ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's military says it shot down an Indian "spy drone" after it entered Pakistani airspace in the disputed region of Kashmir.
The military said in a statement late Tuesday that the drone violated Pakistan's airspace and was spying when it was shot down in the village of Chirikot along the Line of Control in Kashmir. It said Pakistani troops retrieved the wreckage.
The army said it was the fourth Indian drone it shot down in the past year.
India had no immediate comment.
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan and both claim the region in its entirety.
The two sides also often trade fire there and have fought two wars over it since their independence from British rule in 1947.
Pakistani army says it shot down Indian drone in Kashmir
Pakistani army says it shot down Indian drone in Kashmir

Pakistan army kills 30 militants trying to cross from Afghanistan

- The militants belong to the Pakistan Taliban or its affiliated groups
The militants belonged to the Pakistan Taliban or its affiliated groups, the military said in a statement accusing archfoe India of backing them.
“The security forces demonstrated exceptional professionalism, vigilance preparedness, and prevented a potential catastrophe,” it said.
“A large quantity of weapons, ammunition and explosives was also recovered,” the statement added.
The killings took place in the border district of North Waziristan, where last week 16 Pakistani soldiers were killed in a suicide attack claimed by a faction of the Pakistan Taliban.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif lauded the security forces for “thwarting an infiltration attempt.”
“We are determined to completely eliminate all forms of terrorism from the country,” his office said in a statement Friday.
The prime minister’s statement also accused India of fomenting militancy in Pakistan.
The nuclear-armed neighbors regularly trade accusations that the other supports militant groups operating in their territory.
Oil Updates — crude falls as Iran affirms commitment to nuclear treaty

NEW DELHI: Oil futures fell on Friday after Iran reaffirmed its commitment to nuclear non-proliferation and amid expectations that major producers are set to agree to raise their output this weekend.
Brent crude futures were down 22 cents, or 0.32 percent, to $68.58 a barrel by 7:45 a.m. Saudi time, while US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 12 cents, or 0.18 percent, to $66.88.
Trade was thinned by the US Independence Day holiday.
US news website Axios reported on Thursday that the US was planning to meet with Iran next week to restart nuclear talk, while Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran remains committed to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
“Thursday’s news that the US is preparing to resume nuclear talks with Iran, and Araqchi’s clarification that cooperation with the UN atomic agency has not been halted considerably eases the threat of a fresh outbreak of hostilities,” said Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights.
Araqchi’s comments came a day after Tehran enacted a law suspending cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“But the price correction may have to wait till Monday, when the US reopens from a long weekend and takes in Sunday’s OPEC+ decision, which is likely to be another 411,000 barrels per day target hike in August,” Hari said.
OPEC+, the world’s largest group of oil producers, is set to announce an increase of 411,000 bpd in production for August as it looks to regain market share, four delegates from the group told Reuters.
Meanwhile, uncertainty over US tariff policies was renewed as the end of a 90-day pause on higher levy rates approaches.
Washington will start sending letters to countries on Friday specifying what tariff rates they will face on goods sent to the US, a clear shift from earlier pledges to strike scores of individual trade deals.
President Donald Trump told reporters before departing for Iowa on Thursday that the letters would be sent to 10 countries at a time, laying out tariff rates of 20 percent to 30 percent.
Trump’s 90-day pause on higher US tariffs ends on July 9, and several large trading partners have yet to clinch trade deals, including the EU and Japan.
The US imposed sanctions on Thursday against a network that smuggles Iranian oil disguised as Iraqi oil and on a Hezbollah-controlled financial institution, the Treasury Department said.
Trump also said on Thursday that he would meet with representatives of Iran “if necessary.”
Separately, Barclays said it raised its Brent oil price forecast by $6 to $72 per barrel for 2025 and by $10 to $70 a barrel for 2026 on an improved outlook for demand.
Pakistan says 30 ‘Indian-sponsored’ militants killed trying to cross from Afghanistan

- Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in militant violence in its western regions that border Afghanistan
- Islamabad often blames these attacks on India and Afghanistan, a charge denied by Kabul and New Delhi
ISLAMABAD: At least 30 “Indian-sponsored” militants were killed while attempting to cross into Pakistan through its border with Afghanistan this week, the Pakistani military said on Friday.
Pakistani security forces intercepted the militants in the restive North Waziristan district, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing.
All 30 militants, belonging to “Indian proxy Fitna Al-Khawarij,” a reference to the Pakistani Taliban, were killed as a result of “precise and skillful engagement.”
“A large quantity of weapons, ammunition and explosives was also recovered from the killed Indian-sponsored Khawarij [militants],” the ISPR said in a statement.
“The interim Afghan government also needs to check and prevent the use of Afghan soil by ‘foreign proxies’ for orchestrating terrorist activities against Pakistan.”
New Delhi has not yet commented on the latest statement by the army but has repeatedly denied in the past that it is involved in militancy in Pakistan.
Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in violence in its western regions bordering Afghanistan, with Islamabad accusing India of backing militant groups and Afghanistan of allowing the use of its soil for attacks against Pakistan. Kabul and New Delhi deny the allegation.
The North Waziristan district has long been a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, who have mounted their attacks against Pakistani security forces and checkposts, and law enforcers since late 2022, when their fragile, months-long truce broke down with Islamabad.
On June 28, a suicide attack, claimed by Hafiz Gul Bahadur group of the Pakistani Taliban, killed 13 Pakistani soldiers and injured 29 people, including civilians, in the volatile district that borders Afghanistan, local government and police officials said.
A day later, the district administration imposed a 30-day restriction on the movement of people and vehicles from dusk till dawn, saying it was in the interest of “public safety, law and order, movement of security forces and [to] restrict the movement of outlaws.”
In a statement issued from his office, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised Pakistani security forces for foiling the militant infiltration attempt in North Waziristan.
“We are determined to completely eradicate all forms of terrorism from the country,” he said. “The entire nation salutes their security forces.”
Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. arrested by US immigration

- Chavez’s arrest comes days after his lopsided loss to YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in a cruiserweight bout before a sell-out crowd at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California
- The Mexican public prosecutor’s office said in a statement that Mexico had issued an arrest warrant for Chavez in 2023 ‘for organized crime and arms trafficking’
LOS ANGELES: Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has been arrested by US immigration officers and faces deportation from the US, the Department of Homeland Security said Thursday.
Chavez, a former world champion and the son of legendary Mexican fighter Julio Cesar Chavez, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Los Angeles on Wednesday after authorities determined that he was in the country illegally, Homeland Security said in a statement.
Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said the 39-year-old fighter has “an active arrest warrant in Mexico for his involvement in organized crime and trafficking firearms, ammunition and explosives.”
The Mexican public prosecutor’s office said in a statement later Thursday that Mexico had issued an arrest warrant for Chavez in 2023 “for organized crime and arms trafficking.”
US authorities informed Mexico that they have begun the procedure to send him home, it added.
Homeland Security said Chavez is believed to have ties to the Sinaloa cartel, one of six Mexican drug trafficking groups designated as terrorist organizations by the US.
Chavez’s arrest comes days after his lopsided loss to YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in a cruiserweight bout before a sell-out crowd at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Michael A. Goldstein, a lawyer for Chavez, told the Los Angeles Times that Chavez “was detained outside of his residence by 25 or more ICE and other law enforcement agents.”
“They blocked off his street and took him into custody, leaving his family without any knowledge of his whereabouts,” Goldstein said.
“The current allegations are outrageous and appear to be designed as a headline to terrorize the community.”
Homeland Security said Chavez had entered the US legally in 2023 on a tourist visa that was valid until February 2024.
In April last year, he applied for permanent residency based on his marriage to a US citizen “who is connected to the Sinaloa cartel through a prior relationship with the now-deceased son of the infamous cartel leader Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman.”
Homeland Security said that in addition to the active warrant in Mexico, Chavez had criminal convictions in the US, including on weapons charges in 2024 in Los Angeles.
According to the statement, US Citizenship and Immigration Services told ICE that Chavez posed “an egregious public safety threat.”
Donald Trump campaigned for president promising to expel millions of undocumented migrants from the US, and he has taken a number of actions aimed at speeding up deportations and reducing border crossings.
Authorities accused the administration of Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden of not making Chavez an “immigration enforcement priority.”
Chavez was allowed to re-enter the US on Jan. 4, 2025 at the San Ysidro port of entry, Homeland Security said — while Biden was still in the White House.
In a statement posted on the X account of Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., the Chavez family expressed support for Chavez Jr.
“Our family is deeply dismayed by the situation,” the statement said.
“In these difficult times, we reiterate our full and unconditional support for Julio.
“We fully trust in his innocence and his humanity, as well as in the justice institutions in both Mexico and the United States, in which we place our hope that this situation will be clarified according to the law and truth.”
Chavez Jr. won the WBC middleweight world title in 2011 and successfully defended it three times.
He owns a record of 54-7 with one draw, but his career has also included multiple suspensions and fines for failed drug tests.
Two weeks before his bout with Paul, Chavez held a public workout in California where he told the Los Angeles Times that one of his trainers had skipped the session because of fears raised by immigration arrests.
“I don’t understand the situation — why so much violence?” he told the newspaper. “There are a lot of good people, and you’re giving the community an example of violence.
“After everything that’s happened, I wouldn’t want to be deported,” he said.
Medical residents from Pakistan, other states fill critical positions in US, but running into visa issues

