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  • US, Europe finalise military options on Ukraine – World

    US, Europe finalise military options on Ukraine – World

    WASHINGTON/MOSCOW: Military chiefs from the United States and a number of European countries have completed military options on Ukraine and will now present the options to their respective national security advisers, the US military said on Thursday.

    US and European military planners have begun exploring post-conflict security guarantees for Ukraine, following President Donald Trump’s pledge to help protect the country under any deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.

    “These options will be presented to each nations respective national security advisers for appropriate consideration in ongoing diplomatic efforts,” a US military statement said.

    The meetings between the chiefs of defence for the United States, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom and Ukraine took place in Washington, DC, between Tuesday and Thursday.

    Ukraine and its European allies have been buoyed by Trump’s promise during a summit on Monday of security guarantees for Kyiv, but many questions remain unanswered.

    Russia carries out the biggest drone and missile attack in weeks

    Officials have cautioned that it would take time for US and European planners to determine what would be both militarily feasible and acceptable to the Kremlin.

    One option was sending European forces to Ukraine but putting the United States in charge of their command and control, sources said.

    Kremlin rejects plan

    Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday said any presence of European troops in Ukraine would be “absolutely unacceptable”, as Kyiv’s allies worked on security guarantees for the country.

    “This would be absolutely unacceptable for the Russian Federation,” Lavrov said in response to a journalist’s question about security guarantees for Ukraine, calling them “foreign intervention in some part of Ukrainian territory.”

    Drones, missiles attacks

    Russia launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian air force said Thursday, Moscow’s largest attack in weeks after US-led efforts to halt the Kremlin’s invasion.

    The air force said Russian forces had launched 574 drones and 40 missiles in an attack that left at least one dead. Air defence units downed 546 of the drones and 31 missiles.

    Nord Stream blasts

    A Ukrainian suspect has been arrested in Italy over the sabotage of the Nord Stream underwater gas pipelines from Russia to Europe in 2022, German prosecutors said on Thursday.

    The man, identified as Serhii K., is accused of being part of a cell “who placed explosive devices on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines”, they said.

    He is “believed to have been one of the coordinators of the operation” in which a group allegedly hired a yacht in the German Baltic Sea port of Rostock to carry out the attacks.

    The pipelines that long shipped Russian gas to Europe were hit by huge explosions in September 2022, several months after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.

    Western powers were initially quick to blame Russia, which in turn accused them.

    German investigations then pointed to a Ukrainian cell of five men and one woman believed to have chartered the yacht “Andromeda” to carry out the attack, according to Der Spiegel magazine and other media.

    Their aim was to destroy the pipelines to prevent Russia from profiting in future from gas sales to Europe. Serhii K. was arrested in the early hours of Thursday in the Italian province of Rimini on a European arrest warrant, the prosecutors said.

    He and his accomplices are accused of using forged identity documents to hire the yacht that departed Rostock to carry out the attacks, the prosecutors said. Italy’s carabinieri police confirmed that a 49-year-old Ukrainian was arrested without putting up resistance, at a bungalow where he was staying with his family, and taken to a local prison.

    Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2025

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  • US must stop reprisals on ICC judges, says UN – World

    US must stop reprisals on ICC judges, says UN – World

    GENEVA: The United Nations on Thursday urged the United States to end its rounds of reprisals after Washington imposed further sanctions on International Criminal Court judges.

    The US imposed sanctions on two more ICC judges and two prosecutors on Wednesday, including from allies France and Canada, in a new effort to hobble the tribunal, particularly over its actions against Israel.

    “The relentless intensification of US reprisals against international institutions and their personnel must stop,” UN human rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement.

    Turk said sanctioning ICC staff who were fulfilling their mandates was “an assault on the rule of law and corrodes justice” and called for all the measures to be withdrawn.

    “In the meantime, I call on states to take immediate steps to protect all of (the sanctioned individuals), including by taking measures to encourage corporations operating within their jurisdiction not to implement the sanctions,” he said.

    “States need to step up to defend the institutions they have created to uphold and defend human rights and the rule of law. Those working to document, investigate and prosecute serious violations of international law should not have to work in fear.”

    Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2025

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  • Judiciary’s willpower tested in Imran’s bail

    Judiciary’s willpower tested in Imran’s bail


    ISLAMABAD:

    Since the enactment of the 26th Constitutional Amendment, the Supreme Court on Thursday granted the first relief to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan by accepting his bail petitions in eight cases linked to the May 9, 2023 violent incidents.

