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Several thousand members of a hard-right Pakistan Islamist party began marching towards the capital on Saturday, after violent clashes with police during anti-Israel protests in the eastern city of Lahore.Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) began its protests in Lahore on Thursday and announced plans to march to the US embassy in Islamabad to voice its opposition to the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas after two years of war in Gaza.The demonstrations turned violent on Friday, with police launching baton charges and firing tear gas at protesters who had pelted them with rocks, AFP journalists saw.Traffic was disrupted in Lahore and in Islamabad, about 370 kilometres (230 miles) to the north, with authorities also suspending mobile internet connections and closing major roads.Shipping containers were being placed as barriers across major roads in the capital in anticipation of the arrival of the protesters.As many as 50 police officers were injured in Friday’s clashes, a senior police official told AFP, while TLP claims that some of its members had been killed could not be verified independently.The TLP said the protests had originally been organised to oppose the Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, which Pakistan backed, but was now intended to express solidarity with Palestinians.”We have no demands, apart from showing solidarity with the people of Gaza,” senior TLP member Allama Muhammad Irfan told AFP as the protesters set off for Islamabad.”We have no idea when we will reach Islamabad, but the government is being brutal with us. We are not negotiating with the government at all,” Irfan said.Deputy Interior Minister Tallal Chaudry vowed on Thursday not to let the protesters enter Islamabad.”There is no room for any radical activity in Islamabad,” he told reporters.”Why is an agreement that is acceptable to Hamas and Palestine not acceptable to you?”.Israel declared a ceasefire and began pulling back its troops at around noon on Friday, as tens of thousands of Palestinians began walking back towards their devastated homes.Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hailed the deal on Thursday as a “historic opportunity to secure lasting peace”.”We will continue to work with partners, friends and the leaders of brotherly nations to ensure that peace, security and dignity for the Palestinian people are established,” he said.The TLP has been behind some of Pakistan’s most violent protests, and frequently calls on the government to expel Western ambassadors.Pakistan has no formal diplomatic relations with Israel.

Prolific opener Yashasvi Jaiswal smacked 173 not out as India moved ominously towards a massive first-innings total in the second Test against the West Indies on Friday.The hosts ended day one on 318-2 after they elected to bat first at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium in a bid to sweep the two-match series.The left-handed Jaiswal made the day his own as he put on a marathon 193-run second-wicket stand with Sai Sudharsan, who scored 87.Jaiswal, who registered his fifth 150-plus score in Tests, and skipper Shubman Gill, on 20, were batting at close of play after Sudharsan’s dismissal was the only wicket to fall in the final session.The 23-year-old Jaiswal reached his seventh Test ton in his 26th match since he began his five-day career in the West Indies in 2023 with a 171 on debut.He raised his bat, made a heart gesture with his hands and blew kisses as a lively crowd applauded. Jaiswal looked fluent as he hit pace bowler Jayden Seales for three fours in the first over after lunch to raise his fifty and kept up the attack with regular boundaries.Sudharsan reached his fifty with a boundary off Khary Pierre then survived a dropped catch on 58 by Jomel Warrican at short mid-wicket off Justin Greaves.The top-order batsman has been fighting for the number-three spot in India’s competitive line-up and looked primed for his first Test ton but Warrican trapped him lbw.Jaiswal stood firm along with Gill as the pair put together 67 runs to tire out the demoralised opposition attack.India started strongly with KL Rahul and Jaiswal putting on 58 runs for the first wicket.Rahul made a rapid 38 before being stumped by wicketkeeper Tevin Imlach off Warrican.Rahul had attacked Seales for successive fours, including a rasping cover drive followed by a whip towards the mid-on fence in the first hour of play.Jaiswal’s straight drive off pace bowler Anderson Phillip after the first drinks break also delighted the home fans, who are expecting another big win.Spin was introduced in the 15th over, with Pierre bowling his left-arm orthodox on a tidy line and length.Rahul took on Pierre in the next over and came down the track to hit the first six of the match over long-on, but another ambitious attempt in the next over had him walking back.Strong favourites India came in unchanged from their innings victory in the opener.The visitors, led by Roston Chase, are looking to avoid a second successive Test whitewash after losing 3-0 to Australia at home.

