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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday chaired a high-level meeting to review Pakistan&rsquo;s preparations for assuming the chairmanship of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) for 2026-27, his office said. The meeting assessed ongoing work and directed all relevant ministries to ensure comprehensive planning and coordination for the successful hosting of the SCO summit in 2027.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 672px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2052342207038865620&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fdashboard&sessionId=46e1cdd01948217d5be5c19859c37033640e3ac6&theme=light&widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&width=550px" data-tweet-id="2052342207038865620"></iframe></div></div>FM Dar stressed that Pakistan attaches high importance to the SCO framework and its upcoming role, calling it a reflection of the country&rsquo;s commitment to regional cooperation, connectivity and multilateral engagement.&nbsp;He also underscored the need for timely execution, strong inter-agency coordination and high standards of logistical and substantive preparations.&nbsp;Senior officials, including Special Assistants to the Prime Minister Tariq Bajwa and Tariq Fatemi, Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch, and representatives from key ministries, attended the meeting.

FILE: Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi (Photo: Associated Press of Pakistan)

Foreign Affairs

Assesses ongoing work and directs all relevant ministries to ensure comprehensive planning and coordination for the successful hosting of the SCO summit in 2027.

Pakistan steps up preparations for SCO summit 2027

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday said Pakistan remains engaged in regional diplomacy to support de-escalation between the United States and Iran following the announced pause in &quot;Project Freedom&quot; in the Strait of Hormuz. At the weekly press briefing in Islamabad, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had welcomed the timely announcement of a pause in military activity in the Strait of Hormuz and expressed hope that the current momentum will lead to a &quot;lasting agreement&quot; that secures durable peace and stability for the region and beyond.&nbsp; Marka-e-Haq anniversaryThe spokesperson moved on to describe the first anniversary of Marka-e-Haq as a defining moment in Pakistan&rsquo;s national journey, citing Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar&rsquo;s remarks that Pakistan&rsquo;s response under Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos was &quot;measured, lawful, and in line with the UN Charter.&quot; On May 5, Dar briefed the diplomatic corps on the anniversary, highlighting the military campaign as a symbol of Pakistan&rsquo;s unity, resilience, and the Armed Forces&rsquo; resolve to defend sovereignty, the briefing said.&nbsp; Regional diplomatic effortsThe spokesperson said Foreign Minister Dar had remained in contact with several counterparts as part of Pakistan&rsquo;s diplomatic outreach. On May 4, Dar held a telephone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi regarding the regional situation and Pakistan&rsquo;s mediation efforts. According to the Foreign Office, the Iranian side appreciated Pakistan&rsquo;s &quot;constructive and mediation role,&quot; while Dar stressed that dialogue remained the only path to peace. The briefing added that following diplomatic engagements, 22 crew members held aboard the seized Iranian container ship MV Touska were evacuated to Pakistan and later repatriated to Iran in what Islamabad described as a &quot;major confidence-building measure&quot; by the United States. The spokesperson said Dar also spoke with Kuwait&rsquo;s Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah on May 2, Jordan&rsquo;s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on May 3, and UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper on May 4. The Foreign Office also reiterated that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute remained central to regional instability and warned against unilateral actions related to the Indus Waters Treaty. On Gaza, Pakistan, in a joint statement with Turkiye, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Jordan, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, South Africa and Spain, &ldquo;condemned in the strongest terms the Israeli assault on the Global Sumud Flotilla,&rdquo; a civilian humanitarian initiative aimed at highlighting the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Repatriation of nationalsThe Foreign Office said Pakistan&rsquo;s missions abroad facilitated the repatriation of dozens of nationals detained in Cambodia and Uganda, including 54 Pakistanis arrested during a raid on a scam compound in Cambodia and 85 detained in Uganda for unauthorized employment.&nbsp; Officials said most of those held had already returned home, while Pakistani embassies provided consular access, emergency travel documents, food, water and medical assistance during their detention, and also extended support to Bangladeshi, Nepali and Sri Lankan nationals in similar circumstances. Maritime rescue operation&nbsp;The briefing concluded with details of a maritime rescue operation carried out by the Pakistan Navy in the Arabian Sea after the offshore vessel MV Gautam, carrying six Indian and one Indonesian crew member, suffered a technical failure. Upon receiving the alert from the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center in Mumbai, Pakistani authorities deployed the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency ship Kashmir to provide the stranded crew with food, medical support, and technical assistance.

