Pakistan has formally extended its prohibition on Indian aircraft utilizing its airspace through January 23, 2026, according to an official Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) issued by the Pakistan Airports Authority on Wednesday, December 17, 2025. This decision prolongs a significant aviation restriction initially imposed in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack in April, an incident that resulted in 26 fatalities and severely escalated bilateral tensions. The monthly renewal pattern continues, with the previous mandate scheduled to lapse on December 24. This ongoing closure compels airlines operating to and from India to navigate lengthier, more fuel-intensive flight paths, particularly affecting routes to and from Afghanistan, Central Asia, and parts of the Middle East, thereby increasing operational costs and flight durations. The persistent extension underscores the deep-rooted and unresolved diplomatic discord between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, with no immediate indications of a thaw in relations or aviation cooperation. The aviation sectors of both nations, along with international carriers servicing these routes, continue to adapt to this protracted geopolitical reality.
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DMCC partners with Crypto.com to drive global push for commodities tokenisation
In a landmark move that signals Dubai’s accelerating embrace of digital asset innovation, the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) has entered into a strategic partnership with cryptocurrency exchange giant Crypto.com. This collaboration, formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding, aims to revolutionize global commodities trading through blockchain-enabled tokenization of physical assets.
The partnership brings together the world’s largest free zone and commodities trading hub with one of the most prominent digital asset platforms to explore transformative solutions for tokenizing real-world commodities. The initiative specifically targets precious metals, diamonds, energy products, and agricultural goods—seeking to modernize how these assets are financed, traded, and settled across international markets.
Key objectives include reducing settlement friction, enhancing price transparency, and expanding access to broader pools of market participants. The alliance will assess the potential listing of tokenized commodities on the Crypto.com Exchange, contingent upon regulatory approvals and existing listing requirements. Additionally, both organizations will jointly investigate digital asset custody models, liquidity-facilitation mechanisms, and digital-asset payment solutions across DMCC’s digital platforms.
Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and CEO of DMCC, characterized tokenization as a structural opportunity to modernize commodities markets that still rely heavily on legacy systems. “The ability to move real assets on-chain could significantly enhance transparency and efficiency,” he stated, emphasizing Dubai’s positioning at the forefront of blockchain-enabled trade transformation.
The collaboration extends beyond market infrastructure to include educational initiatives through the DMCC Crypto Centre. These will feature workshops, hackathons, and capability-building programs designed to strengthen institutional understanding of tokenized asset models and foster responsible innovation within Dubai’s rapidly expanding Web3 ecosystem.
Crypto.com President Eric Anziani highlighted the significance of tokenized real-world assets as “one of the most significant advancements in the digital economy,” noting that the partnership provides an exceptional platform to explore these opportunities responsibly and at scale.
This agreement builds upon DMCC’s earlier partnership with Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), forming part of a comprehensive strategy to develop secure, compliant frameworks for integrating physical assets into the digital economy. With over 26,000 member companies across various sectors, DMCC provides a diversified commercial environment for testing and implementing blockchain applications within global supply chains.
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China planning to raise age limit for blood donors, shorten the minimum interval
China is poised to implement significant revisions to its national blood donation policy, marking the first major update to the Law on Blood Donation since its inception in 1997. The National Health Commission announced on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, proposed changes that would raise the maximum donor age from 55 to 65 years and reduce the minimum donation interval from six months to just 90 days.
This regulatory modernization follows extensive review of international practices and contemporary medical research. The World Health Organization’s guidelines recommend donor ages between 18 and 65, with numerous developed nations including the United States, Canada, Australia, and Japan either permitting older donors or establishing no strict upper age limitations. Similarly, the proposed 90-day interval aligns with the 8-12 week standards commonly implemented worldwide.
The Commission emphasized that all potential donors will undergo comprehensive health screenings to ensure safety. Medical evidence confirms that donating 400 milliliters of blood represents less than 10% of total blood volume, with the human body continuously regenerating blood cells without adverse health effects.
Several regions including Hainan Province, Jiangxi Province, and Shenzhen City have already successfully implemented similar relaxed standards through local regulations, providing practical demonstration of the policy’s feasibility and safety.
