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Pakistan Plans to Expel 3 Million Afghans from the Country this Year

Members of Taliban security stand guard at a checkpoint ahead of Eid al-Fitr in Kandahar, Afghanistan, 28 March 2025. EPA/QUDRATULLAH RAZWAN
Members of Taliban security stand guard at a checkpoint ahead of Eid al-Fitr in Kandahar, Afghanistan, 28 March 2025. EPA/QUDRATULLAH RAZWAN
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Pakistan Plans to Expel 3 Million Afghans from the Country this Year

Members of Taliban security stand guard at a checkpoint ahead of Eid al-Fitr in Kandahar, Afghanistan, 28 March 2025. EPA/QUDRATULLAH RAZWAN
Members of Taliban security stand guard at a checkpoint ahead of Eid al-Fitr in Kandahar, Afghanistan, 28 March 2025. EPA/QUDRATULLAH RAZWAN

Pakistan plans to expel 3 million Afghans from the country this year, as a deadline for them to voluntarily leave the capital and surrounding areas expired on Monday.
It’s the latest phase of a nationwide crackdown launched in October 2023 to expel foreigners living in Pakistan illegally, mostly Afghans. The campaign has drawn fire from rights groups, the Taliban government, and the UN.
Arrests and deportations were due to begin April 1 but were pushed back to April 10 because of the Eid al-Fitr holidays marking the end of Ramadan, according to government documents seen by The Associated Press.
About 845,000 Afghans have left Pakistan over the past 18 months, figures from the International Organization for Migration show.
Pakistan says 3 million Afghans remain. Of these, 1,344,584 hold Proof of Registration cards, while 807,402 have Afghan Citizen Cards. There are a further 1 million Afghans who are in the country illegally because they have no paperwork.
Pakistan said it will make sure that Afghans do not return once deported.
Authorities wanted Afghan Citizen cardholders to leave the capital Islamabad and Rawalpindi city by March 31 and return to Afghanistan voluntarily or be deported.
Those with Proof of Registration can stay in Pakistan until June 30, while Afghans bound for third-country resettlement must also leave Islamabad and Rawalpindi by March 31.
Authorities have said they will work with foreign diplomatic missions to resettle Afghans, failing which they will also be deported from Pakistan.
Tens of thousands of Afghans fled after the Taliban takeover in 2021. They were approved for resettlement in the US through a program that helps people at risk because of their work with the American government, media, aid agencies, and rights groups.
However, President Donald Trump paused US refugee programs in January and 20,000 Afghans are now in limbo.

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World

Energy Secretary: US to Stop Iran's Nuclear Ambitions 'One Way or the Other'

US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright speaks during a press conference after a meeting with Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodriguez at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas on February 11, 2026. (Photo by Juan BARRETO / AFP)
US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright speaks during a press conference after a meeting with Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodriguez at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas on February 11, 2026. (Photo by Juan BARRETO / AFP)
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Energy Secretary: US to Stop Iran's Nuclear Ambitions 'One Way or the Other'

US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright speaks during a press conference after a meeting with Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodriguez at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas on February 11, 2026. (Photo by Juan BARRETO / AFP)
US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright speaks during a press conference after a meeting with Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodriguez at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas on February 11, 2026. (Photo by Juan BARRETO / AFP)

The United States will deter Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons "one way or the other", US Energy Secretary Chris Wright warned on Wednesday.

"They've been very clear about what they would do with nuclear weapons. It's entirely unacceptable," Wright told reporters in Paris on the sidelines of meetings of the International Energy Agency.

"So one way or the other, we are going to end, deter Iran's march towards a nuclear weapon," Wright said.

US and Iranian officials held talks in Geneva on Tuesday aimed at averting the possibility of US military intervention to curb Tehran's nuclear program.

Iran said following the talks that they had agreed on "guiding principles" for a deal to avoid conflict.

US Vice President JD Vance, however, said Tehran had not yet acknowledged all of Washington's red lines.