Pakistan said diplomatic efforts continued with regional and international counterparts, while the Foreign Office also detailed the repatriation of detained nationals abroad and a maritime rescue operation involving an Indian-crewed vessel in the Arabian Sea.

Pakistan highlights mediation efforts, diplomacy at Foreign Office briefing 

ISLAMABAD: Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry on Thursday said the conflict witnessed during Marka-e-Haq and Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos was a &quot;multidimensional phenomenon&quot; fought beyond the Line of Control (LoC) and across every level. Pakistan&rsquo;s armed forces were fully prepared for the confrontation during Marka-e-Haq (&quot;Battle of Truth&quot;), the official designation for the military conflict with India, with the support of the public and the &quot;blessings of Allah&quot;, the Director General said in a briefing to commemorate Pakistan&#39;s victory against India. The ISPR chief claimed that India is continuously launching proxies against Pakistan,&nbsp;while the Pakistan Army remains engaged in a perpetual process of countering these threats. Banyan-ul-Marsoos proved Pakistan&rsquo;s potential and resilience against multi-faceted challenges, posed by both security and non-security threats, he said, adding that &quot;this proves that we believe in ourselves to face all kinds of threats.&quot; Lt. Gen. Chaudhry further described the operation as a &quot;loud and clear re-establishment of deterrence,&quot; reaffirming that there is no space for war between two geographically contiguous nuclear powers.&nbsp; &quot;Even today, this message is reverberating throughout the entire region,&quot; he stressed. Consequences of the warLt. Gen. Chaudhry said one of the major consequences of Marka-e-Haq was that attempts to portray Pakistan as a hub of terrorism had failed internationally. &quot;Attempts had been made to portray Pakistan as a hub of terrorism, and that was done without any evidence,&quot; he said, adding that the narrative was no longer being accepted globally. DG ISPR further added that the conflict reinforced Pakistan&rsquo;s role as a &quot;net security stabilizer&quot; in the region, saying India escalated tensions &quot;based on a lie.&quot; &quot;Pakistan and its leadership came up as the biggest ambassador of security in the region,&quot; he said. &quot;Why are you trying to make jokers out of your admirals, generals, and marshals?&quot;, adding that &quot;we [Pakistan] have placed the facts as they are.&quot; He further said that Indian politicians appeared more like &lsquo;warmongers&#39;, going by their statements, asserting that the politicization of the military and militarization of politics was &lsquo;dangerous.&rsquo;

Security

Director General ISPR Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, speaking at a briefing commemorating Pakistan’s victory against India, described the conflict as a 'multidimensional phenomenon' fought beyond the Line of Control (LoC), while saying India’s anti-Pakistan narrative was 'no longer accepted globally.'