    According to legal minds, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi passed a very cautious order, which could be considered as an attempt to provide a win-win situation for both sides — the prosecution and the petitioner.

    Many lawyers had expected the apex court to remand the matter back to the Lahore High Court (LHC) — which had rejected the bail application in June — for re-hearing. However, the SC bench led by Chief Justice Afridi granted bail.

    The court refrained from commenting on the LHC judgment that had declared Imran Khan the perpetrator of the May 9 conspiracy. Lawyers noted that while the LHC had denied bail on conspiracy charges, the apex court extended relief to Khan.

    Former additional attorney general Tariq Mahmood Khokhar said that the LHC, while refusing bail to Imran Khan, recorded “definite findings” on contested facts, thereby straying beyond its jurisdiction, prejudicing the trial, and undermining the presumption of innocence.

    “Such an approach is impermissible in bail jurisprudence. Superior courts across all rule-of-law jurisdictions have consistently disapproved of this course, and our own jurisprudence, though chequered, has hitherto been no exception to the universally accepted principle,” he said.

    Khokhar stated that the LHC erred fundamentally — whether out of ignorance, incompetence, or mala fides. “Many observers believe, regrettably, a combination of all three,” he opined.

    Still, he stated, more troubling is the response of the Supreme Court. In paragraph 7 of its order, it noted the “definite findings” but failed to draw the necessary conclusions. “This omission, at once institutional and personal, is astonishingly inexplicable.”

    Khokhar believed that the Supreme Court ought to have reaffirmed the impermissibility of such findings, disapproved the high court’s observations, and clarified that they should stand effaced, with the trial court proceedings uninfluenced.

    “In cases such as this, precedents exist for passing strictures against the errant judges. Even amidst the ravages of our judicial, constitutional and democratic ruins, the chief justice had an opportunity to avoid the worst and enhance the moral and public legitimacy of a failing institution; the opportunity was missed.”

    The adjournments of the two preceding dates of hearings, gave rise to a public perception that the court and the prosecution were in sync, operating in visible alignment, he continued. He added that the absence of judicial disapproval and displeasure at the high court’s “definite findings” reinforced a generally-held belief that the chief justice lacked “authority”.

    The eventual grant of bail was a relief and therefore most welcome to the nation here and its diaspora abroad, but unfortunately it was considered a consequence not of judicial assertion, but of a shift in State policy.

    Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, who himself is an accused in the May 9 cases said that the Supreme Court had clearly set aside the LHC’s overreach in its decision of rejecting Imran’s bail, but it stopped short of reprimanding the LHC judges.

    Notably, this is not the first time the same LHC bench has had its decision overturned by the Supreme Court. It appeared that certain LHC judges were positioning themselves as an appellate court, asserting their views above Supreme Court judgments.

    Chaudhry stated that if the Supreme Court did not curb this tendency, it would “severely undermine the hierarchical order of the courts,” he added.

    While commenting on the written order, Sarwar Muzaffar Shah advocate said that the ruling reminded him of a tribute to American judge Frank Caprio, whom he had been reading about earlier in the day. “He was loved and respected because he believed that law should serve the people; and he did not consider it blind,” Shah said.

    While the substance of the order was correct, Shah said, it remained weak. “It follows the motto that law is blind. This order should have been a strong one, considering what is happening in our country – the erosion of judicial independence through executive interference and the weakening of public trust in our justice system,” he said.

    “An ideal judicial order is the one in which the court demonstrates both judicial acumen and judicial courage. However, this order does not demonstrate either. It shows that the court is characteristically playing too safe. Playing too safe is proving dangerous for the justice system of our country,” he added.

    Since the enactment of the 26th Constitutional Amendment, there is perception that the superior courts are unable to protect the rights of those who are aggrieved with executive’s actions.

    “CJ Afridi and the three-members of constitutional benches committee are being considered as the biggest beneficiary of 26th Constitutional Amendment. They are facing battle of perception. CJ Afridi needs to be aware that institution’s reputation will be restored through judgments rather than reforms agenda with the collaboration of the executive.”

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  • Why are Chinese Students Choosing Higher Education in Asian Countries?

    Why are Chinese Students Choosing Higher Education in Asian Countries?

    Chinese students are increasingly opting for Asian universities. With the right policies, Southeast Asia can continue to reap the benefits.

    Chinese students are on the rise in Asian universities. The majority of Chinese students still choose the “big four” study destinations in the West, with US, UK, Canada, and Australia accounting for 62.6 per cent in 2024. However, their numbers have declined over the past five years in American, Australian, and Canadian universities (Figure 1).

