent police investigation. The latest explosion rocked a residential tower in the upscale Park Tzameret neighborhood, while further blasts and unexploded devices were reported in Holon and Hadera. No deaths have been confirmed so far, though officials say the pattern points to an organized criminal campaign. Background Tel Aviv has seen a noticeable rise in violent incidents this year, and the latest wave of grenade attacks has added fresh urgency…

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Netanyahu Rejects Trump’s Gaza Plan as Israel Heads Toward October Elections

Kainat R
Benjamin Netanyahu speaking at an Israeli Cabinet meeting

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has formally rejected US President Donald Trump’s 15-point plan for Gaza. Netanyahu told his Cabinet that Israeli forces will not withdraw from the territory until Hamas is fully disarmed. The announcement lands weeks before Israel’s national elections, scheduled for October, where Netanyahu is fighting for his political survival. Background Benjamin Netanyahu is Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, currently in his sixth term as head of the right-wing Likud party. He was born in Tel Aviv in 1949 and spent part of his teenage years in Pennsylvania,…

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Trump Orders Review of Childhood Vaccines, Calls for Changes to MMR Shots

Nadeem Ali

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order calling for changes to the country’s childhood vaccination recommendations, including reducing the number of vaccines routinely recommended for children and separating the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into individual shots. Trump defended the move by arguing that children in previous generations received fewer vaccines and claimed that people were healthier at the time. He also linked the rise in autism diagnoses to the expansion of childhood vaccination, although scientific studies have repeatedly found no evidence that MMR vaccines cause autism.…

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