Pakistan emerged as ‘net security stabilizer’ during conflict: DG ISPR

LONDON: UK polling stations opened Thursday in local elections set to heap more pressure on beleaguered Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer and showcase the rise of hard-right and left-wing populists. Polls opened at 7:00 am (0600 GMT) across Scotland, England, and Wales in the ballot that is Starmer&#39;s biggest electoral test since his July 2024 general election landslide victory ended 14 years of Conservative rule. Opinion polls predict grim results for Labour, which could amplify calls for Starmer, 63, to resign or face a long-rumoured party leadership challenge. The prime minister and his wife voted at a polling station near parliament in Westminster. Nigel Farage&#39;s anti-immigrant Reform UK and the left-wing Greens, led by self-described eco-populist Zack Polanski, are expected to be the main beneficiaries of widespread disillusionment. Melanie Garson, associate professor of politics at University College London, said the vote was a &quot;huge barometer for how the country is feeling about this political establishment&quot;. &quot;We&#39;ve got, for the first time, significant pressure on the main political parties across every single council.&quot; Polls will close at 10:00 pm. Some results are expected overnight, but most will not come until later on Friday. Around 5,000 local council seats, out of 16,000, are up for grabs across England, while in Wales and Scotland, voters will elect new devolved parliaments. Starmer swept to power following 14 years of largely chaotic Conservative rule defined by austerity, Brexit, and the tanking of the economy under former prime minister Liz Truss. But critics say he has swerved from one policy misstep to another, and he has been embroiled in a scandal over Peter Mandelson, who was sacked as ambassador to Washington over his links to US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Starmer has also failed to fulfil his main promise of spurring economic growth, with impatient Britons still suffering a cost-of-living crisis, including from high energy prices. &quot;The change hasn&#39;t been delivered, or the change that has been delivered has been negative,&quot; Garson told AFP. Leadership challenge?Starmer said on Wednesday there was a &quot;clear choice&quot; at the ballot box. &quot;Unity or division. Progress versus the politics of anger.&quot; Labour has also fought back, unearthing racist remarks by some Reform candidates and antisemitic comments by certain Green hopefuls. But Starmer is now one of the most unpopular prime ministers ever, and surveys suggest Labour will lose control of the devolved Welsh government in Cardiff for the first time since Wales got its own parliament 27 years ago. A More in Common poll published Tuesday projected Reform is neck-and-neck with the pro-independence Plaid Cymru in Labour&#39;s former heartland. Labour is also fearful of a drubbing in Scotland, where the Scottish National Party is expected to extend its 19-year control of the devolved parliament in Edinburgh. YouGov has predicted that Reform could force Labour into third place there. &quot;The message is clear: if you want real change, you&#39;d better vote for it, and we go into tomorrow feeling pretty optimistic about our prospects,&quot; Farage said. Labour also looks set for big losses in London as the Greens pick up disaffected left-wingers in urban areas with a pro-Gaza message. Pollster Robert Hayward has predicted the UK&#39;s ruling party could lose about 1,850 of the roughly 2,550 local authority seats it is defending. Hayward has tipped Reform to take 1,550 seats from Labour and Kemi Badenoch&#39;s right-wing Conservatives -- mostly in white, working-class areas. The Conservatives are also bracing for the loss of traditional strongholds. &quot;The two-party era has moved into a multi-party era,&quot; Badenoch told PA news agency. &quot;But the fact is none of these new parties or Labour have a plan for the country.&quot; Britain&#39;s media is full of rumors that ex-deputy prime minister Angela Rayner or Health Secretary Wes Streeting could try to oust Starmer after the results. Neither is universally popular within Labour, however, and would need the backing of 20% of the party&#39;s MPs to launch a contest. Some Labour lawmakers are reportedly planning to demand that Starmer set a date for his departure. He has insisted he will lead the party into the next general election, likely in 2029.

A polling clerk hangs up a sign reminding people to show ID as they turn up to vote in local elections at a mobile polling station in Walton-on-the-Naze, eastern England on May 7, 2026. (AFP)

United Kingdom

UK polling stations opened Thursday in local elections set to heap more pressure on beleaguered Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer and showcase the rise of hard-right and left-wing populists.

Britons set to punish Starmer's Labour in local polls

ISLAMABAD: Australia&#39;s men&#39;s national cricket team will tour Pakistan later this month for a three-match One-day International (ODI) series, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Thursday. According to the schedule released by PCB, Australia will arrive in Islamabad on May 23, with the first ODI scheduled for Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on May 30.&nbsp; The remaining two matches of the series will take place at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on June 2 and June 4. Australia, which played a T20 series in Pakistan earlier this year, will defend its 50-over title at the World Cup co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia in October 2027. It will be the team&#39;s first bilateral ODI series in Pakistan since March-April 2022, PCB said. The Australian team also featured in matches during the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan, including a five-wicket victory over the England cricket team at Gaddafi Stadium on Feb 22.&nbsp;

3rd T20I - Pakistan vs Australia at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore ( Photo: Pakistan Cricket Board)

Cricket

Australia will arrive in Islamabad on May 23 ahead of matches in Rawalpindi and Lahore, marking the teams’ first bilateral ODI tour of Pakistan since 2022, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced.