India will upgrade its technical mission in Afghanistan to a full embassy, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said Friday, as he met his counterpart from Kabul in New Delhi.Russia is the only country to officially recognise the Afghan Taliban government since they seized control of the country in August 2021, although several nations do have embassies in Kabul.India had a large embassy in the Afghan capital until the Taliban takeover, when they withdraw most diplomats and downgraded the facility to a technical mission.”I am pleased to announce today the upgrading of India’s Technical Mission in Kabul to the status of Embassy of India,” Jaishankar told Amir Khan Muttaqi.UN-sanctioned Muttaqi’s trip to India — cleared after the Security Council granted him a travel waiver — is expected to be closely watched by neighbouring Pakistan, as New Delhi deepens its engagement with the Taliban government.His visit is the first visit by a top Taliban leader to India since they returned to power.”We have a common commitment towards growth and prosperity,” Jaishankar said, in comments broadcast at the opening of the meeting.”However, these are endangered by the shared threat of cross-border terrorism that both our nations face.”The Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islamic law may appear an unlikely match for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government, but India has sought to seize the opening.- ‘Close friend’ -Diplomatic dynamics in South Asia are driven by long-running distrust between India and Pakistan, with New Delhi seeking to exploit divisions between Islamabad and Kabul.Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan fought a brief but deadly clash in May, their worst confrontation in decades.Jaishankar praised Kabul’s “solidarity with us in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terrorist attack”, in which 26 people, mostly Hindu tourists, were killed in Indian-administered Kashmir in April. New Delhi accused Pakistan of backing the assault, a charge Islamabad denies.”We appreciate your sensitivity towards India’s security concerns,” Jaishankar added.Muttaqi in reply said that “Afghanistan looks at India as a close friend”, citing aid that India sent following a deadly earthquake in September.”We will not allow any group to threaten anyone else or use the territory of Afghanistan against others”, he added.India said Kabul had also offered mining opportunities to India.”We have a shared interest in boosting trade and commerce,” Jaishankar said. “Your invitation to Indian companies to explore mining opportunities in Afghanistan is also deeply appreciated.” While the Taliban are seeking diplomatic recognition and legitimacy, analysts suggested India was some way off issuing that.”India is not in a hurry to provide diplomatic recognition to the Taliban,” Rakesh Sood, India’s former ambassador to Kabul, said ahead of the meeting.

Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal hit a sparkling century to put India on course for a big total as they reached 220-1 at tea on day one of the second Test against the West Indies on Friday.Jaiswal, who was 111 not out, reached his seventh Test ton and soaked in the applause at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium.The attacking Jaiswal put on an unbeaten 162-run stand with fellow left-hander Sai Sudharsan, batting on 71, as the two made the opposition toil after they elected to bat first.Jaiswal hit pace bowler Jayden Seales for three fours in the first over after lunch to raise his fifty and kept up the attack with regular boundaries.Sudharsan reached his fifty with a boundary off Khary Pierre and survived a dropped catch on 58 by Jomel Warrican at short mid-wicket off Justin Greaves.India started strongly in their bid to sweep the two-match series with KL Rahul and Jaiswal putting on 58 runs for the first wicket.Rahul made a rapid 38 before being stumped by wicketkeeper Tevin Imlach off Warrican’s left-arm spin.Rahul had attacked Seales for successive fours, including a rasping cover drive followed by a whip towards the mid-on fence in the first hour of play.Jaiswal’s straight drive off pace bowler Anderson Phillip after the first drinks break also delighted the home fans, who are expecting a big win.Spin was introduced in the 15th over, with Pierre bowling his left-arm orthodox on a tidy line and length.Rahul took on Pierre in the next over and came down the track to hit the first six of the match over long-on, but another ambitious attempt in the next over had him walking back.Strong favourites India came in unchanged from their innings victory in the opener.The visitors, led by Roston Chase, are looking to avoid a second successive Test whitewash after losing 3-0 to Australia at home.