The draft revision prioritizes donor health protection and blood safety as fundamental principles, proposing enhanced health assessments, scientific donation criteria, improved monitoring systems, and superior donor services. Additional measures include financial subsidies, extended paid leave, and improved medical service access for donors.
The National Health Commission is currently soliciting public feedback on the proposed revisions until January 17, 2026, before submitting the final draft to the legislative body for approval.
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Ghislaine Maxwell asks court to set aside her 20-year prison sentence
Convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has launched a fresh legal bid to challenge her 20-year prison sentence, filing motions in a New York federal court seeking either complete vacatur or significant modification of her punishment. The disgraced socialite and longtime associate of deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein alleges the emergence of “substantial new evidence” that fundamentally undermines the fairness of her 2021 trial.
According to newly submitted court documents, Maxwell’s defense team contends that materials uncovered through subsequent civil litigation, investigative journalism projects, and previously sealed documents collectively demonstrate procedural irregularities and evidentiary issues that compromised her right to due process. This marks the latest in a series of appellate efforts mounted by Maxwell since her conviction for facilitating Epstein’s abuse of underage girls.
The timing of this legal maneuver coincides with impending transparency obligations facing the U.S. Justice Department, which must disclose extensive files related to its Epstein investigations by December 19th. Legal analysts suggest these forthcoming documents might contain information relevant to Maxwell’s claims, potentially influencing judicial consideration of her appeal.
Maxwell, currently incarcerated at Florida’s FCI Tallahassee, maintains her innocence despite multiple convictions for sex trafficking conspiracy, transportation of minors for illegal sexual acts, and related charges. Her legal team argues that cumulative procedural errors and newly discovered materials warrant reconsideration of what they characterize as an excessively harsh sentence relative to her role in Epstein’s criminal enterprise.
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals will now review whether the presented evidence meets the threshold for reconsideration, a process that may extend for months before any determination regarding retrial or resentencing.
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House to vote on resolutions to put limits on Trump’s campaign against Venezuela and drug cartels
The U.S. House of Representatives engaged in a significant constitutional confrontation on Wednesday, voting on war powers resolutions designed to curtail President Donald Trump’s autonomous military actions against Venezuelan targets and drug cartels in the Western Hemisphere. This legislative move represents the first formal congressional challenge to Trump’s escalating military campaign across Central and South America.
Democratic lawmakers orchestrated these votes amid growing concerns over the administration’s aggressive posture toward Venezuela and its controversial counter-narcotics operations. These operations have reportedly resulted in the destruction of 25 vessels allegedly transporting drugs and the deaths of at least 95 individuals. The resolutions would legally compel the Trump administration to seek explicit congressional authorization before continuing attacks against cartels designated as terrorist organizations or initiating military action against Venezuela itself.
Congressman Gregory Meeks, the senior Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, asserted that the administration’s true motivations extend beyond counter-narcotics. “The president is coveting Venezuelan oil,” Meeks declared, suggesting economic interests rather than national security concerns drive the aggressive stance.
The political landscape reveals deep partisan divisions. While Democratic leadership demands transparency and constitutional adherence, most Senate Republicans previously opposed similar measures. President Trump would almost certainly veto any such legislation reaching his desk. Nevertheless, Democrats forced the vote to initiate public debate and record Republican positions on the matter.
Republican leaders have increasingly endorsed Trump’s campaign, even as it potentially escalates into direct confrontation with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) characterized Maduro as “a cancer on that continent,” indicating openness to regime change objectives.
The administration defends its actions under existing counter-terrorism authorities, arguing that drug-trafficking organizations represent imminent threats to national security. This rationale has faced intensified scrutiny following revelations that a September 2nd operation killed two survivors of an initial attack.
Classified briefings with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and the Navy admiral who ordered the controversial strike produced sharply contrasting reactions. Republican lawmakers largely supported the operation as based on precise intelligence, while Democrats described footage of the missile strike as “shocking” and demanded criminal investigations.
The debate extends beyond immediate operations to broader constitutional questions. Representative Don Bacon (R-Neb.), a retired Air Force brigadier general, acknowledged that while he believes the boat strike was lawful, “continued hostility does require congressional approval.”
