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Tehran, Ankara agree to begin construction of cross-continental rail corridor

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Iran and Turkiye have agreed to begin constructing a new joint rail link to serve as a strategic gateway between Asia and Europe, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday. The planned route, known in Iran as the Marand-Cheshmeh Soraya railway transit line and running towards Turkiye’s Aralik border region, will cover around 200 kilometres (120 miles}. It will cost roughly $1.6 billion and is expected to take three to four years to complete, Iranian authorities have said. Earlier this month, Iran’s transport minister Farzaneh Sadegh said the rail line…

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Germany to return Nazi-looted artefacts to Poland

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WARSAW: Germany will return valuable artefacts looted during the Second World War to Poland, local media reported on Sunday. A meeting on Monday to discuss Polish-German cooperation will include the “historic return of cultural goods looted during World War II”, according to local news website Onet.pl. The Polish side describes the return as having “groundbreaking character”, according to the reports. The artefacts are said to include a sculpture of a saint’s head stolen from Malbork castle, a royal residence in northern Poland. The items reportedly also include documents from the…

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Gold prices jump in Pakistan after surge in global market

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Gold prices surged in Pakistan on Saturday after a sharp rise in the international bullion market, where the yellow metal gained $53 per ounce to reach $4,218. After a two-day pause in trading, domestic bullion markets raised the price of 24-carat gold by Rs5,300 per tola, taking it to Rs444,162. The rate for 10 grams also increased by Rs4,544 to settle at Rs380,797. Silver prices followed the same upward trend, with the per-tola rate climbing by Rs267 to Rs5,909 and the 10-gram price rising by Rs229 to Rs5,066. Read: https://tribune.com.pk/story/2579688/sbp-pumps-rs107tr-into-money-market Earlier on…

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AI helps drive record $11.8 billion in Black Friday online spending

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AI-powered shopping tools helped drive a surge in US online spending on Black Friday, as shoppers bypassed crowded stores and turned to chatbots to compare prices and secure discounts amid concerns about tariff-driven price hikes. US shoppers spent a record $11.8 billion online, up 9.1% from 2024 on the year’s biggest shopping day, according to Adobe Analytics, which tracks 1 trillion visits that shoppers make to online retail websites. The AI-driven traffic to US retail sites soared 805% compared to last year, Adobe said, when artificial intelligence tools such as…

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Sindh Craft Festival 2025 spotlights women artisans and heritage

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KARACHI: The Sindh Craft Festival 2025 opened at Port Grand on Friday, transforming the waterfront into a showcase of the province’s cultural identity. With more than 100 stalls displaying Ajrak, Ralli embroidery, beadwork, pottery and other traditional crafts, the three-day event places women artisans at its centre, celebrating the skills that have shaped Sindh’s artistic legacy. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah inaugurated the festival and was welcomed by Sindh Minister for Culture Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah, Culture Secretary Khair Muhammad Kalwar and senior officials. “Sindh’s culture and arts…

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Boxer Muhammad Waseem successfully defends his WBA gold world title

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KARACHI: Pakistan’s Muhammad Waseem won his World Boxing Association Gold World Bantamweight title against Thai boxer Jakrawut Majungoen in 12-round bout at Garrison Sports Complex Lahore on Saturday night. Waseem brought the IBC Fight for Glory event to Lahore, and this was his title defence bout. Earlier, he won the WBA Gold World title in Quetta in May, fulfilling his life-long dream of winning a world belt in front of his home crowd. The Fight for Glory event took place with the support of Punjab Government and Pakistan Punjab Chief…

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Afghan cleanup aborted after Qatar stepped in, reveals Dar

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Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar revealed on Saturday that Islamabad held back from striking terrorist sanctuaries inside Afghanistan during a planned cleanup operation after a direct intervention by Qatar’s leadership. Dar said Islamabad was on the verge of launching a kinetic action that “would have surely taught them a lesson”, but ultimately chose to pull back in favour of diplomacy at the request of the friendly Gulf nation. Speaking at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he said Afghanistan’s rulers had misread Islamabad’s restraint as incapacity, warning that Pakistan possessed “ample kinetic…

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When the Enemy Praises You: India’s Calculated Admiration for Imran Khan

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(Rafa’el) Foreign Correspondent – Europe Daily Capital Mail India’s political and media landscape has long been defined by a consistent hostility toward Pakistan. From diplomatic forums to newsrooms, New Delhi has historically seized every opportunity to distort Pakistan’s image and erode its credibility. Yet one figure has repeatedly received a strangely soft, almost protective tone from India’s most aggressive broadcasters: Imran Khan. This unlikely admiration poses an uncomfortable question for Pakistan: Why would a country that openly seeks to weaken you, cheer for one of your leaders? In geopolitics, praise…

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Govt raises over Rs1tr in treasury auctions

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KARACHI: The government raised more than Rs1.03 trillion on Wednesday through auctions of treasury bills, Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIB) and the Government Ijara Sukuk (GIS). The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) conducted the three auctions, which attracted strong investor participation across conventional and Islamic instruments. In the T-bill auction, the SBP targeted Rs650 billion but received an overwhelming response as bids totalled Rs1.803 trillion. It accepted Rs749 billion across all four tenors. The one-month paper attracted the highest bids of Rs648 billion against the target of Rs100 billion, though only…

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