    Conversely, Asian study destinations are trending upwards for Chinese students. Their enrolment in Malaysia increased fivefold from 9,000 in 2019 to over 47,000 in 2024, and quadrupled in Thailand from just under 6,200 in 2016 to 28,000 in 2024. In Singapore, local media reported that Chinese students constituted about half of its 73,200 international students in 2024. In Japan, Chinese student numbers increased from 103,882 in 2022 to 123,485 in 2024. South Korea recorded a similar pattern: 60,087 in 2022 and 73,500 in 2024.

    Figure 1: Number of inbound international students from China, top thirteen destination countries, 2018-2023*

    Source: UNESCO

    * Data for Japan and Singapore are not available in this database. No data in some years (2019 and 2022 for USA; 2018 for Malaysia; 2018, 2019 and 2021 for Thailand). Nevertheless, the general trend during 2018-2023 is visible.

    This shift in Chinese student mobility to Asia can be attributed to four factors: (1) the attractiveness of Asian study destinations to Chinese students; (2) the efforts by governments and universities in developing the higher education sector in these destinations, and in meeting Chinese students’ needs in particular; (3) the expansion and diversification of the Chinese student demographic; and (4) the facilitative effects of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The first and second factors combine to make Asian destination countries a convenient, cost effective, and more comfortable study abroad experience for Chinese students. The third and fourth factors derive from developments in China.

    First, Asian countries are becoming attractive to Chinese students as they offer affordable tuition and living, geopolitical stability, safety, and geographical and cultural proximities. Tuition and living costs in Asian countries are a fraction of those in the traditional Anglophone study destination countries. Asian countries are also perceived to be safer, for instance, by being free of gun violence and less prone to Sinophobic sentiments. The presence of Chinese communities in Asian study destinations offers a familiar environment to Chinese students, who can enjoy shared languages and cultural practices while away from home.  

    Second, governments in Asian destinations have made concerted efforts to attract international students. Some flagship universities in Asia are well-positioned in international university rankings, making these destination countries even more attractive to ranking-conscious Chinese students and parents. These destinations are thus perceived to offer higher cost-effectiveness on Chinese students’ study abroad investments, evoking the Chinese adage gaoxing jiabi (高性价比, meaning an affordable price for a high-quality product). To attract Chinese students and cater to their study interests and needs, some Asian universities, notably in Singapore and Thailand, have rolled out Mandarin, bilingual or trilingual medium courses. Institutions in Singapore, South Korea, and elsewhere offer live application support and tuition fee payments on Chinese digital platforms such as WeChat and WeChat Pay. Some help ease students’ transition into post-study employment.

    Third, while studying abroad used to be primarily pursued by Chinese students from wealthier and middle-class urban families in major cities or those with high academic performance, the Chinese student demographic has expanded to include those from southern and border provinces (including rural areas) and those with average academic performance. The expansion and diversification of Chinese student demographics are also due to the intensifying competition for entry into domestic universities in China. Faced with low prospects of gaining entry into reputable domestic universities, some Chinese students are turning to Asian universities where admissions are perceived to be comparatively easier.

    Chinese students are increasingly venturing abroad for postgraduate study, as degree holders seek to improve their employability amid rising graduate unemployment and increasingly competitive entry to domestic postgraduate programmes. These challenges are compounded by “credential inflation”, or employers’ predilection to recruit candidates with higher paper qualifications. For mature students, especially current lecturers and researchers in Chinese institutions, a PhD qualification is often a prerequisite for career mobility. Completing their PhD study in Asia is more practical and convenient as they can bypass the competitive postgraduate entrance exams in China, enjoy relative academic freedom, and secure a PhD qualification from a reputable yet affordable university in Asia.

    Chinese students should not be solely treated as cash cows, as they can play important facilitative roles as cultural ambassadors and intermediaries between China and Asian study destinations.