Pakistan to host Australia for three-match ODI series next month

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday said the first anniversary of Marka-e-Haq symbolizes Pakistan&rsquo;s courage, unity, and resolve. He praised the armed forces and reaffirmed support for dialogue in the region. In a message to the nation released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) marking one year since the military conflict with India that took place from April 22 to May 10, 2025, Dar paid tribute to Pakistan&rsquo;s armed forces and citizens, saying the country had responded to &quot;imposed aggression&quot; with restraint and principle under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. <div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2052254949841818087&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=1020b0725deadd7a0416a8dfc400a125cae13c44&theme=light&widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 576px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div> Referring to Pakistan&rsquo;s response under Operation Bunyan-ul-Marsoos following Indian conventional strikes on civilian infrastructure on the night of May 6, 2025, he noted that Pakistan had exercised its right to self-defense in line with the UN Charter, according to the Foreign Office. The FM said the response -- led by Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir -- targeted only military installations and was &quot;determined, decisive and proportionate.&quot; He also praised the role of the Pakistan Air Force under Zaheer Ahmad Babar Sidhu, saying it had shot down multiple Indian fighter jets and neutralized key military targets. The Pakistan Navy, led by Naveed Ashraf, remained fully prepared to counter any maritime aggression, he added. Pakistan&#39;s response &#39;lawful and restrained&#39;&quot;Pakistan stands for peace, but it will never compromise on its dignity, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence,&quot; Dar said. He maintained that Pakistan&rsquo;s diplomatic outreach during the critical period helped present the country&rsquo;s position at bilateral and international forums, describing Islamabad&rsquo;s response as &quot;lawful and restrained.&quot; Dar reiterated that lasting peace in South Asia could not be achieved without resolving the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in line with UN Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. Reaffirming Pakistan&rsquo;s support for dialogue and diplomacy, he warned that any threat to the country would be met with &quot;national unity, unshakeable resolve, and strength through all means available.&quot; The anniversary of Marka-e-Haq should also serve as a reminder of the need to strengthen Pakistan&rsquo;s economy, education system, and social sectors, while empowering youth and promoting national unity, the statement said. &quot;Let this day renew our collective pledge: to stand united; to reject division; to work tirelessly for a peaceful and prosperous Pakistan,&quot; he said. A &lsquo;defining chapter&rsquo; for PAF : ISPRMeanwhile, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the first anniversary of Marka-e-Haq marked a &quot;defining chapter&quot; in Pakistan&rsquo;s military history, particularly for the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). In a press statement, the military&rsquo;s media wing said the conflict had &quot;strengthened national confidence, reaffirmed institutional resolve and validated the PAF&rsquo;s efforts towards modernisation and operational capability enhancement&quot;. According to ISPR, the PAF&rsquo;s use of multi-domain operations demonstrated its preparedness for the evolving nature of modern warfare and highlighted the force&rsquo;s &quot;professional excellence&quot;. &quot;Pakistan is a peace-loving country, and its Armed Forces remain dedicated to preserving peace, promoting stability and ensuring security in the region&quot; the statement said, adding that &quot;peace for Pakistan has always been inseparable from honour, dignity and sovereign equality&quot;. ISPR warned that Pakistan&rsquo;s armed forces remained fully aware of the evolving regional security environment and any &quot;hostile design&quot; against the country would be met with &quot;greater strength, precision and resolve&quot;.