India started strongly but lost KL Rahul to reach 94-1 at lunch on the first day of the second Test against West Indies on Friday.Rahul made a brisk 38 but was stumped off Jomel Warrican’s left-arm spin, bringing an end to a 58-run opening stand after India elected to bat first at Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla ground.Yashasvi Jaiswal was still at the crease on 40, with he and Rahul starting cautiously before stepping up the pace with delightful boundaries.Rahul hit pace bowler Jayden Seales for successive fours, including a rasping cover drive followed by a whip towards the mid-on fence.Jaiswal’s straight drive off pace bowler Anderson Phillip after the first drinks break also delighted home fans.Spin was introduced in the 15th over, with Khary Pierre bowling his left-arm orthodox on a tidy line and length.Rahul took on Pierre in the next over and came down the track to hit the first six of the match over long-on.But another ambitious attempt in the next over off Warrican cost him, with wicketkeeper Tevin Imlach quick with his glovework.Sai Sudharsan, batting on 16, started with a boundary and helped Jaiswal steer India to the break.Strong favourites India came in unchanged after captain Shubman Gill won the toss and batted first in their bid to sweep the two-match series following an innings victory in the opener.The visitors, led by Roston Chase, are looking to avoid a second successive Test whitewash after losing 3-0 to Australia at home recently.However, they are a pale shadow of the team that once dominated cricket.

Before a Myanmar student descends into a classroom entombed in a concrete bunker, she prays for compassion and her community’s safety, knowing her appeal will go unanswered.”May the fighter jets not come. May the pilots show kindness to us. May the bombs not explode,” 18-year-old Phyo Phyo said, recalling her unspoken wishes. She is enrolled in a class of around a dozen at the subterranean academy, founded in June after a junta strike obliterated a nearby school and killed at least 20 pupils and two teachers, according to witnesses.”Our school days used to be free and full of fun,” said Phyo Phyo, a pseudonym used for security reasons.”Ever since the air strikes started, we’ve lost our happiness,” she added. “The students have grown quiet.”Myanmar’s military has increased air strikes every year since it triggered civil war with a 2021 coup, conflict monitors say — a response to guerrilla factions opposed to junta rule besieging its ground forces.The deluges and gales of the May to September monsoons typically offer a reprieve.But partial data from this year’s wet season shows the military conducted more than 1,000 air and drone strikes, killing more than 800 people, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) organisation, which tallies media reports of violence.A Myanmar junta spokesman could not be reached for comment.The junta is waging a campaign to recapture territory ahead of elections it has said will start on December 28.But rebels have pledged to block the polls in their enclaves, and analysts describe the vote as a ploy to disguise the continuation of military rule.In a rebel-held area, around 110 kilometres (70 miles) north of Mandalay city where junta jets scour the skies, Phyo Phyo and her classmates learn in the dank and dark but relative safety of their underground classroom.It was built in the jungle with donations and resembles a spartan prison cell.”We want education, no matter the obstacles,” Phyo Phyo said.- ‘Superior air power’ – Bowing her head to study Burmese literature — her favourite subject — the teenager is watched over by a poster of Aung San Suu Kyi, the democratic leader ousted by the military in February 2021.Democracy activists formed guerrilla units and found common cause with myriad ethnic minority armed groups, which have long fought the military for self-rule.Their scattered organisation failed to make much headway until a combined offensive starting in late 2023.The back-footed military then stepped up its aerial campaign using China- and Russia-supplied jets against rebels who possess neither their own air fleets nor anti-air defences.”The reason they use air strikes is they feel our revolutionary armed groups have the power to take them down,” said Zaw Tun, a member of the democracy movement’s self-declared National Unity Government in a rebel-held area of northern Sagaing region.”They can’t win the ground battle, but they have the power to attack us with air strikes,” he said. Rarely a week passes without civilians being killed in a mass-casualty bombing, often of schools or monasteries occupied by children or monks, and sometimes also sheltering people already displaced by fighting.”The military targets crowds intentionally because they want to incite fear,” said ACLED Asia-Pacific analyst Su Mon Thant.”When people are more uncertain with their life and desperate, they don’t want to support the resistance cause.”But while “superior power in the air” allows the military to stave off defeat, she said, it is not enough to secure victory — creating a stalemate where casualties mount but front lines stay largely unchanged. While there is no official death toll for Myanmar’s war and estimates vary widely, ACLED reports more than 85,000 people have been killed on all sides. Of those, nearly 3,400 were civilians killed by state forces in targeted air or drone strikes.- Under cover of darkness  – State media has previously described reports of civilian casualties as “false information” being spread by “malicious media”.But for farmers, who slosh through paddies in Sagaing region to tend their rice crops by torchlight, the threat is real.”We transplant paddies at night so that we can focus on hiding in the daytime,” said one farmer who did not share their name.During daylight hours, in central Mandalay region’s Thabeikkyin township, rebels surveil the skies and use crackling walkie-talkies to relay the last-known location of junta jets — an improvised air raid warning system.Thwat Lat sounds the siren up to 15 times daily, voicing the most urgent warnings through a pink and gold microphone plugged into a system of speakers that can be heard from eight kilometres away, sending residents skittering to bunkers.”Every time a person’s life is saved, I feel what I’m doing is worthwhile,” he said during one of his recent 19-hour shifts.But bunkers and siloed schools cannot protect their occupants from psychological wounds. “I have no words to express how nervous I am,” said Khin Tint, 67. “Sometimes I think I am already dead but my heart is still pounding.”

