PAKISTAN: Shehbaz Sharif was sworn in as Pakistan’s new prime minister on Monday after being elected a day earlier in a raucous parliamentary session. 

Mr Sharif held the same position from April 2022 to August 2023,  replacing arch-rival Imran Khan, ousted from the job after a no-confidence vote. 

He is the younger brother of three-time premier Nawaz Sharif.

NEPAL: Nepal’s two largest communist parties joined forces to form a new coalition government today that will also include smaller parties.

Maoist party leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal will remain prime minister a year after he was elected.

Mr Dahal has ended his partnership with the Nepali Congress party, the largest group in parliament, and is now joining forces with the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), led by Khadga Prasad Oli.

GERMANY: Thousands of flights and trains are expected to be cancelled again this week after unions GDL and Ver.di  today called for more strikes on Thursday and Friday over wages and working conditions.

Negotiations continue for ground staff at Lufthansa airline and train drivers at rail operator Deutsche Bahn.

RED SEA: Three underwater cables in providing internet and telecommunications around the world have been cut, officials said today.

A statement by Hong Kong-based HGC Global Communications acknowledged the cuts but did not reveal the cause.

There has been concern about the cables being targeted by forces of the Houthi-led Yemeni government to put pressure on Israel over its attack on the Palestinians in Gaza. 

The Yemenis have denied attacking the lines.