FILE: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar (Photo: X/@ForeignOfficePk)

Politics

Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar pays tribute to Pakistan’s armed forces and citizens, saying the country had responded to 'imposed aggression' with restraint and principle under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Pakistan's response to Indian aggression 'lawful and restrained', says FM on Marka-e-Haq anniversary

ISLAMABAD: United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, called Thursday for continued international efforts to recognize what he described as &ldquo;gender apartheid&rdquo; under Taliban rule, warning that sweeping restrictions on women and girls require sustained global attention. He made the remarks during a parliamentary conference on Afghanistan at the French National Assembly in Paris, according to Afghanistan International.&nbsp; Speaking to lawmakers, rights advocates and former Afghan officials, Bennett said the human rights situation in Afghanistan remains deeply troubling, particularly for women and girls facing severe limitations on education, employment and public life. &ldquo;Alongside realism about the situation, we must maintain hope for the people of Afghanistan,&rdquo; Bennett said, emphasizing the need for continued international engagement and support for Afghan citizens. Bennett also highlighted the role of the Afghan diaspora, saying communities abroad could help sustain hope and contribute to the country&rsquo;s future direction. Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have imposed a series of restrictions on women and girls, including bans on secondary and higher education for girls, limits on employment and constraints on movement without a male guardian. Rights groups and UN officials have repeatedly condemned the policies as violations of fundamental human rights. The conference in Paris focused on Afghanistan&rsquo;s humanitarian and political situation, with participants discussing international responses to the country&rsquo;s ongoing crisis.

Burkha clad woman begs by the side of the road in Afghanistan (File Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Afghanistan

UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett urges international community to recognize 'gender apartheid' in Afghanistan and maintain support for Afghan women facing severe Taliban restrictions.

UN rapporteur urges recognition of gender apartheid in Afghanistan

GENEVA: Doctors Without Borders on Thursday accused Israel of having deliberately restricted food and aid in Gaza, creating a &quot;manufactured malnutrition crisis&quot; with particularly devastating impacts on infants and pregnant and breastfeeding women. The report also examined what it said was the harm done by the US- and Israeli-backed private organization set up last year to largely replace UN distribution of aid in Gaza. The medical charity, known by its French acronym MSF, based its case on an analysis of the situation between late 2024 and early 2026 at four health facilities it supports in the Gaza Strip. That analysis showed significantly higher levels of prematurity and mortality among infants born to malnourished mothers, and spikes in miscarriages, it said. MSF linked these outcomes with Israel&#39;s blockade of essential goods and attacks on civilian infrastructure, including medical facilities. &quot;Insecurity, displacement, restrictions on aid, and limited access to food and medical care have had devastating consequences for maternal and newborn health,&quot; the charity said in a statement. The situation remained &quot;extremely fragile&quot;, despite a ceasefire in place since last October after two years of devastating conflict, it warned. MSF called on the Israeli authorities to allow the unhindered entry of assistance and supplies into Gaza immediately. &quot;The malnutrition crisis is entirely manufactured,&quot; Merce Rocaspana, MSF&#39;s medical referent for emergencies, said in the statement. Before the war in the Palestinian territory erupted following Hamas&#39;s unprecedented attack inside Israel on October 7, 2023, &quot;malnutrition in Gaza was almost non-existent&quot;, she said. Malnourished women giving birth&nbsp;MSF said it had collected data from more than 200 mothers and newborns receiving treatment in neonatal intensive care units at hospitals in Khan Yunis and Gaza City between last June and January. Its analysis found that more than half of the women were affected by malnutrition at some point during their pregnancy. A quarter of them were still malnourished during delivery. The impact was clear: 90% of the babies born to malnourished mothers were born prematurely and 84% had low birth weight, the analysis found. &quot;Neonatal mortality was twice as high among infants born to mothers affected by malnutrition compared with those born to mothers without malnutrition,&quot; MSF said. The medical charity also examined data from 513 infants under six months of age admitted to outpatient therapeutic feeding programs in Khan Yunis between Oct. 2024 and Dec. 2025. Of them, &quot;91% were at risk of poor growth and development&quot;, it said. By last December, 200 of the infants were no longer in the program, but fewer than half had been cured, it found. Seven percent of them had died, it added. &nbsp;&#39;Militarized and deadly&#39; Infants are not the only ones going hungry. Between January 2024, when the first cases of child malnutrition were reported in Gaza, and February 2026, MSF said it had admitted 4,176 children under 15 years old -- 97 percent of them younger than five for acute malnutrition programs. During the same period, 3,336 pregnant and breastfeeding women were enrolled in ambulatory programs, it said. Thursday&#39;s analysis also highlighted the impact of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation a US and Israeli-backed private organization set up last year to largely replace UN distribution of aid in Gaza. MSF pointed out that by late May 2025, food distribution points in Gaza had dropped from around 400 to four under GHF, which disbanded last November. The food distribution points were &quot;militarized and deadly&quot;, warned Jose Mas, head of the MSF emergency unit. During the period GHF was functioning, MSF said that facilities it supported in Gaza had seen &quot;a sharp increase in patients seeking care due to violence perpetrated at food distribution points and malnutrition linked to deprivation of food&quot;. MSF teams had also observed a high number of miscarriages during this period, it said.