Nepalis lit candles outside the fire-damaged parliament on Thursday, marking one month since anti-corruption protests toppled the government, with fresh vows to keep up pressure ahead of elections.The vigil in Kathmandu, attended by dozens — many of whom were participants in the demonstrations — honoured those killed during the protests.Youth-led demonstrations that began on September 8 over a brief social media ban, economic hardship and corruption quickly escalated into nationwide fury after a deadly crackdown.Two days of violence left at least 73 people dead, with parliament and government offices torched, forcing the collapse of KP Sharma Oli’s government.”I hope for a better future,” Anjila Basnet, 25, told AFP. “The sacrifice of so many people should not go to waste.”Within days of the government’s collapse, 73-year-old former chief justice Sushila Karki was appointed interim prime minister to steer the Himalayan nation until elections on March 5, 2026.- ‘We will not stop’ -“We are now in the second phase of the movement, until the election,” said protester Yujan Rajbhandari.”We will not stop… The issues we raised about corruption and good governance are the priority.”Many of those injured are still receiving treatment.Protester Nimesh Shrestha has been visiting the wounded and raising funds for their care.”When I think of the people we lost, those still in bed… I just hope we never have to do this again,” he said.Oli, the ousted 73-year-old Marxist leader, who had served as prime minister four times, also addressed supporters Thursday.”To put the country in the right direction, there is no alternative but to move forward with a demand to reinstate the parliament that was unconstitutionally dissolved,” Oli told supporters.The government has imposed travel bans on Oli and four former senior officials as a commission investigates the unrest.Karki has pledged to restore order, address calls for clean governance, and prepare for elections.”The time has come for us to work day and night to address their expectations — we are facing opportunities and challenges,” she said Wednesday, speaking to Nepal’s diplomatic missions abroad.”This government has the responsibility to firmly establish the country on the path of democracy and equitable prosperity.”

Nepal on Thursday welcomed the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, urging the release of all hostages, including the lone Nepali held in Gaza.”We call for the immediate release of all hostages, including Nepali national Bipin Joshi,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. “We urge all parties concerned to implement the plan in its true spirit, to ensure the smooth flow of humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza, and to pave the way for lasting peace.”Joshi, an agriculture student who was 22 when kidnapped, had arrived in Israel just weeks before the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, during which Palestinian militants took 251 hostages to Gaza.He was taken from a kibbutz in southern Israel, where 10 Nepali nationals were killed.Joshi was reported to have saved his friends by throwing a grenade back at the assailants storming the community, according to a survivor.His cousin, Kishor Joshi, said the family were desperate for news.”It has been a long wait, but that doesn’t matter if we now get the good news of his release,” he said.The family’s only sign of life from Joshi was a short video clip, believed to have been filmed in November 2023, and later recovered by the Israeli military.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not mention Joshi when he read out the names of 20 hostages still believed alive during his September UN speech.But in Nepal, the hostage’s father Mahananda Joshi told AFP the ceasefire had rekindled hope.”We have not been able to eat or work or sleep in worry,” he said in Nepal. “By God’s grace, we will now bring him back to Nepal and welcome him home.” Nepal’s foreign ministry spokesman Lok Bahadur Poudel Chhetri told AFP the government had been “advocating for his release”, adding they were “hoping for his safety and release, and then to bring him back”.

