Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday spoke with his Uzbek counterpart Bakhtiyor Saidov to discuss bilateral and multilateral matters of mutual interest. According to the foreign office statement on X, the two diplomats discussed regional developments alongside Pak-Uzbek relations.&nbsp;&ldquo;FM Saidov also appreciated Pakistan&rsquo;s constructive role in mediation for regional peace &amp; security,&rdquo; said the statement. Pakistan and Uzbekistan have signed multiple MOUs earlier this year worth $3.4 billion to enhance and further trade between the two countries. Both countries vowed to increase bilateral trade to $2b within five years in February when the Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev paid a two-day visit to Pakistan at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Pakistan also continues to play an active role in mediating the conflict in the Middle East, which currently stands on a ceasefire brokered by Islamabad&#39;s leadership.

Foreign Affairs

FM Dar discusses bilateral and multilateral matters of mutual interest with his Uzbek counterpart Bakhtiyor Saidov; the two diplomats discuss regional developments and Islamabad's role as a mediator.

Pakistan, Uzbekistan discuss regional stability

LOS ANGELES: Conor McGregor will return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship Octagon for the first time in five years when he takes on Max Holloway in a non-title rematch on July 11 in Las Vegas, UFC said Saturday. Ireland&#39;s McGregor, a former two-weight champion and still one of UFC&#39;s most famous and bankable fighters, hasn&#39;t fought since suffering a broken leg in a loss to Dustin Poirier on July 10, 2021. July&#39;s return at UFC 329 will be a rematch of his second UFC fight, in August of 2013, when McGregor beat Holloway in Boston despite suffering a torn knee ligament during the bout. The 37-year-old Dubliner had withdrawn from a planned comeback fight in June of 2024 with a toe injury. McGregor has dealt with multiple issues outside the Octagon. In 2024, he was found liable and ordered to pay around $250,000 damages to a woman who accused him of rape in Ireland. In December, a woman who accused McGregor of sexually assaulting her at an NBA game in Miami dropped her civil lawsuit against him, authorities having already declined to pursue criminal charges. A month earlier, McGregor was suspended for 18 months after missing three drug tests in 12 months, escaping a longer ban after Combat Sports Anti-Doping said he cooperated with their investigation into the missed tests. UFC announced the bout during the first MMA promotion by YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul&#39;s Most Valuable Promotions outfit, a card in Los Angeles highlighted by Ronda Rousey&#39;s return against Gina Carano.

Irish fighter Conor McGregor is set to make his MMA return on Jul 11, 2026, with a rematch against Max Holloway. (Photo: X/@TheNotoriousMMA)

Athletics

July's return at UFC 329 will be a rematch of his second UFC fight, in August of 2013, when McGregor beat Holloway in Boston despite suffering a torn knee ligament during the bout.