Displaced children carry food packets being distributed by Palestinian sisters Lina Zeid and Aya Zeid as a charity in the Al-Tuam area, west of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on May 6, 2026.

Middle East

Doctors Without Borders says Israel’s aid restrictions in Gaza created a 'manufactured malnutrition crisis,' causing severe harm to infants, pregnant women, and civilians seeking food aid.

MSF says Israel has 'manufactured malnutrition crisis' in Gaza

HONG KONG: Tokyo&#39;s Nikkei index soared Thursday to lead another strong rally across Asia stocks, fueled by growing optimism the Iran war is close to ending and the revival of demand for all things AI. Oil prices also held the week&#39;s steep losses due to hopes Washington and Tehran will conclude the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed since the start of March, choking off a fifth of the world&#39;s crude. Risk sentiment got a huge boost Wednesday when President Donald Trump said an agreement was near, a day after he paused efforts to help stranded ships through Hormuz, which drew Iranian attacks and threatened their fragile ceasefire. If &quot;Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to&quot; the war would be over, the US president said. But if not, the bombing would resume &quot;at a much higher level and intensity&quot;. He later told reporters: &quot;We&#39;ve had very good talks over the last 24 hours, and it&#39;s very possible that we&#39;ll make a deal.&quot; US news outlet Axios cited two US officials as saying both sides were close to agreement on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war, open the strait and set a framework for more detailed nuclear talks. Iran has yet to respond to the US offer, with foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei telling local media it was &quot;still under review&quot;. Parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has taken the lead in negotiations, warned Washington trying to &quot;force us to surrender&quot;. Oil prices were flat Thursday, having fallen around 10% over the previous two days. Investors, who have largely remained optimistic that a deal can be reached, tracked another record day on Wall Street and pushed Asian markets higher. The gains have also been helped by a fresh wave of cash back into the tech sector as traders snap up all things AI, helped by standout earnings from US giants including Microsoft, Apple and Alphabet. Tokyo&#39;s Nikkei soared more than 5% as investors there returned from a long holiday, with tech investment titan SoftBank rocketing more than 15% while chip-linked firms Tokyo Electron and Advantest also ratcheted up big gains. Seoul extended Wednesday&#39;s surge that took it past 7,000 points for the first time, with Samsung also up following its meteoric rise to pass the $1 trillion market capitalization mark. Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei, Wellington, Manila and Jakarta also clocked up big gains. The prospect of cheaper oil prices tempered worries about inflation, which also helped gold rally more than 3% Wednesday. Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management said &quot;traders aggressively embraced the idea that the Iran war may finally be shifting from missile trajectories to negotiation tables, while the AI frenzy simultaneously poured jet fuel onto the risk rally&quot;. &quot;The result was one of those rare sessions where nearly every macro domino fell in perfect sequence. Oil collapsed, bonds rallied, the dollar sank, gold exploded higher&quot;, and stocks surged. Investors in Tokyo were also closely watching the yen after speculation of intervention by the Japanese government to prop up the beleaguered currency. The unit, which has been hit by surging oil prices and a rush to the safe-haven dollar, hit a 10-month high against the greenback Wednesday, in the latest of a series of spikes in recent days that have fueled rumors that officials have provided support. The government spent $32-$38 billion buying yen in the market last Thursday, local media reported, quoting Bank of Japan data. Atsushi Mimura, Japan&#39;s top currency official, on Thursday declined to comment, local media reported. Key figures at around 0230 GMT&nbsp; Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 5.7 percent at 62,915.87 (break) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.5 percent at 26,598.50 Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 4,167.62 West Texas Intermediate: FLAT at $95.08 a barrel Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.1 percent at $101.32 a barrel Dollar/yen: DOWN at 156.23 yen from 156.39 yen on Wednesday Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1756 from $1.1752 Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3600 from $1.3594 Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.42 pence from 86.45 pence

