World news from The Thursday Times' foreign desk.
Elon Musk remains the world's richest person by a wide margin, with a fortune of $908.2 billion, according to Forbes' Real-Time Billionaires list. His nearest rival, Google co-founder Larry Page, trails by more than $630 billion, while Michael Dell has climbed into fourth place.
Pakistan joined Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and the UAE in condemning remarks by Israeli ministers Ben-Gvir and Katz on displacing Palestinians from Gaza, calling the proposals a violation of international law and a threat to Trump's plan to end the Gaza conflict.
The US Mint put a $1 coin bearing President Trump's image into circulation on September 2, making him only the second sitting US president in history to appear on American currency. The coins reportedly sold out within hours of going on sale.
Lahore has become a sister city with Osh, Kyrgyzstan's second-largest city, under an agreement signed as PM Shehbaz Sharif met Kyrgyz President Zhaparov in Bishkek.
Lahore has been designated the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's Tourism and Cultural Capital for 2026-2027, under a resolution signed at the same Bishkek summit where Pakistan assumed the SCO chairmanship, with four flagship cultural events planned in the city.
The defence pact signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye three weeks ago will be known as the Makkah Defence Alliance, its secretariat has been established in Riyadh, and its first secretary general will be appointed from among Pakistanis, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced in Istanbul on Monday.
The Court of Arbitration in The Hague has issued its Award on the Status of the Indus Waters Treaty and its Decision on Interim Measures, finding that India's decision to place the treaty in abeyance is not permissible and that the accord remains fully in force, according to Pakistan's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Neither text has been published yet, with publication expected within about a week.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye convene the first session of the committee created under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement in Istanbul on Monday, each sending their foreign minister, defence minister and military chief. It is the first institutional step since the pact was signed three weeks ago, and the agenda covers defence capabilities, interoperability and, according to Pakistani reporting, joint production.
Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan are holding the first committee meeting under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement in Istanbul, with foreign ministers, defence ministers, and chiefs of staff in attendance, even as a separate Regional Four meeting including Egypt converges on the same city.
PM Shehbaz Sharif ordered eight PIMS officials suspended and criminal proceedings launched after an investigation found no fire safety systems in the ward where newborns died.
