President Zardari heads to China for week-long visit focused on trade, ties and CPEC

President Zardari heads to China for week-long visit focused on trade, ties and CPEC

President Asif Ali Zardari began an official visit to China on April 25, 2026, in what Islamabad is…

By
Mabruka Khan
US, EU deepen critical minerals push to cut reliance on China-linked supply chains

US, EU deepen critical minerals push to cut reliance on China-linked supply chains

The United States and the European Union are moving to tighten cooperation on critical minerals, opening a new…

By
Mabruka Khan
CDF Munir, Iran FM Araghchi discuss regional security in Islamabad meeting

CDF Munir, Iran FM Araghchi discuss regional security in Islamabad meeting

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces, Field Marshal Asim Munir, in Islamabad on…

By
Mabruka Khan
IMF presses Pakistan to pull idle public cash into Treasury Single Account

IMF presses Pakistan to pull idle public cash into Treasury Single Account

Pakistan has agreed to shut around 70 bank accounts held by government ministries and attached departments and move…

By
Mabruka Khan
Iran War Live Updates: U.S. Blockade Will Last ‘as Long as It Takes,’ Hegseth Says

Iran War Live Updates: U.S. Blockade Will Last ‘as Long as It Takes,’ Hegseth Says

WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD, April 24, 2026: The United States said Friday that its naval blockade targeting Iranian shipping will remain…

By
Mabruka Khan
CJP says reversing judge transfer to SHC would undercut constitutional purpose

CJP says reversing judge transfer to SHC would undercut constitutional purpose

Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi has pushed back against a proposal to move a transferred judge from…

By
Mabruka Khan
Lahore Ichhra case: Police say mother cited marital breakdown as motive in killing of three children

Lahore Ichhra case: Police say mother cited marital breakdown as motive in killing of three children

A deeply disturbing child murder case in Lahore’s Ichhra neighbourhood has taken an even darker turn, with police…

By
Mabruka Khan
Iran’s fast-boat swarms deepen shipping fears in the Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s fast-boat swarms deepen shipping fears in the Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s use of small, fast attack boats to seize two container ships near the Strait of Hormuz has…

By
Mabruka Khan
Pakistan repays $3.45 billion to UAE, central bank confirms

Pakistan repays $3.45 billion to UAE, central bank confirms

Pakistan has repaid the full $3.45 billion it owed the United Arab Emirates, with the State Bank of…

By
Mabruka Khan

A Case for Smaller Provinces

A Case for Smaller Provinces

By
Mabruka Khan
Gold Slips Amid Oil-Driven Inflation Concerns; Eyes on US-Iran Tensions

Gold Slips Amid Oil-Driven Inflation Concerns; Eyes on US-Iran Tensions

Gold prices eased on Thursday as rising crude oil costs sparked renewed inflation fears, prompting investors to rethink…

By
Mabruka Khan

Tiny Pacific nations face tough choices on food, fuel posed by Iran war

Tiny Pacific island nations are facing an ugly, familiar dilemma: pay more to keep fuel flowing and essential…

By
Mabruka Khan
Fly Jinnah to start twice-daily Islamabad–Lahore flights on May 1

Fly Jinnah to start twice-daily Islamabad–Lahore flights on May 1

Fly Jinnah is set to launch a new twice-daily service between Islamabad and Lahore from May 1, 2026,…

By
Mabruka Khan
PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that France will help Lebanon prepare for negotiations with Israel, throwing Paris more directly behind a diplomatic push that both sides hope can keep a shaky ceasefire from collapsing. The pledge came after Macron met Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in Paris on April 21, 2026, with both men calling for talks aimed at reinforcing the truce and easing pressure along the border. The message from Paris was fairly blunt: diplomacy has to move faster than events on the ground. Macron said securing the truce in Lebanon remains a priority, while Salam said Beirut is still committed to a political route — but only if Israel fully withdraws and Lebanese sovereignty is respected. That gives the talks a familiar tension from the outset: everybody says they want calm, but each side is attaching hard conditions to what comes next. What makes this moment different is that actual contact has already started. Earlier in April, Lebanon and Israel held their first direct diplomatic talks in decades in Washington, a notable step for two countries that remain formally at war. Those talks lasted more than two hours, according to AP, and were seen as an opening rather than any kind of breakthrough. Still, even getting both sides into the same room was a shift. A month ago, that would have sounded like a long shot. France is trying to carve out a role around that opening, even if it is not at the center of the U.S.-led channel. Reuters, in a report carried by AOL, said Macron offered French help in preparing Lebanese authorities for the negotiations despite Paris not being directly involved in the current track. That matters because France has longstanding ties to Lebanon and has already tried in recent months to position itself as a possible facilitator for Lebanon-Israel contacts. None of this is happening in calm conditions. The ceasefire itself is fragile, and that word keeps showing up for a reason. AP reported that Macron and Salam framed negotiations as a way to shore up that truce, not celebrate it. In other words, this is less about a peace moment and more about damage control — an attempt to stop cross-border violence from flaring back into a wider war. There is another layer here too: France’s own stake in Lebanon’s security picture has grown more personal and more political. AP reported that a French peacekeeper serving with the U.N. mission in southern Lebanon was recently killed, with France and UNIFIL blaming Hezbollah, which denied responsibility. Macron also signaled France could support a future peacekeeping arrangement if the current UNIFIL mandate expires later this year. That does not make France a neutral bystander. It makes Paris a country with skin in the game. For Lebanon, Salam’s visit was about more than symbolism. It was also about trying to strengthen Beirut’s hand before any deeper round of talks. That is how the Reuters report framed the meeting, and it fits the broader reality: Lebanon wants diplomatic backing, but it also wants guarantees that negotiations will not simply formalize Israeli military leverage on the ground. Israel, for its part, has shown little appetite for giving France a central seat. Recent reporting from The Times of Israel said Jerusalem has effectively boxed Paris out of the current Lebanon track, a sign that Macron’s activism is not automatically welcome everywhere. So France may end up playing the role of outside backer rather than direct broker, at least for now. That is still useful, but it is not the same thing as controlling the process. That leaves the region in an awkward, in-between place. The channels are open. The rhetoric is cautious. The fighting has eased, but nobody seems ready to pretend the danger is over. Macron’s offer to help Lebanon prepare for talks is significant because it tries to turn a brief diplomatic opening into something sturdier. Whether that works depends on what happens next — in Washington, along the border, and in the political calculations of Beirut and Jerusalem. Right now, the talks look less like a grand peace effort and more like a narrow bridge built over very thin ice.

Macron says France will help Lebanon get ready for talks with Israel

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that France will help Lebanon prepare for negotiations with Israel,…

By
Mabruka Khan
Trump reportedly weighs Congo option for Afghans who helped U.S. forces

Trump reportedly weighs Congo option for Afghans who helped U.S. forces

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration is reportedly exploring whether some Afghans who aided U.S. forces and are now stranded…

By
Mabruka Khan