McGregor to make UFC return with Holloway rematch

MUMBAI: India is scrambling to salvage a sinking rupee as surging oil prices linked to the Middle East conflict threaten to disrupt the world&#39;s fastest-growing major economy. The currency has dropped more than 5% since the crisis erupted in February, extending losses from 2025 and making it Asia&#39;s worst-performing major currency in 2026 so far. It hit a record low of over 96 to the dollar on Friday, prompting officials to signal that halting further depreciation is a key macroeconomic priority. India&#39;s central bank has already poured billions of dollars to stabilise the currency, curbed speculative trading and offered a special credit line to oil importers to ease dollar demand. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also urged voluntary austerity measures to rein in dollar-guzzling imports, including cutting down on gold buying and foreign travel for a year. But the pressure persists. &quot;The whole system has been disturbed,&quot; said Dilip Parmar of stockbroker HDFC Securities, citing heavy foreign investor outflows, weaker growth prospects and elevated crude prices. &quot;That is the basic problem which you&#39;re seeing replicated in the fall of the rupee,&quot; he said, noting that it was ultimately &quot;a function of demand and supply&quot; with dollar demand being higher. The rupee&#39;s slide comes as India faces a widening current account deficit driven by costly energy imports. The gap is likely to be over 2% of GDP this fiscal year, more than double last year&#39;s level and potentially the widest since 2012&ndash;13, according to Bank of America Securities estimates. Widening deficitAt the same time, foreign investors have dumped more than $20 billion in Indian stocks since the start of the Mideast conflict, the fastest pace on record, while dollar inflows have slowed, opening the possibility of a balance-of-payments gap as large as $67&ndash;88 billion. The 2027 fiscal year &quot;will be our third year of a balance-of-payment deficit, which is certainly unusual,&quot; economist Dhiraj Nim of ANZ Research told AFP. This strain has weighed on the rupee, prompting the central bank to defend it by burning through foreign exchange reserves -- now at around $697 billion, down from over $720 billion before the Middle East war. While still covering about 11 months of imports, the decline underscores the strain. A weaker rupee is rippling through the domestic economy. Manufacturers and food processors, many dependent on imported raw materials priced in dollars, are seeing costs surge. Smaller firms cannot often hedge currency risks. In Kerala&#39;s cashew industry, which mostly imports raw nuts from Africa, the impact has been acute. &quot;Imports have become far more expensive for the local market,&quot; said Rajmohan Pillai, who runs a cashew firm, adding buyers can now afford only about 90 percent of last year&#39;s volumes. He estimates more than 80% of processing units have shut in recent years, with rupee volatility a contributing factor. &#39;Last straw&#39;India&#39;s currency decline has also hit students looking to study abroad. Education consultants say studying in the United States now costs more than one million rupees ($10,450) extra compared with a year ago. &quot;This is the last straw,&quot; said Meghna Sen, a 17-year-old aspiring psychology student. &quot;Now we have to track (the rupee) movement to check how much we need for our grocery budgets.&quot; The depreciation has punctured India&#39;s ambition to become the world&#39;s third-largest economy. Modi, who once criticised his predecessors over currency weakness, has seen India&#39;s global economic ranking dented because GDP comparisons are measured in dollars. The country has slipped behind the United Kingdom to sixth place according to IMF data, largely due to the rupee&#39;s fall. Nomura analysts warn that more drastic measures may be on the anvil. These include possible fuel price hikes, tighter controls on overseas remittances and steps to attract dollar deposits from non-resident Indians -- a playbook used in past crises. Still, economists caution that intervention can only smooth volatility, not reverse underlying pressures. &quot;Fundamental factors&quot; remain to be resolved, Nim said, adding &quot;I would not even rule out an interest rate hike which squarely targets future inflation&quot;. The Reserve Bank of India knows what its options are, he said. &quot;All that remains is to see what it decides to choose.&quot;

India

The rupee's slide comes as India faces a widening current account deficit driven by costly energy imports.

India scrambles to steady rupee as oil shock bites

GENEVA: The World Health Organization declared an international health emergency over a rare strain of Ebola that has killed dozens in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but stopped short of calling the outbreak a pandemic on Sunday.&nbsp;&quot;WHO...is hereby determining that the Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), but does not meet the criteria of pandemic emergency,&quot; the Geneva-based global health body said in a statement.

Africa

The World Health Organization declares an international health emergency over the rare Bundibugyo Ebola strain spreading in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. The outbreak kills dozens, but WHO says it does not yet qualify as a pandemic emergency.

WHO declares international health emergency over rare Ebola strain

WASHINGTON: The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, dispatched to the Middle East ahead of the outbreak of war with Iran, returned home to the United States on Saturday after a 326-day deployment, the Pentagon said.&nbsp;Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was on hand in Norfolk, Virginia to welcome home the largest aircraft carrier in the world, the US military said on X.&nbsp;It was the longest deployment for a US carrier strike group since the Vietnam War.&nbsp;The Ford&#39;s deployment saw it take part in US operations in the Caribbean, where Washington&#39;s forces have carried out strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats, interdicted sanctioned tankers and seized Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.&nbsp;It was then dispatched to the Middle East to participate in combat operations against Iran.&nbsp;The carrier&#39;s long deployment included a fire in a laundry room on March 12, which injured two sailors and caused major damage to some 100 beds, according to the US military.&nbsp;The carrier also reportedly suffered significant problems with its toilet system while at sea.

Americas

The USS Gerald R. Ford returns to the United States after a record 326-day deployment involving operations in the Caribbean and Middle East. It was the longest deployment for a US carrier since the Vietnam War.



USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier returns home after 326-day deployment

Web Desk/AFP

This live blog follows the latest developments across the Middle East crisis, including regional diplomacy, maritime security, ceasefire negotiations and economic fallout.<hr>Catch up: Yesterday&rsquo;s top developments &nbsp;<ul style="list-style-type: square;"><li>President Trump says Strait of Hormuz &#39;will be opened&#39;</li><li>Everything should be clear before deal, says Iran FM</li><li>Iran&#39;s Araghchi warns US of &#39;rocketing costs of war&#39;</li><li>Uzbek FM lauds Pakistan&rsquo;s role in mediation for peace</li><li>Israeli attack kills husband and wife in southern Lebanon</li></ul> <hr> Hezbollah says it struck military objective in northern IsraelPublished: May 17, 2026 | 02:22 GMT | by AFP&nbsp;Hezbollah said Saturday it struck a military target in northern Israel, as the fragile ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel has not stopped fighting in the war that began on March 2.&nbsp;In a statement, Hezbollah said its fighters targeted &quot;the Ya&#39;ara barracks... with a swarm of attack drones&quot;, after announcing multiple operations against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, where they are occupying territory near the border between the two countries. <hr> Israel strikes south Lebanon day after ceasefire extensionPublished: May 17, 2026 | 00:01 GMT | by AFP Israel launched a massive series of airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday, despite an extension of the truce between the two countries.&nbsp;Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah but the strikes were preceded by an evacuation warning covering nine villages.&nbsp;And the continuing bombardment has only increased scepticism about the truce among the many thousands of Lebanese driven from their homes in the south.&nbsp;Lebanon&#39;s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported strikes on more than two dozen villages on Saturday, including one more than 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the border. <hr> Iran President Pezeshkian thanks Pope Leo XIV for stance against war: MediaPublished: May 16, 2026 | 08:11 GMT | by Web Desk&nbsp;&nbsp;Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has conveyed his appreciation to Pope Leo XIV, praising what he described as the pontiff&rsquo;s ethical and rational stance on recent military actions against Iran, according to Tasnim News Agency. <div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2055536951894401433&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=2cc95b11c1ead00ac100436c10b18e6c7e0ed4c5&theme=light&widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 648px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>

Middle East

The Iranian president has sent a message to the Pope thanking him for his ethical and logical position on recent military aggressions against Iran, according to Iranian Tasnim News Agency.

Iran President Pezeshkian thanks Pope Leo XIV for stance against war: Media

MONTREAL: Canadian public health officials said Saturday a &quot;high risk&quot; passenger who was aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius tested &quot;presumptive positive&quot; for the Andes hantavirus.&nbsp;The patient was one of four Canadians aboard the hantavirus-stricken vessel, which set sail on April 1 from Argentina on a course across the Atlantic Ocean until the outbreak of the rare rodent-carried disease.&nbsp;The Public Health Agency of Canada said in a statement that officials from the western province of British Columbia &quot;reported that one of the four high risk individuals who was self-isolating and being monitored for symptoms has tested presumptive positive for Andes hantavirus.&quot;&nbsp;The Andes strain of hantavirus is the only one known to spread between people.&nbsp;Globally, the death toll remains at three.&nbsp;The patient and their spouse, who reported minor symptoms, were transported to a hospital on Friday, where they will remain in isolation, officials said.&nbsp;&quot;Out of an abundance of caution, a third individual who was in secure lodging for isolation has been transferred to hospital for assessment and testing,&quot; the statement said.&nbsp;Results of tests to confirm hantavirus infection were expected in the next couple of days.&nbsp;&quot;The overall risk to the general population in Canada from the Andes hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship remains low at this time,&quot; the public health agency stressed.&nbsp;No vaccines or specific treatments for hantavirus exist, but health officials have dismissed comparisons to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Europe

Canadian officials report a cruise passenger from the MV Hondius tests presumptive positive for Andes hantavirus.Three deaths are reported globally, while authorities say the overall public risk in Canada remains low.