    Fourth, China’s BRI and good bilateral relations with Asian study destination countries have opened up various study, work, and business opportunities for Chinese students. BRI-related government scholarships have directly enabled Chinese students to pursue higher education in these countries. Cross-border economic activities and bilateral trade with China have indirectly led to demand for bilingual and multilingual human resources to service Chinese and host country enterprises. Chinese students studying in these countries enjoy potential advantages if they gain linguistic, socio-cultural and network capital, along with a deeper understanding of their host countries. The influx of Chinese students can bring positive benefits to Asian destination countries, including income revenue, spill-over effects to other sectors (e.g. real estate, tourism, healthcare), human capital development, and stronger bilateral ties with China. However, attention should also be given to managing public perceptions and discontent in the local population on matters such as immigration, ethnic relations, local employment, and housing demand. Asian universities must also maintain their quality and reputation to remain competitive in the international education market. Chinese students should not be solely treated as cash cows, as they can play important facilitative roles as cultural ambassadors and intermediaries between China and Asian study destinations.

    2025/270

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  • UK sees record asylum claims as row brews over housing – World

    UK sees record asylum claims as row brews over housing – World

    LONDON: Britain is grappling with its highest-ever number of asylum applications, official data showed Thursday, as a political storm brews over the temporary housing of thousands of migrants in hotels.

    Immigration is a thorny issue in the UK, where Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer is struggling to stem rising support for a hard-right party led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage.

    His Reform UK campaigners are tapping into anger over record numbers of undocumented migrants making the dangerous crossing the Channel from France to England small boats.

    A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, according to figures released by the Home Office, the UK’s interior ministry.

    That was the highest for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.

    Farage said Britain’s “streets are becoming more dangerous yet this disaster gets worse”. The government has insisted it is “restoring order” to the asylum system.

    “We have strengthened Britain’s visa and immigration controls, cut asylum costs and sharply increased enforcement and returns,” said interior minister Yvette Cooper.

    The statistics showed that while asylum claims are up, officials are processing those applications faster than before as they seek to clear a backlog.

    At the end of June, some 91,000 people were awaiting a decision, down 24 percent on the previous year, the Home Office said.

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  • Megan Fox, Machine Gun Kelly rebuilding trust after baby Saga’s birth? Source

    Megan Fox, Machine Gun Kelly rebuilding trust after baby Saga’s birth? Source

    Inside Megan Fox, MGK’s evolving bond after split and baby Saga’s birth

    Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly are reportedly getting close after welcoming their baby daughter

    As per a recent report by People, a source revealed that the former couple, who announced their split back in November, are once again feeling like “good friends”.

    However, the pair just want to enjoy their bliss of parenthood as Fox and Kelly welcomed baby daughter Saga back in March, and do not want to “push any labels.”

    The insider revealed that the newly minted parents had recently spent quality time together at Costa Rica with their baby daughter, Saga Blade.

    And the getaway gave Fox and Kelly space to reconnect.

    “Their Costa Rica trip wasn’t about rekindling a romance so much as it was about rebuilding trust. For the first time in a long while, they felt like good friends again. They have a solid understanding now.”

    Kelly, whose real name is Colson Baker, previously talked about adjusting life for their baby daughter with Fox.

    “Megan’s not closing the door for good on a relationship, but she’s not walking back in completely either,” the tattler continued. “The truth is, no one’s pushing for labels. Megan and Colson are focused on whether this evolving connection can truly last beyond just co-parenting,” the tipster added.

    A second insider claimed, “They’ve come a long way since last year. They were both extremely excited when Megan found out that she was pregnant again. It was devastating for her when she felt the need to break things off,” noting the trip was “special” for the rapper and the actress.

    “They’d been before as a couple, but never with the baby. It was very special and relaxing,” the bird chirped.


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  • 15 Years of Shaping the Future With 2.8 Million Participants in 68 Countries – Samsung Newsroom Malaysia

    15 Years of Shaping the Future With 2.8 Million Participants in 68 Countries – Samsung Newsroom Malaysia

    Samsung Solve for Tomorrow is Samsung Electronics’ global education program in the form of an open competition in which youth apply STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) knowledge to address community challenges while developing analytical skills. More than an ideas contest, the program provides participants with Samsung’s Design Thinking training — offering hands-on experience at every stage of innovation, from defining problems and generating ideas to developing prototypes and validating solutions. Through this process, youth gain essential practical and creative problem-solving skills.

     

    Initially launched in the U.S. as an essay competition in 2010, Solve for Tomorrow now operates in 68 countries — serving as a platform for youth around the world to collaborate on solutions for a better future.

     

    Beginning in 2025, Solve for Tomorrow introduced global themes to the competition — starting with Environmental Sustainability via Technology and Social Change Through Sports & Technology — further strengthening its role in addressing universal challenges through cross-border collaboration.

     

    Samsung remains committed to increasing educational opportunities that build future-ready skills such as design thinking while addressing pressing community issues, including those related to the environment, sports and quality education. The company aims to expand support to turn students’ ideas into reality, empowering them to play an active role in shaping a brighter world.