- The US is projected to face a physician shortage in the next 11 years, the Association of American Medical Colleges says
- Over 6,600 foreign-born international medical residents matched into US programs in 2025, and another 300 filled positions
Some hospitals in the US are without essential staff because international doctors who were set to start their medical training this week were delayed by the Trump administration’s travel and visa restrictions.
It’s unclear exactly how many foreign medical residents were unable to start their assignments, but six medical residents interviewed by The Associated Press say they’ve undergone years of training and work only to be stopped at the finish line by what is usually a procedural step.
“I don’t want to give up,” said a permanent Canadian resident who matched to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Harrisburg but had her visa denied because she is a citizen of Afghanistan. She requested to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal. “But the situation also seems so helpless.”
Initially, the medical community was worried that hundreds of positions — many in hospitals in low-income or rural areas of the US — could be affected. The pause on interviews for J-1 visas for approved work or study-related programs was lifted in mid-June.
The national nonprofit that facilitates the residency match process said the visa situation is resolving, but it will take weeks to know with confidence how many medical residents have had the start of their careers derailed because they got their visa too late or were blocked by President Donald Trump’s travel ban on 12 countries, according to people who coordinate the residents’ training.
Four foreign medical residents told the AP that US embassies have been slow to open up interview slots — and some have not opened any.
“You lose out on the time you could have used to treat patients,” said one resident from Pakistan, who matched to an internal medicine program in Massachusetts and requested to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal.
Thousands of foreign medical residents fill gaps in US hospitals.
The US is projected to face a physician shortage in the next 11 years, per the Association of American Medical Colleges, and foreign medical residents fill critical gaps in the health care system. More than 6,600 foreign-born international medical residents matched into US programs in 2025 — the highest on record — and another 300 filled positions that were vacant after the match process was complete.
Not all of those residents were affected by visa issues or the travel ban on foreign nationals from countries including Afghanistan, Haiti and Sudan.
International medical graduates often take jobs in places where US medical trainees tend not to go, said Donna Lamb, president of the National Resident Matching Program.
“It’s not just that they’re coming in and they want to work in big, flashy centers on the coast,” Lamb said. “They’re truly providing health care for all of America.”
Foreign medical residents work in specialties that US applicants aren’t as eager to apply to. For example, international candidates make up almost 40 percent of residents in internal medicine, which specializes in the prevention and treatment of chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease.
“The residents are the backbone of the entire hospital,” said Dr. Zaid Alrashid from Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center in New York, which has medical residents from almost every continent. Most received their visas prior to the pause but a few were caught up in delays.
Two residents from India who spoke on condition of anonymity have not been able to get an appointment at any US embassies there despite the J-1 visa pause being lifted.
Another resident from Egypt just secured a visa appointment for mid-August but is worried her program may not be willing to wait for her. She’s already paid her security deposit for an apartment in Texas to live during her residency.
“I don’t know when this situation will be resolved,” said the resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, adding she hasn’t been eating or sleeping well.
HOSPITALS WAITING FOR RESIDENTS
In California, leaders at two graduate medical education programs said they have a small number of residents caught up in J-1 visa delays. Both spoke on condition of anonymity due to concerns for the doctors who are still trying to get visas.
A residency leader at one large health care system said two doctors in its 150-resident program are delayed, adding they could start late or defer to next year. A 135-person program at a California public health system told the AP that one resident has yet to arrive, though he was finally scheduled for a visa interview.
“We are not going to breathe easy until he’s here in our hospital,” the second leader said.
As of Wednesday, Lamb’s matching program had received fewer than 20 requests to defer or cancel residency contracts.
Worried about losing their spots if they defer, many foreign medical residents may keep trying to get to the US and start their residencies late, said Dr. Sabesan Karuppiah, a past member of the American Medical Association’s International Medical Graduates Governing Council and former director of a large residency program.
Some hospitals may struggle at this point to replace the residents who don’t make it, leaving fewer people to care for the same number of patients, said Kimberly Pierce Burke, executive director of the Alliance of Independent Academic Medical Centers.
Foreign medical trainees who’ve made it into the US remain on edge about their situations, Karuppiah said.
“I can tell you the word on the street is: ‘Do not leave the country,’” he said, adding that people are missing out on important events, seeing sick parents or even getting married. “Everybody’s scared to just leave, not knowing what’s going to happen.”