World

Iran, Russia to Conduct Joint Drills in the Sea of Oman 

This handout photo released by Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)'s official website Sepanews on February 17, 2026, shows boats maneuvering around a tanker vessel during a military exercise by members of the IRGC and navy in the Strait of Hormuz. (Sepahnews / AFP)
This handout photo released by Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)'s official website Sepanews on February 17, 2026, shows boats maneuvering around a tanker vessel during a military exercise by members of the IRGC and navy in the Strait of Hormuz. (Sepahnews / AFP)
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Iran, Russia to Conduct Joint Drills in the Sea of Oman 

This handout photo released by Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)'s official website Sepanews on February 17, 2026, shows boats maneuvering around a tanker vessel during a military exercise by members of the IRGC and navy in the Strait of Hormuz. (Sepahnews / AFP)
This handout photo released by Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)'s official website Sepanews on February 17, 2026, shows boats maneuvering around a tanker vessel during a military exercise by members of the IRGC and navy in the Strait of Hormuz. (Sepahnews / AFP)

Iran and Russia will conduct naval maneuvers in the Sea of Oman on Thursday, following the latest round of talks between Tehran and Washington in Geneva, Iranian media reported.

On Monday, the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of Iran's military, also launched exercises in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a challenge to US naval forces deployed in the region.

"The joint naval exercise of Iran and Russia will take place tomorrow (Thursday) in the Sea of Oman and in the northern Indian Ocean," the ISNA agency reported, citing drill spokesman, Rear Admiral Hassan Maghsoudloo.

"The aim is to strengthen maritime security and to deepen relations between the navies of the two countries," he said, without specifying the duration of the drill.

The war games come as Iran struck an upbeat tone following the second round of Oman-mediated negotiations in Geneva on Tuesday.

Previous talks between the two foes collapsed following the unprecedented Israeli strike on Iran in June 2025, which sparked a 12-day war that the United States briefly joined.

US President Donald Trump has deployed a significant naval force in the region, which he has described as an "armada."

Iranian officials have repeatedly threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, particularly during periods of tension with the United States, but it has never been closed.

A key passageway for global shipments of oil and liquefied natural gas, the Strait of Hormuz has been the scene of several incidents in the past and has returned to the spotlight as pressure has ratcheted amid the US-Iran talks.

Iran announced on Tuesday that it would partially close it for a few hours for "security" reasons during its own drills in the strait.

World

First European Flight Lands in Venezuela Since Maduro’s Ouster 

A man holds up a Venezuelan flag while taking part in a march calling for amnesty for political prisoners and to mark Youth Day, in Caracas, Venezuela, February 12, 2026. (Reuters)
A man holds up a Venezuelan flag while taking part in a march calling for amnesty for political prisoners and to mark Youth Day, in Caracas, Venezuela, February 12, 2026. (Reuters)
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First European Flight Lands in Venezuela Since Maduro’s Ouster 

A man holds up a Venezuelan flag while taking part in a march calling for amnesty for political prisoners and to mark Youth Day, in Caracas, Venezuela, February 12, 2026. (Reuters)
A man holds up a Venezuelan flag while taking part in a march calling for amnesty for political prisoners and to mark Youth Day, in Caracas, Venezuela, February 12, 2026. (Reuters)

A plane from Spain's Air Europa landed in Venezuela Tuesday, according to a flight tracking monitor, the first European commercial flight to arrive in the country since the United States toppled president Nicolas Maduro.

A slew of international carriers stopped flying to Venezuela after the United States warned of possible military activity there in late November -- a prelude to its surprise attack on January 3.

The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner landed at Simon Bolivar International Airport, which serves the Venezuelan capital Caracas, at 9:00 pm (0100 GMT).

Since US forces raided Venezuela and captured Maduro, US President Donald Trump has struck a cooperative relationship with interim president Delcy Rodriguez.

Late last month he called for flights to resume to the country.

Spanish airline Iberia is evaluating security guarantees before announcing a return, according to the Spanish press.

Portugal's TAP has said it will resume flights. Colombian airline Avianca and Panama's Copa have already restarted operations.

Hoping to prompt US flights, the Trump administration has lifted a 2019 ban on US airlines flying to the country.