     

    Explore the 15-year journey of Samsung’s global CSR education program Solve for Tomorrow in the infographic below.

     

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  • Rested but rusty Djokovic plots US Open ambush

    Rested but rusty Djokovic plots US Open ambush

    Novak Djokovic hopes a selective approach to his scheduling will give him the best chance to win the US Open in his unrelenting pursuit of a record 25th Grand Slam.

    The 38-year-old Djokovic has not played since a comprehensive semi-final defeat by Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon last month, skipping the two main US Open warm-up events in Toronto and Cincinnati.

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    He briefly returned to court on Tuesday for the revamped mixed doubles in New York but lasted just 43 minutes as he and partner Olga Danilovic crashed out in the first round.

    A four-time US Open champion, Djokovic suffered his earliest Grand Slam exit since 2017 when he lost to Australia’s Alexei Popyrin in the third round of last year’s tournament.

    He won his 100th ATP title in Geneva this May on the eve of the French Open but found his path blocked by Sinner at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

    Djokovic has reached the final just once at the last seven majors since equalling Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles at the 2023 US Open.

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    Sinner (four) and Carlos Alcaraz (three) have combined to sweep every ensuing Grand Slam, leaving Djokovic on the outside looking in and with time working against him in his bid for history.

    “I think, regardless of the fact that I haven’t won a Grand Slam this year, or last year, I still feel like I continue to play my best tennis at Grand Slams,” Djokovic said after his Wimbledon loss.

    “Those are the tournaments that I care about at this stage of my career the most.”

    But he has twice been compromised by injury this year in a Grand Slam semi-final.

    A hamstring tear forced him to retire against Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open before a hip and thigh issue hampered him in London.

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    – ‘Proven I can still play’ –

    “It’s just age, the wear and tear of the body. As much as I’m taking care of it, the reality hits me right now, last year and a half, like never before, to be honest,” said Djokovic.

    “It’s tough for me to accept that because I feel like when I’m fresh, when I’m fit, I can still play really good tennis. I’ve proven that this year.

    “But I guess playing best-of-five, particularly this year, has been a real struggle for me physically. The longer the tournament goes the worse the condition gets. I reach the final stages, I reached the semis of every Slam this year, but I have to play Sinner or Alcaraz.

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    “These guys are fit, young, sharp. I feel like I’m going into the match with the tank half empty. It’s just not possible to win a match like that.”

    But unlike Sinner and Alcaraz, who toiled through the heat and humidity in Cincinnati before the Italian retired from their clash in the final on Monday with illness, Djokovic took time off to recharge.

    That means it will be almost five months since his last hard-court match — a straight-sets loss to Jakub Mensik in the Miami final — when he launches his 19th US Open campaign.

    Only time will whether the gamble pays off at a tournament Djokovic also won in 2011, 2015 and 2018.

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    He is a six-time runner-up here as well, with his shot at a rare calendar Grand Slam four years ago dashed by Daniil Medvedev.

    “I don’t know really what tomorrow brings in a way at this point in my career,” Djokovic said earlier this year.

    “You know, I’m going to keep on keeping on.”

    There is every chance though he will have to get past both Sinner and Alcaraz to land another title.

    mw/bb

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  • RBNZ’s Top Economist Cautions on Overstimulus Following Rate Cut

    RBNZ’s Top Economist Cautions on Overstimulus Following Rate Cut

    The Reserve Bank of New Zealand doesn’t need to be too stimulatory with policy because it views the recent lull in economic activity as temporary, according to Chief Economist Paul Conway.

    “We are seeing the weakness in the second quarter as a short-run phenomena driven by policy uncertainty that held back investment and created a bit of uncertainty for households,” he said in an interview Friday in Wellington. “We do think that’s going to dissipate. I don’t think we need to be overtly stimulatory.”

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  • Oil prices set to snap two-week losing streak as peace in Ukraine remains elusive – Reuters

    1. Oil prices set to snap two-week losing streak as peace in Ukraine remains elusive  Reuters
    2. Oil prices gain as US inventory withdrawals point to strong demand By Reuters  Investing.com
    3. WTI extends the rally to near $63.50 amid signs of stronger energy demand  Mitrade
    4. Crude oil settled at $63.52  TradingView
    5. Oil Prices Rally as the Geopolitical Risk Premium Rebuilds  Crude Oil Prices Today | OilPrice.com

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