AnewZ Morning Brief - 27th July, 2025
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 27th of July, covering the latest developments you need to kno...
Pakistani and Afghan security forces clashed on Monday at the recently shuttered main border crossing between the two countries, killing at least one combatant and injuring several, officials said.
The conflict erupted on the first working day of the holy Islamic month of Ramadan, when food imports from Pakistan usually peak in Afghanistan, which is facing a humanitarian and hunger crisis. A 10-day-old closure of the Torkham border point has stranded thousands of trucks filled with essential goods.
The Taliban-run Afghan Interior Ministry said on Monday the latest firing took place overnight and that one Taliban fighter had been killed and two injured. Two Pakistani security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that members of the Pakistani security forces had been wounded.
Pakistan's foreign office did not respond to a request for comment.
The neighbouring countries have a strained relationship, with Pakistan saying that several Islamist militant attacks that have occurred there have been launched from Afghan soil - a charge the Taliban deny. Pakistani military aircraft carried out strikes that killed dozens on Afghan territory in December.
Abdul Mateen Qaniee, the Afghan interior ministry spokesperson, said that this week's clashes had been resolved but did not comment on whether the border crossing would now reopen. It has been shut since February 21.
The latest closure, which chamber of commerce officials said was sparked by a dispute over the construction of a border-area outpost, has left 5,000 trucks stranded and traders alarmed at rising losses.
"This is a very serious issue and is badly affecting trade between the two countries," said Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, director of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce.
The Torkham crossing is the main transit artery for travellers and goods between Pakistan and landlocked Afghanistan. Trade between the two countries was worth over $1.6 billion in 2024, according to Pakistan's foreign office.
Yousaf Afridi, president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industries for Pakistan's Khyber district where the Torkham crossing is located, said the closure had caused at least $15 million in losses.
It could exacerbate the challenges confronting the Afghan economy, which has teetered near crisis since the Taliban took over in 2021, leading to a cut in development aid and sanctions affecting the banking sector that has hampered businesses.
Millions of Afghans are at risk of hunger and around half the population needs humanitarian assistance to survive, according to the United Nations.
The world’s biggest dance music festival faces an unexpected setback as a fire destroys its main stage, prompting a last-minute response from organisers determined to keep the party alive in Boom, Belgium.
Australian researchers have created a groundbreaking “biological AI” platform that could revolutionise drug discovery by rapidly evolving molecules within mammalian cells.
Australian researchers have pioneered a low-cost and scalable plasma-based method to produce ammonia gas directly from air, offering a green alternative to the traditional fossil fuel-dependent Haber-Bosch process.
A series of earthquakes have struck Guatemala on Tuesday afternoon, leading authorities to advise residents to evacuate from buildings as a precaution against possible aftershocks.
'Superman' continued to dominate the summer box office, pulling in another $57.25 million in its second weekend, as theatres welcome a wave of blockbuster competition following a challenging few years for the film industry.
At the IDEF 2025 defence exhibition, Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) took a fresh step in strengthening bilateral defence ties. Turkish aerospace firm TAAC and UAE-based CALIDUS signed a strategic agreement to jointly develop the landing gear and subsystems for the B250 aircraft platform.
Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı announced that a total of 76 fires have been fought across the country, with 28 in forested areas and 48 in rural regions.
Hawaii turns to lab-grown mosquitoes and drones in a race to stop the extinction of its iconic honeycreeper birds.
Foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Türkiye held a phone conversation on 25 July to discuss their strategic alliance, regional security, and the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace process.
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