KABUL MISSION: India is upgrading its technical mission in Kabul to a full embassy, India’s foreign minister announced today after meeting his Afghanistan counterpart in New Delhi.

The announcement was made during the first high-level diplomatic engagement since the Taliban seized power in 2021.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar pledged support to Afghanistan in trade, health and education and said New Delhi is committed to Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

FRANCE: An appeals court handed a stiffer 10-year sentence on Thursday to the only man who challenged his conviction for raping Gisele Pelicot while she was drugged and unconscious.

Husamettin Dogan had been sentenced to nine years in prison in the first drugging and rape trial last year that turned Ms Pelicot into a global icon against sexual violence. 

NOBEL: Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize on today, winning recognition, according to the Norwegian Nobel committee, as a woman “who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness.”

The United States backed former opposition presidential candidate said: “I am in shock,” saying, “I cannot believe it. I’m grateful and I’m honoured.”

DIPLOMACY: Syria’s foreign minister arrived in Lebanon’s capital today in what observers say could mark a breakthrough in relations between the two neighbours.

Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani held talks with his Lebanese counterpart and is expected to meet with President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.

It was the first high-profile Syrian visit to Lebanon since insurgent groups ousted President Bashar Assad’s government in early December 2024.