U.S., Iran negotiation delegations to hold talks in Islamabad Saturday
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday that the negotiation delegations from the United States and Iran would hold talks on Saturday to find a peaceful solution to the Middle East conflict.
A temporary ceasefire has been announced, and the next and hard phase is for permanent peace via talks, Sharif said in an address.
The Pakistani leadership will make the best of its efforts to make the talks a success, he added.
Trump says outcomes of talks with Iran will be clear in about 24 hours
U.S. President Donald Trump said the outcomes of negotiations with Iran will be clear "in about 24 hours," the New York Post reported Friday.
Trump made the remarks in a phone interview with the news outlet shortly after Vice President JD Vance left Washington for talks with Iran in Islamabad, Pakistan.
"We're going to find out in about 24 hours. We're going to know soon," Trump said.
Lebanon, Israel agree to meet in Washington Tuesday to discuss ceasefire
Lebanon and Israel agreed on Friday to hold an initial meeting next Tuesday at the U.S. State Department in Washington to discuss a ceasefire and the date for starting U.S.-mediated negotiations, the Lebanese presidency said.
On Friday night, Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad and Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter spoke by phone after Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called for direct talks with Israel amid escalating Israeli attacks on Lebanon in an initiative, according to a statement posted by the presidency on the X platform.
U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michael Issa, who is currently in Washington, also participated in the discussion.
Guelleh claims victory in Djibouti's presidential election
Djibouti's incumbent President Ismail Omar Guelleh claimed victory in the country's presidential election on his X account on Saturday morning.
This would mark his sixth term as the Red Sea nation's president since 1999.
China sees solid rise in cross-border travel in Q1, with foreign national trips surging
China recorded steady growth in cross-border entries and exits in the first quarter of 2026, with trips by foreign nationals surging amid measures aimed at facilitating inbound travel.
Border authorities handled 185 million cross-border trips from January to March, up 13.5 percent year on year, the National Immigration Administration announced on Friday.■
