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Tehran, Nov 7 (IANS) The navy of Iran's Army said Saturday that a "violating" oil tanker caught fire earlier in the day after hitting naval mines east of the Strait of Hormuz.In a statement on the army's website, the navy said the oil tanker had turned off its navigation systems and was transiting the "forbidden and unsafe" region east of the strait, ignoring warnings, when it hit the mines and caught fire.It warned that the same fate awaits any "violating" vessels that ignore warnings and enter the "forbidden" areas of the waterway, Xinhua News Agency reported.Meanwhile, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Saturday that its aerospace division has established underground missile and drone production facilities and is continuously increasing the range of its missiles."We ma...

London, Nov 7 (IANS) The decline in registrations for Pakistan’s Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) expose deeper challenges facing the country’s medical education sector, a report has stated.It noted that the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has linked the trend to high educational costs and poor pay, while the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has highlighted the gap between undergraduate medical output and postgraduate training opportunities.“For generations of Pakistani families, becoming a doctor has represented more than a professional achievement. It has promised social standing, financial security and a career built around public service. Yet the numbers entering the country’s medical admission race tell a different story. Applications for the Medical an...

Sanaa, Nov 7 (IANS) At least 11 people were killed Saturday in airstrikes on a village near Yemen's capital Sanaa, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported, blaming Saudi warplanes for the attacks amid escalating hostilities in the war-torn country.The airstrikes destroyed five residential houses in Ash Sharyah village in Bani Hushaysh district, east of Sanaa, with women and children among the dead, according to the channel.The head of the district's health office told al-Masirah that rescue teams had recovered 11 bodies from the rubble, adding that the death toll remained preliminary as search and recovery operations continued, Xinhua News Agency reported.The channel also reported that Saudi warplanes launched two additional airstrikes targeting rescue workers and struck roads leading to the vil...

New Delhi, Nov 7 (IANS) The World Bank’s latest assessment that nearly 496 million Indians have moved above the poverty threshold in just 12 years, marks one of the most significant socioeconomic transformations in modern history, according to a report in Gulf Today.It highlights the World Bank figures which show that between 2011–12 and 2023–24, the proportion of Indians living below the World Bank’s lower-middle-income poverty threshold of $4.20 a day fell from 57.7 per cent to 16.1 per cent. Extreme poverty, measured at $3 a day, declined even more dramatically, from 27.1 per cent to just 2.6 per cent.The report points out that several factors have contributed to this progress. Expanded banking access through the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar-linked direct benefit transfers, s...

Dhaka, Nov 7 (IANS) The Bangladesh Nationalist Party's (BNP) return to power has been accompanied by internal disputes, even as the party takes charge of maintaining law and order, a report has stated.Despite sweeping political changes in recent years, Bangladesh continues to witness deadly clashes over local control. The 2024 uprising that ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the subsequent interim administration led largely by Muhammad Yunus, and the eventual return to power of BNP following the national elections this year have failed to change one persistent reality: people continue to lose their lives in power struggles at the grassroots level, according to a report in the online magazine ‘The Diplomat’.Amid escalating political violence in Bangladesh, the report highlighted th...

New Delhi, Nov 7 (IANS) Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s recent visit to Pakistan has sparked a debate in the island nation, with opposition leaders expressing concerns that closer security cooperation with Islamabad could strain Maldives’ ties with India, a report has stated.It argued that the reactions reflect broader differences over how Male should navigate its regional partnerships. The ties between India and the Maldives nosedived following President Mohamed Muizzu’s ‘India Out’ campaign and differences over the presence of Indian military personnel in the island nation.While bilateral relations have improved since then, Muizzu’s visit to Pakistan underscores Male’s continued efforts to expand its diplomatic and security partnerships, according to a report in the 'International C...