Canada cruise passenger 'presumptive positive' for hantavirus

MILAN: A driver with a history of mental health problems ran over a number of people in the northern Italian city of Modena on Saturday, injuring eight people, four of them seriously, authorities said.&nbsp;Security camera footage broadcast by Italian media showed a car being driven at high speed into a city centre street packed with pedestrians and cyclists.&nbsp;The driver, an Italian of Moroccan heritage, hit several people before crashing into a shop window, colliding head-on with a woman, city prefect Fabrizia Triolo told a news conference.&nbsp;He tried to flee the scene but was chased and cornered by four passers-by, then pulled a knife and injured one of them.&nbsp;Eight people, including a German and a Pole, have been taken to hospital, four of them in a serious condition, the prefect said. One of the injured has had to have both legs amputated.&nbsp;The driver, an economics graduate born in 1995 was not known to the police, but went through a spell of &quot;psychological disturbance&quot; in 2022, the prefect said.&nbsp;&quot;He had been treated at a mental health centre for schizoid disorders, but we lost track of him after that initial period of observation in a care facility,&quot; she added.&nbsp;According to the prefect, the driver was not under the influence of &quot;psychotropic substances&quot;.&nbsp;His home near Modena has been searched.

A driver with past mental health issues rammed pedestrians in Modena, Italy, injuring eight people, four seriously. After crashing, he tried fleeing and attacked a bystander with a knife before being captured by passers-by and arrested.

Eight injured as driver in Italian city runs over pedestrians

TEHRAN: Iran&#39;s World Cup squad will travel to Turkey on Monday for a training camp, friendlies and to complete visa applications before heading to the United States, head coach Amir Ghalenoei said on Saturday.&nbsp;Team Melli will be returning to Antalya where they trained and played friendlies in March.&nbsp;They are taking a squad of 30 players, which will have to be trimmed to the World Cup maximum of 26. Perhaps the best known is 33-year-old former Porto striker Mehdi Taremi, now with Olympiacos.&nbsp;&quot;Selecting 30 players for this final training camp ahead of the World Cup was the most difficult technical decision of my coaching career,&quot; Ghalenoei told the Iranian football federation website, adding that he had selected players solely on &quot;technical criteria&quot;.&nbsp;Iran hope to play two friendlies in Antalya. They have already confirmed one match, against Gambia, on May 29, said Sam Mehdizadeh, an Iranian-Canadian who heads a company that sets up friendlies for the team.&nbsp;Iran and the US cut diplomatic ties in 1980 and the players are expected to use their time in Turkey to complete the necessary procedures for obtaining visas.&nbsp;&quot;No visas have been issued yet,&quot; Mehdi Taj, the Iranian football federation head, told Iranian media on Thursday.&nbsp;Taj said players were expected to undergo fingerprinting in Turkey as part of the visa process but wished to avoid a trip of more than 450 kilometres (280 miles) from Antalya to Ankara.&nbsp;Taj is expected to hold talks with FIFA president Gianni Infantino as Tehran seeks assurances for its squad amid tensions increased by the ongoing war.&nbsp;When the squad reaches the US, Iran will set up their base camp in Tucson, Arizona.&nbsp;They are due to kick off their World Cup campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on 15 June, before facing Belgium in the same city and then Egypt in Seattle, in Group G.

Football

Iran’s 30-player World Cup squad will travel to Turkey on Monday for training, friendly matches and US visa processing before heading to Arizona. Coach Amir Ghalenoei will reduce the squad to 26 before matches against New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt.