An electronic quotation board displays the Nikkei 225 stock prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo on May 7, 2026. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)

Business

Asian stocks surged led by Tokyo’s Nikkei as optimism over a possible Iran-US deal, easing oil prices, and booming AI-driven tech demand boosted global investor confidence.

Tokyo leads Asia stock surge on growing Mideast peace hopes

Muhammad Usman Amin

PESHAWAR: Across the globe, Silicon Valley tech companies are investing billions to build the future of artificial intelligence, making headlines. But in Peshawar, two university students are challenging the status quo with grit, determination, and a bit of prize money from national hackathons. Muhammad Uzair and Junaid Ahmed, both fourth-semester computer science students at Peshawar University and both cousins, have built AI models designed specifically for the Pashto language.&nbsp; With over 60 million speakers worldwide, especially in Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Middle East, Pashto has been poorly integrated by major AI platforms like ChatGPT and Gemini. The lack of Pashto data online for training AI models means that the more established AI giants often mix it up with Arabic or Persian because of their similar scripts. Recognizing this digital niche, Uzair and Junaid decided to take matters into their own hands. Uzair&#39;s solution is &quot;Katib-ASR,&quot; an Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) model. Katib is the traditional word for scribe as the model writes down what it hears, converting spoken Pashto audio directly into accurate Pashto script. Building it was a huge linguistic hurdle. Pashto features 45 letters, including more than half a dozen variations of a single letter like &quot;Ye&rdquo;. Because relevant datasets didn&#39;t exist, Uzair had to build his own from scratch. He pulled audio from regional podcasts, generated it himself and with friends and family or found it online and clipped it into tiny segments to teach his model how specific sounds correspond to text.&nbsp; Currently sitting at an impressive 75%-80% accuracy, Uzair&rsquo;s goal is to further refine the model and eventually introduce text-to-speech and other capabilities for Pashto speakers. Meanwhile, his cousin Junaid faced a similar problem with text generation. His focus is &quot;Qehwa AI,&quot; a text-generation model named after the region&#39;s famous traditional tea. Junaid scraped every corner of the internet for Pashto text, translated entire books from English and Urdu and compiled an astonishing 1.5 billion words. According to Junaid, this makes it the largest Pashto dataset.&nbsp; By feeding this massive library into an open-source base model, he has created an AI that understands the deep context, literature, cultural nuances and history of the language.&nbsp; Whether you prompt it in English, Urdu, or Pashto, Qehwa AI processes the information and responds in Pashto. Since it is specifically trained on Pashto, Junaid claims that Qehwa AI outperforms global models in Pashto translation and summarization tasks. According to the two developers, training AI requires immense computational power, usually found in massive data centers. When the duo approached local institutions for help, they found a lack of supercomputers or advanced graphics cards (GPUs). And lack of funds was also a major obstacle.&nbsp; The idea they came up with was to compete in major national Hackathons, win and use that money. And win they did. They pooled their prize money -- nearly Rs200,000 -- and used it to rent cloud-based GPUs. Grassroots, self-funded operation.&nbsp; Going forward, both students see this as just the beginning. While Uzair aims to perfect the audio mechanics, Junaid plans to expand his model to include other regional languages like Punjabi, Sindhi, and Balochi, ultimately creating a unified AI for all Pakistani languages. In a world where AI is dominated by corporate conglomerates, Uzair and Junaid are a reminder that actual innovation can often start with limited funds and resources, and a drive to empower and represent one&#39;s own culture, land and language on a global level.

Artificial Intelligence

Two computer science students at Peshawar University have built AI models specifically designed for the Pashto language. 

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