The world’s top conservation body kicked off its world congress Thursday in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi, where it will unveil its updated “red list” of threatened species a day later.Hundreds of participants were meeting at the venue where the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), whose decisions help set the global agenda on environmental protection, will on Friday publish its list ranking plant and animal species from “least concern” to “extinct”.The congress, held every four years, sheds light on the dire state of the world’s biodiversity. An increasing number of animals suffer from the destruction of their natural habitat, climate change, and water, air and soil pollution.According to the United Nations’s expert scientific panel on biodiversity (IPBES), biodiversity has declined every decade in the past 30 to 50 years.In an update to its “red list” last year, the IUCN said that out of the 169,420 species studied, a total of 47,187 were classified as threatened — more than a quarter.The most impacted species were corals and amphibians, with more than 40 percent of each group under threat.- UAE climate diplomacy -The United Arab Emirates, a major oil exporter that also hosted the UN’s annual climate talks in 2023 (known as COP28), is seeking a bigger role in setting the environmental agenda by hosting these events.”The UAE has become a global convening power to bring countries together, bring all stakeholders on discussions that are very vital for our environment,” UAE climate change and environment minister Amna bint Abdullah Al Dahak told AFP at the meeting.”This is a platform where conversations can converge,” Al Dahak said of the congress.She called for translating “those conversations into pledges, into actions and into implementation plans”, urging “more implementation plans and actions on the ground”.The IUCN congress last convened in the French city of Marseille in 2021.The meeting revolves around votes on adopting resolutions.Though not legally binding, the resolutions can “shape the international agenda” and “accelerate” work on treaties under discussion, an IUCN source told AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss the event freely.”The Congress programme reflects the urgency and ambition of our time,” said Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri, Secretary General of the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi and IUCN councillor from the West Asia region.IUCN Director General Grethel Aguilar of Costa Rica said the upcoming announcements “reflect the scale of ambition and the real possibility of delivering the solutions we need to build a planet where people and nature thrive together”.- Synthetic biology debate -The most closely watched vote revolves around two competing motions on synthetic biology — a controversial technique widely used in the pharmaceutical industry and agribusiness.It enables scientists to redesign organisms by engineering them to have new abilities.One motion calls for a moratorium on the technology because “genetic engineering of wild species in natural ecosystems, including in protected areas, is not compatible with the practices, values and principles of nature conservation”.A competing motion argues that synthetic biology could complement conservation efforts, and says IUCN policy “should not be interpreted as supporting or opposing synthetic biology, per se”.Organisers expect 10,000 delegates and 5,000 civil society attendees.The IUCN congress describes itself as the “world’s largest and most inclusive nature conservation forum”.Its voting members include government agencies, national and international NGOs, and Indigenous groups.

Shubman Gill said Thursday that his biggest opponent could be “mental fatigue” after the India Test captain recently took over charge of the 50-over side.Speaking ahead of Friday’s second Test against the West Indies in New Delhi, Gill conceded that it was a challenge to play all three international formats, but that was what drove him.”Physically most of the time I feel fine, but sometimes there is mental fatigue because when you are constantly playing,” Gill told reporters.”There is obviously a certain expectation that I have from myself.”India lead the two-match series 1-0 after they hammered the visitors by an innings and 140 runs inside three days in the first Test. Immediately after play ended on day three, Gill was named to succeed Rohit Sharma as ODI captain, adding to the 26-year-old’s workload.”I think that is the challenge about being able to play all the formats for India,” said Gill.”And I want to play and succeed in all the formats for the country, and win ICC titles.”Gill, who made his Test debut in December 2020, took over as Test skipper in May from Rohit.He was India’s leading scorer in the drawn five-Test series in England with 754 runs. He was also vice-captain of the Asia Cup-winning T20 team last month.Turning to the West Indies, Gill said there would be no complacency as India aim to wrap up the series against a team who are a pale shadow of the side that once ruled world cricket.”I don’t think your intensity drops down depending on the opposition,” Gill said.”It doesn’t matter who we are playing. We want to be able to play at our own intensity and we want to win.”West Indies were swept 3-0 at home by Australia in June and July. But embattled captain Roston Chase said he had been told to “keep believing” by West Indian greats, including Viv Richards, Brian Lara and Richie Richardson who were at an awards ceremony in New Delhi.”I had the privilege of meeting all three of them and they said the same thing, they told me ‘to keep believing’,” said Chase.”We are down right now but it has to change at some point. “It starts with belief and need to keep motivating the players to play positive cricket and change around our downfall.”