Some Republicans joined Democrats in questioning the administration’s stated objectives. Representative Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) pointedly noted that if drugs were the primary concern, operations would focus on Mexico, China, or Colombia—the actual sources of most illegal substances. “This is about oil and regime change,” Massie concluded, echoing Democratic criticisms of the administration’s underlying motivations.
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Breakthrough in BMI tech aids patients
In a landmark advancement for neurotechnology, Chinese researchers have demonstrated unprecedented brain-machine interface (BMI) capabilities enabling two paralyzed patients to perform complex physical tasks through thought alone. The breakthrough achievements—announced December 17, 2025, by the Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences—include the world’s first mental control of a power wheelchair and robotic dog for delivery retrieval, plus precise manipulation of a robotic arm for drinking activities.
The two patients, both males in their thirties suffering from high-level paralysis, received minimally invasive BMI implants developed through collaboration between the CAS center, Shanghai Huashan Hospital, and corporate partners. The implant procedures—conducted in June and October 2025 through a mere 5-millimeter cranial puncture—represent the smallest such implementation globally, with the implant device itself being approximately half the size of Neuralink’s comparable technology.
This research signifies a quantum leap beyond the team’s previous March 2025 achievement where a patient mentally controlled a computer cursor. The new cases enable three-dimensional interaction with the physical environment, dramatically expanding possibilities for self-care, employment, and social participation. One patient has already secured employment as an intern product sorter, utilizing brain control to perform online data annotation for AI verification systems in vending machines.
Technical innovations were crucial to these advancements. Researchers developed high-compression, high-fidelity neural data compression techniques and created hybrid decoding models capable of extracting usable signals in noisy environments. By addressing ‘cross-day stability’ challenges through neural manifold alignment, the team maintained reliable decoder performance despite environmental interference and physiological variations.
Perhaps most impressively, the system achieves end-to-end delay of under 100 milliseconds from neural signal acquisition to device execution—faster than the body’s natural neural transmission speed. Patients describe the experience as intuitive and seamless, comparable to controlling video game characters without conscious effort.
According to lead scientist Zhao Zhengtuo, the research represents significant progress toward practical clinical applications. The team anticipates scalable applications for restoring motor and language functions within three years, breakthroughs in sensory restoration and neuropsychiatric disorder treatment within five years, and highly minimally invasive systems enabling both medical and consumer uses within a decade. Future goals include achieving sufficiently fine control for activities such as playing the piano with mind-controlled robotic fingers.
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Beyond IPL auction: Punjab Kings co-owner Ness Wadia praises quiet calm of Abu Dhabi
ABU DHABI – Beyond the high-stakes environment of the IPL auction, Punjab Kings co-owner Ness Wadia found himself captivated by the understated elegance and serene atmosphere of the UAE capital. In an exclusive interview with Khaleej Times, Wadia revealed how Abu Dhabi’s unique character left a lasting impression that transcends cricket.
The transformative moment occurred the evening preceding the auction as Wadia dined with a view of the illuminated Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. The majestic white domes against the night sky established a tone of peaceful contemplation that would define his entire experience. “The roads are smooth, the people welcoming, and the pace noticeably different,” Wadia observed. “Everything feels nice and calm here, offering a sense of order and reassurance that’s increasingly rare in modern cities.”
Wadia drew thoughtful comparisons between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, describing them as complementary emirates with distinct personalities. While Dubai thrives on dynamic energy and relentless momentum, Abu Dhabi presents a more measured, contemplative environment. What struck Wadia most profoundly was the subtlety of the UAE’s progress – the nation’s advancements in infrastructure and security achieved without ostentation.
The executive particularly noted the pervasive sense of care and security throughout the city. “Security was present without being intrusive,” he remarked, “allowing people to go about their lives with genuine ease.” This philosophy extended to cricket infrastructure, which Wadia noted had been designed with thoughtful consideration for players and spectators alike.
Wadia discovered unexpected connections with local cricket enthusiasts, learning of substantial Punjab Kings support among UAE residents including Emirati nationals. “Knowing we have fans here makes me feel even more at home,” he shared with visible appreciation.