Iran confirms squad heading to Turkey for World Cup preparation

CANNES : Outspoken Spanish star Javier Bardem told AFP he was &quot;getting more work than ever&quot; despite his public campaigning against Israel&#39;s war in Gaza, something he attributed to &quot;the narrative changing&quot; around the conflict.&nbsp;At the last Oscars ceremony in February, the openly political star of &quot;No Country for Old Men&quot; used his time presenting the award for best international feature film to state: &quot;No to war and a free Palestine.&quot;&nbsp;Acclaimed actress Susan Sarandon, a fellow pro-Palestinian campaigner, as well as other less known figures have complained about their work drying up after their statements condemning Israel&#39;s actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.&nbsp;&quot;I think it&#39;s important to be able to express your point of view, knowing that there will be people who agree and people who don&#39;t,&quot; Bardem told AFP at the Cannes Film Festival where he is starring in &quot;The Beloved&quot; by Spanish director Rodrigo Sorogoyen.&nbsp;Claims of &#39;blacklisting&#39;Scottish-born screenwriter Paul Laverty, a member of the Cannes jury this year, accused Hollywood of blacklisting film figures such as Sarandon, Bardem and Mark Ruffalo over their politics.&nbsp;&quot;It doesn&#39;t worry me because I&#39;m lucky enough to be able to work. I&#39;m lucky to be in a place where I can express myself knowing that I have job offers. I imagine there are people who are more afraid they won&#39;t get called because of it, but that&#39;s not my case,&quot; Bardem, 57, said.&nbsp;&quot;In fact, it&#39;s the opposite, they&#39;re calling even more because the narrative is changing,&quot; said the Oscar winner. &quot;Now it&#39;s no longer as controlled by those who have always controlled it.&nbsp;&quot;Instead we now understand that there are consequences when you support or justify a genocide like the one that is happening. And society knows that,&quot; he said.&nbsp;Bardem delivers a five-star performance of warmth and quiet menace In &quot;The Beloved&quot;, which sees him play a famous film director who returns to Spain after years in the United States to shoot a film with his estranged actress daughter (Victoria Luengo).&nbsp;The film, which premiered on Saturday, tackles Spain&#39;s former colonial occupation of Western Sahara, a territory that is disputed by Morocco and the pro-independence Sahrawis of the Polisario Front.&nbsp;It also sees Bardem explore issues around male domination and patriarchy.&nbsp;&quot;You have to be aware of what you, as a man, do and say... and not take for granted that many of the things we were indoctrinated with have to remain in force. They were wrong,&quot; said Bardem, husband of Spanish star Penelope Cruz, with whom he has two children.

Film & TV

Javier Bardem said at the Cannes Film Festival that he is receiving more work despite publicly supporting Palestine and criticizing Israel’s war in Gaza, saying public opinion around the conflict is shifting.

Spanish star Javier Bardem says 'narrative changing' on Gaza

COPENHAGEN: A humpback whale that underwent a rescue operation in Germany two weeks ago after beaching itself there has been found dead near a Danish island, officials said Saturday. &quot;It can now be confirmed that the stranded humpback whale near Anholt is the same whale that was previously stranded in Germany and was the subject of rescue attempts,&quot; Jane Hansen, division head at the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, said in a statement to AFP. The whale, dubbed &quot;Timmy&quot; in Germany&#39;s media, was initially spotted stuck on sandbank on March 23. After various failed attempts it was finally put in a barge and released into the North Sea off Denmark on May 2. The whale carcass was first spotted off the coast of the Danish island Anholt in the Kattegatt sea between Sweden and Denmark on Thursday but authorities were at first not able to confirm it was the same whale. &quot;Conditions today made it possible for a local employee from the Danish Nature Agency to locate and retrieve an attached tracking device that was still fastened to the whale&#39;s back. The position and appearance of the device confirm that this is the same whale that had previously been observed and handled in German waters,&quot; Hansen said. Hansen added that &quot;at this time, there are no concrete plans to remove the whale from the area or to perform a necropsy, and it is not currently considered to pose a problem in the area.&quot; The Danish Environmental Protection Agency said that while it understood &quot;the considerable public interest in this particular whale,&quot; it stressed that people should keep a safe distance and refrain from approaching the whale. &quot;This is because the whale may carry diseases that can also be transmitted to humans, and there may also be a risk of explosion,&quot; as decomposition creates large volumes of gases, it said. In Germany, the whale was first seen on the sandbank near the city of Luebeck, on Germany&#39;s Baltic Sea coast, before freeing itself but then becoming stuck again several times. Various attempts to save it failed, and authorities had announced they were giving up. But then two wealthy entrepreneurs, Karin Walter-Mommert and Walter Gunz, stepped in to finance the rescue, whose cost was estimated at 1.5 million euros ($1.7 million). They came up with what many saw as a long-shot plan: coax the whale into the water-filled hold of a special barge and tow it back to its natural habitat. Some experts at the time criticised the privately financed rescue plan, saying it would only cause the animal more distress.

Wildlife

A humpback whale that underwent a rescue operation in Germany two weeks ago after beaching itself there has been found dead near a Danish island.