World news from The Thursday Times' foreign desk.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has reaffirmed that Pakistan stands "shoulder to shoulder" with Saudi Arabia in safeguarding its sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, in a meeting in Islamabad with the newly arrived Saudi Ambassador, Dr Rajeh Tami Albugamy.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will land in India this week with a schedule that leaves out New Delhi and includes no announced meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Protests are gathering pace across India, with the Cockroach Janta Party set to hold another demonstration at Delhi's Connaught Place on Friday after the Delhi High Court refused to restrain it.
The UN, Amnesty and Human Rights Watch have criticised India over the mass detention of protesters, opposition leaders, lawyers and journalists in Delhi.
Pakistan's capital has beaten Paris, New York and London in Numbeo's 2026 Mid-Year Quality of Life Index, scoring 140.7, in a ranking that highlights Islamabad's safety, climate and affordability.
Former chief ministers Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal and Pinarayi Vijayan were among those held as the Cockroach Janta Party protest at Jantar Mantar demanded the Chief Election Commissioner's resignation
US President Donald Trump welcomed Pakistan and Türkiye's military support for Saudi Arabia under the Makkah Alliance, saying "I think that's great."
The International Criminal Court on 5 October 2026 unsealed four arrest warrants in the Afghanistan situation against senior Taliban figures, including Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani.
Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz received the UN-Habitat Scroll of Honour Award 2026 for Apni Chhat Apna Ghar at a World Habitat Day ceremony in Muscat, Oman.
Houthi forces carried out a drone attack on a power distribution station in Madinah that supplies electricity to the Prophet's Mosque, the Saudi-led Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen says, the latest in a string of attacks it says has targeted Islam's two holiest cities.
