27/10/2025

MONDAY | OCT 27, 2025

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Afghanistan, Pakistan seek to firm up ceasefire ISTANBUL: Afghan and Pakistani negotiators were locked in talks here to hammer out a lasting ceasefire over the weekend, with Islamabad warning that if the talks failed, it could lead to“open war”. Two weeks ago, the Afghan government launched a border offensive following explosions in Kabul which it blamed on Pakistan, triggering an outbreak of unexpectedly intense clashes that left dozens dead. Vowing a strong response, Islamabad carried out “precision strikes” against groups on Afghan soil which are at the heart of the dispute, security sources said. After further clashes that left soldiers and civilians dead, both sides declared an initial 48-hour ceasefire which collapsed two days later, with Kabul blaming Islamabad. A second truce took shape on Oct 18 following talks in Doha, thanks to mediation by Qatar and Turkiye, although the terms remained unclear. In Istanbul, negotiators were expected to detail the “mechanisms” announced in Doha that would ensure a return to stability. “The (Istanbul) talks are going on,” Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told reporters in the eastern city of Sialkot on Saturday, while warning that if they “do not yield a positive outcome, there will be an open war with Afghanistan”. It was not clear where exactly the negotiators were meeting in Turkiye’s largest city, nor how long the talks would continue. The Afghan delegation is led by Interior Deputy Minister Haji Najib. Islamabad has not said who it has sent for the talks. For the Afghan government, the goal is to ensure territorial integrity. For Islamabad, the negotiations must address “the menace of terrorism from Afghan soil”, its Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Hussain Andrabi said on Friday. Security issues are at the heart of recurring bilateral tensions. Facing a resurgence of attacks against its security forces, Islamabad has repeatedly accused its Afghan neighbour of “harbouring” groups – a charge Kabul denies. Throughout the confrontation, Islamabad demanded that the Afghan authorities “regain control” over fighters on Afghan soil. From the Pakistani perspective, this would be key to the Istanbul talks, explained Ibraheem Bahiss, an International Crisis Group analyst in Afghanistan. “The meeting in Istanbul is going to be important because that is where the mechanism would be agreed on, in terms of when Pakistan has concerns that elements inside Afghanistan are doing things against Pakistan,” he said. – AFP

Year-long funeral starts for Thai queen mother

o Body to lie in state at Grand Palace

Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia despite government warnings. Many victims of scam centres who were initially promised legal jobs are kidnapped and sold to other fraudulent operations, according to the United Nations (UN). The UN has expressed alarm over the thousands of trafficked individuals in the region, saying the situation has “reached the level of a humanitarian and human rights crisis”. – Bernama Hundreds black-clad mourners also filed into the Grand Palace from yesterday morning, even before Sirikit’s remains arrived, paying tribute to ornate portraits of her. “I knew today would come one day, but now it has come I am sad, very sad,” said 52-year-old insurance worker Taksina Puttisan. “Her kindness toward Thais will be in our minds forever.” Throughout her 66-year marriage to king Bhumibol Adulyadej, Sirikit carved a dual reputation as a glittering fashionista and the nation’s caring mother figure. Some Western media compared Sirikit favourably to former US first lady Jackie Kennedy, in rapturous coverage on the front pages of their glossy magazines. The lengthy reign of Sirikit’s husband, from 1946 until 2016, was bookended by World War II and Trump’s first election win. Although Bhumibol’s son inherited the throne about nine years ago, many still revere him as the nation’s most steadfast figurehead – and Sirikit as his constant companion. She retired from the public eye in recent years, her privacy sealed by strict lese-majeste laws that limit what can be reported about the royal family. Sirikit had “suffered several illnesses” while hospitalised since 2019, including a blood infection this month, the palace said in a statement. But in her glamorous heyday in the 1960s, she mingled with presidents and superstars such as Elvis Presley, and toured Thailand to visit villagers in rural areas while at home. She was referred as the “Mother of the Nation” and her birthday was designated the country’s Mother’s Day. – AFP of

Hospital to the seat of the Thai royalty, where she will lie in state for one year before cremation. Television newscasters are wearing black and media websites have turned monochrome, while citizens have been asked to dress in muted colours and curtail celebratory public events for 90 days. About half of the people in a supermarket and on a shopping street in central Bangkok were wearing the traditional Thai mourning colours of black or white. K-pop supergroup Blackpink went ahead with sold-out weekend shows at Bangkok’s 50,000-seat Rajamangala National Stadium, but attendees were asked “to wear black attire as a mark of mourning”.

of King Vajiralongkorn and wife of the nation’s longest-reigning monarch, died on Friday at the age of 93. Black and white tributes to the royal matriarch are being beamed onto towering digital advertising billboards, on TVs in supermarkets and hotel lobbies, and as pop-up notices on Thai banking apps. Tanaburdee Srimuang has kept a vigil outside the Grand Palace since confirmation of Sirikit’s death broke in the early hours of Saturday. “I am not tired. I am happy to be here for her for the last time, to be part of her send-off on this historic day,” the 24-year-old said. Late in the afternoon, the former queen’s body is due to make the short trip from Chulalongkorn

BANGKOK: The year-long funeral ceremony of Thailand’s Queen Mother Sirikit started yesterday, with grieving royalists set to salute the procession bringing her body to lie in state at Bangkok’s Grand Palace. Members of the royal family are venerated in Thailand, treated by many as semi-divine figures and lavished with glowing media coverage and gold-adorned portraits hanging in public spaces and private homes. Former queen Sirikit, the mother

Thai mourners paying their respects in front of a portrait of Sirikit inside the Grand Palace in Bangkok. – AFPPIC

Over 200 Filipinos in Myanmar seek repatriation MANILA: More than 200 alleged Filipino human trafficking victims at scam centres in Myawaddy, Myanmar, have sought the help of the Philippine government for repatriation, the Department of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. nine have reached Yangon and are now under the embassy’s custody. “The embassy is working with Myanmar authorities to finalise deportation procedures for those in holding camps and to rescue those in scam hub compounds,” the department added. coordinating with the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and other agencies, and remains committed to the safe repatriation of affected Filipinos.

The department advised all Filipinos to go through proper foreign employment procedures established by the DMW before going overseas to work. Many Filipinos, lured by high paying jobs, continue to fall prey to work offers by illegal scammers in

The department said the Philippine Embassy in Yangon has received 222 “active requests” for repatriation assistance from Filipinos in scam hub areas, of which 66 have reportedly crossed into Thailand and

It said the embassy continues to monitor the situation in Myawaddy following confirmed reports of raids in scam hub compounds on Oct 20. The department said it is

Indian police arrest man for stalking Australian women cricketers NEW DELHI: Indian police have arrested a man accused of stalking and inappropriately touching two Australian cricketers taking part in the ICC Women’s World Cup. their hotel to go to a cafe, said police officer Rajesh Dandotiya. “We received a complaint and immediately acted, registered a case and identified the accused within six hours,” Dandotiya said. players and allegedly touched them about 800m from their hotel. The two players were not identified by Cricket Australia, which confirmed the incident.

Team officials went to assist the players, the paper said. A police patrol then escorted the players safely back to their hotel. Police said they have opened a case against the arrested man for “inappropriate behaviour and stalking”. – AFP

Its secretary Devajit Saikia promised to “review safety protocols and strengthen them to ensure such incidents are not repeated”. The Times of India reported that the Australian team’s security manager received a message that said “there is a guy following us trying to grab us”.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India called it “a deeply regrettable and isolated incident”.

The incident happened in the central Indian city of Indore on Thursday when the two players left

He said the 30-year-old man has a criminal record. The man followed the