Morn News

Five soldiers and 25 terrorists were killed in two separate military engagements in Pakistan’s northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military said on Sunday.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Army, said in a statement that personnel of security forces effectively engaged with terrorists trying to infiltrate through the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in North Waziristan and Kurram districts of the province.

In North Waziristan, 15 terrorists, including four suicide bombers, were killed, said the ISPR.

Whereas, another 10 infiltrating terrorists were killed in the Ghaki area of Kurram district, it added.

A large number of weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from the killed terrorists. ■

Hollywood A-lister George Clooney hails Poland’s ‘courage’ in fight for democracy
Clooney said that “democracy does not happen by chance” but is something that “lives and breathes.” (PAP)
Clooney said that “democracy does not happen by chance” but is something that “lives and breathes.” (PAP)
Hollywood superstar George Clooney hailed Poland’s “courage” in fighting for democracy as he delivered the main speech at a top conference in Łódź.

The actor was the prime attraction at the Freedom Games festival, where he described himself as a defender of democratic values and an opponent of terror.

A prominent donor to the Democratic Party in the United States, Clooney is a human rights activist and an outspoken critic of U.S. President Donald Trump, who once called him a “fake movie actor.”

During his Łódź speech, Clooney said that “democracy does not happen by chance” but is something that “lives and breathes” and needs to be defended with “courage.”

People in Poland and other former eastern bloc states—which survived decades of domination by the Soviet Union—are acutely aware that “nothing is guaranteed,” he said.

Clooney, who has starred in films such as “Ocean’s Eleven” and its sequels, also addressed life in the U.S. under Trump, whose second term started in January.

The president’s domestic agenda has included controversial moves to send armed forces into Democrat-run cities amid protests against large-scale deportation raids targeting migrants.

“My country is going through a kind a schism at the moment,” he said, adding that there are “ups and downs” in the progress of democracy.

‘Kocham Łódź!’

The Oscar-winning star was welcomed on stage by Łódź mayor Hanna Zdanowska, who described him as “not only an outstanding actor and director, but also a brave voice in defense of human rights and freedom.”

Along with his wife, human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin, the actor runs the Clooney Foundation for Justice, which provides legal aid to those fighting for free speech and women’s rights.

United States President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he would get the conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan “solved very quickly”, calling Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and COAS Field Marshal Asim Munir “great people”.

Tensions between Islamabad and Kabul flared up earlier this month over accusations of terrorism, as border clashes killed 23 Pakistani troops as well as 200 Taliban and affiliated terrorists after an attack by Kabul, which it claimed was retaliation for Islamabad conducting air strikes in its territory. A first round of talks in Doha last weekend led to a ceasefire agreement, with both governments seeking to firm up the agreement in more talks yesterday.

Trump, who was previously involved in brokering a ceasefire between Pakistan and India in May of this year as well as a peace deal between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas, arrived today in Malaysia to attend a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Kuala Lumpur, while also co-signing a ceasefire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia.
Border crossings between the two countries have remained closed since October 11, following clashes earlier this month that killed dozens on both sides in the worst fighting since the Taliban’s 2021 takeover of Kabul.

The border clashes were triggered after Islamabad demanded that Kabul control militants who attack Pakistan across their shared border, saying they operated from havens in Afghanistan. A ceasefire was agreed in talks hosted by Qatar and Turkiye last weekend and is holding between the two sides.

During the second round of talks in Istanbul, Pakistan has handed over a comprehensive counterterrorism plan to the Afghan Taliban, sources said.

Referring to recent border tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Trump said he was confident of helping the two sides reach peace.

“… we’re averaging one a month. There is only one left, although I heard that Pakistan and Afghanistan have started up. But I’ll get that solved very quickly. I know them both. And the Field Marshal, and the Prime Minister are great people, and I have no doubt we’re going to get that done quickly.”

Police have said they have arrested Hadush Kebatu, after he mistakenly freed from prison on Friday.

Migrant sex offender found and arrested after manhunt

Hadush Kebatu, an Ethiopian national who was accidentally freed at HMP Chelmsford on Friday, has been found and arrested after a manhunt.

The Metropolitan Police says Kebatu was arrested in the Finsbury Park area of London at around 8.30am this morning.

“This has been a diligent and fast paced investigation led by specialist officers from the Metropolitan Police, supported by Essex Police and the British Transport Police,” Commander James Conway said.

Kebatu was jailed for 12 months in September for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman in Epping, Essex, and had been serving his sentence at the prison since then.

But he was accidentally released from HMP Chelmsford on Friday morning, sparking a three-day manhunt.

Police said Kebatu boarded a London-bound train from Chelmsford station and was last seen on CCTV shortly before 8pm on Friday in the Dalston area of Hackney.

After news of his accidental release emerged, a Prison Service officer was suspended and removed from duties while Justice Secretary David Lammy said he was “livid”.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer labelled the ordeal “totally unacceptable”.

At least seven people were wounded in a shooting Saturday night at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, according to authorities.

“Local, state, and federal law enforcement are investigating the shooting at Lincoln University,” the Chester County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement on social media. “At this time, seven gunshot victims have been identified. The public should continue to avoid the area around the University.”

There was no immediate word on the condition of the those injured or any information about a suspect or suspects in the shooting.

The shooting came during the university’s homecoming weekend.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he was briefed on the shooting and offered his support to the university.

Lincoln University, a historically Black university, is located in the southeastern part of Pennsylvania.

“As a result of Ukraine’s strike, there are damages to the dam of the Belgorod reservoir,” said Vyacheslav Gladkov.

A repeat strike on the dam may affect at least 1,000 people, he warned.

“If this happens again, it will pose a threat of flooding river valley areas on the side of Kharkiv region and several streets of our settlements where around 1,000 residents live,” Gladkov added.

Ukraine has yet to comment on Russia’s claims, and independent verification is difficult due to the ongoing conflict.

US President Donald Trump has presided over a “peace deal” between Thailand and Cambodia, who have a long-standing border dispute, which he calls “historic”

After the ceremony, Thailand’s foreign minister refused to call it a peace agreement, telling the BBC “I would call it a pathway to peace” instead

Trade pressure from Trump led to a ceasefire in late July, ending five days of clashes that killed over two dozen people

The US president has made clear he will use US trade deals as a key way to pressure countries to make peace, our reporter writes from the summit

Trump is on a one-week trip to Asia that will include meeting his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of Apec in South Korea and a stop in Japan to meet the country’s newly elected first female leader.
It was, as everyone knew it would be, all about President Trump.

He literally towered over everyone else at the ceremony in Kuala Lumpur where Cambodia and Thailand signed their agreement. He gave the longest speech, and made the biggest claims.

It was all superlatives. “This is a momentous day for South East Asia,” said the US president. “A monumental step”.

But what does the ‘Kuala Lumpur Peace Accord’, as President Trump has renamed it, actually amount to?

Remember, both countries signed a ceasefire back in July. That too was helped, or at least accelerated, by pressure from Trump. Looking at the details of the latest deal, though, it isn’t much of leap forward.

The two countries have agreed to withdraw their heavy weapons from the disputed border, and to establish an interim observer team to monitor it.

They have a new procedure for clearing landmines, and will set up what they call a joint task force to address the proliferation of scam centres. They will replace missing border markers with temporary ones.

This is progress, and Thai diplomats have told me they do feel President Trump’s involvement may help these agreements stick. But the historic differences over the border remain unresolved, and at risk of flaring up again-BBC