Author: HeraldStar

A UN-backed assessment has said that Gaza’s population of around 2.1 million Palestinians is at “critical risk” of famine and faces “extreme levels of food insecurity” as an Israeli blockade on humanitarian aid continues. The latest report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said there had been a “major deterioration” since October 2024, but concluded famine was not currently occurring. The two-month ceasefire between Israel and Hamas “led to a temporary reprieve” in Gaza, the report said, but renewed hostilities and an Israeli blockade on aid – ongoing since early March – had “reversed” any improvements. Some 244,000…

In a decisive response to India’s unprovoked military attacks that commenced on the night of May 6 and 7, the Pakistan Armed Forces launched “Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos” on May 10. The operation, part of a broader strategy Marka-e-Haq, worked as a textbook demonstration of integration of three services. It hit 26 Indian military installations, delivering a proportionate yet restrained retaliation for what Pakistan has condemned as India’s “reprehensible” attacks. The operation, enabled by advanced network-centric warfare, real-time situational awareness, and seamless multi-domain operations, saw the Pakistan Army, Air Force, and Navy work in synergy to engage targets with precision-guided munitions, including…

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday expressed gratitude to US President Donald Trump for playing role in bringing lasting peace to South Asia. Taking to X, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that Pakistan and US have been partners for decades who worked together closely to protect and promote our mutual interests as well as for peace and security in critical parts of the world. “I am confident that in President Trump, Pakistan has found a great partner who can reinvigorate our strategic partnership and strengthen Pakistan-US ties, not only in trade and investment but in all other areas of cooperation,”…

Federal Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Monday that if talks were held with India, the discussion will centre around three points which include Kashmir, water issues, and terrorism. Underscoring the importance of the moment, the minister emphasised that this was a golden opportunity for both countries to resolve the decades-old Kashmir dispute. Speaking in an interview with a private TV channel, Asif said that Kashmir, terrorism, and water are three longstanding issues that have defined relations between the two nations for the past 76 years. He asserted that these matters must be discussed. He also noted that U.S. President…

Two days after US President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire between Pakistan and India following intense fighting, the military operations chiefs (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan had a first round of talks to discuss the next steps to douse the flames on Monday. Security sources confirmed that Pakistan’s DGMO Maj Gen Kashif Abdullah and his Indian counterpart Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai spoke to each other over hotline. The two leaders are scheduled to have a detailed discussion in the coming days on modalities of the ceasefire agreement the two countries reached after US president’s intervention. Indian media reported on Monday morning that the two…

China’s defiance as it faced down US President Donald Trump’s tariffs has been a defining image of this trade war. It has prompted viral memes of Trump waiting for the Chinese leader to call. “We will not back down,” has been an almost daily message from Beijing’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As the tariffs and the rhetoric from Washington escalated, China dug its heels in. Even as Chinese officials headed to Switzerland for talks, a state-run social media account published a cartoon of the US Treasury secretary pushing an empty shopping trolley. There were even conflicting versions of who initiated…

With US President Donald Trump due to visit Gulf states this week, a key focus will be securing significant new investment for the US economy. “President Trump wants the announcement [of more Gulf money for the US],” says economist Karen Young, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute think tank. “He wants to have a big poster in a meeting that describes where these investments might go. And some estimation of what they will do to the American economy in terms of job creation or his big push, of course, on domestic manufacturing.” Trump is due to arrive in…

The US and China have agreed a truce to lower import taxes on goods being traded between the two countries. The agreement marks a major de-escalation of the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies, which has sent shockwaves impacting countless other countries, including the UK. Here’s what it all means. What has been announced? Both the US and China have confirmed a reduction in the tariffs they imposed on each other following the initial escalation by President Donald Trump earlier this year. The deal involves both nations cancelling some tariffs altogether and suspending others for 90 days, by 14 May.…

The Arte Povera pioneer and Nobel Peace Prize nominee brings his vision to the shadow of the pyramids. In a monumental moment for the global art scene, Forever Is Now returns for its fifth edition with a name that needs no introduction: Michelangelo Pistoletto. Art D’Égypte by CulturVator in partnership with the Italian Embassy in Cairo and the Italian Institute of culture in Cairo; are proud to announce that Michelangelo Pistoletto, one of the most revolutionary artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. This year he will be among the featured artists in the fifth edition of Forever Is Now,…

Pakistan has thanked UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for welcoming the recent ceasefire agreement between Pakistan and India. In a statement on Sunday, the Foreign Office said Pakistan concurs with the Secretary-General’s assessment that this development represents a positive step toward promoting an environment conducive to durable peace and stability in South Asia. In this context, Pakistan reiterates that the just and peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the legitimate aspirations of the Kashmiri people, remains essential for the realization of lasting peace in the region. The Foreign Office…