These experiences have catalyzed concrete plans for future engagement. Wadia confirmed that Punjab Kings are actively exploring opportunities for a February visit to Abu Dhabi, with both team management and captain Shreyas Iyer expressing enthusiasm. Crucially, Wadia emphasized that any engagement would prioritize genuine fan interaction over spectacle, creating meaningful connections with the team’s supporter base.
As his visit concluded, Wadia reflected on Abu Dhabi’s unique balance – capable of hosting high-intensity events while maintaining its fundamental tranquility. The city has transcended its role as merely a venue on the cricket calendar, becoming instead a place where Wadia feels authentically welcomed and understood – a true home away from home.
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Rights groups denounce ‘impunity’ in Tunisia after man dies following police brutality
Human rights organizations in Tunisia are demanding justice and systemic reform following the death of a young man who sustained fatal injuries during a police encounter in Kairouan. The incident has ignited public outrage and drawn attention to longstanding issues of police impunity in the North African nation.
Naim Briki, a thirty-year-old motorcycle rider, died on December 12th from severe head trauma and intracranial hemorrhage days after allegedly attempting to evade a police checkpoint on November 22nd. According to family accounts, Briki was violently beaten by multiple officers following a collision with a police vehicle during the pursuit. Photographic evidence released by the family reveals extensive facial injuries and significant swelling.
In a powerful joint statement, the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES), the Tunisian League for Human Rights (LTDH), and several other NGOs condemned what they described as “recurring tragedies linked to systematic police violence.” The organizations highlighted the persistent culture of impunity within law enforcement agencies that has allowed such incidents to continue unchecked.
Independent media outlet Inkyfada reports that at least 31 individuals have died at the hands of police since 2011, when mass protests toppled former President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali and ignited the Arab Spring movement. Their investigation documents eight demonstration-related deaths, seven fatalities following police chases, and four deaths resulting from excessive force within police stations.
The problem extends beyond fatal encounters. According to Amnesty International, hundreds of complaints have been filed against Tunisian police for human rights violations and torture, with virtually none of the victims receiving fair trials. The organization notes that most investigations into security forces never progress beyond preliminary inquiries.
This climate of impunity has reportedly worsened since President Kais Saied’s July 2021 power grab, which dismantled checks and balances and intensified repression of dissenting voices. Rights defenders now fear a return to the police state tactics that characterized the Ben Ali era.
The announcement of Briki’s death sparked immediate protests in downtown Kairouan, where demonstrators clashed with security forces, threw projectiles, blockaded roads, and burned tires. Local media reported over 21 arrests related to the unrest, though 17 individuals were subsequently released while four remain detained under arrest warrants.
In response to mounting pressure, the public prosecutor’s office announced Monday the opening of a judicial inquiry into Briki’s death. Meanwhile, rights organizations continue to demand transparent investigations, an end to impunity for police violence, and genuine reform within security forces.
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Zen launches digital finance platform to advance real-world asset tokenisation
In a significant development for digital finance, Zen has officially launched its innovative platform dedicated to transforming real-world assets into compliant digital tokens. Founded by seasoned entrepreneur Aniket Warty, whose career spans over four decades, the platform emerges as a sophisticated ecosystem prioritizing value creation, operational transparency, and long-term market resilience.
The core of Zen’s infrastructure is Atlas Rails, a robust transaction system that seamlessly integrates the platform’s various verticals—ZenX, ZenTokenize, ZenPay, and ZenOTC—into a unified, programmable settlement layer. This architecture supports the entire lifecycle of asset tokenization, facilitating the conversion of tangible and intangible assets—including real estate, private equity, debt instruments, art, and intellectual property—into liquid digital positions.
Atlas Rails is engineered to manage onboarding, risk assessment, payment routing, foreign exchange, settlement, and post-trade reconciliation. Its modular design allows integration with card issuance systems, digital wallets, and liquidity management tools, ensuring both operational flexibility and regulatory compliance.
Zen distinguishes itself by addressing longstanding barriers to the adoption of tokenized assets within traditional finance, such as regulatory uncertainty and market volatility. The platform is built to endure different market cycles, offering institutional-grade security and stability that appeal to investors and asset owners alike.
Aniket Warty, leveraging his extensive background in venture capital, private equity, and digital finance, applied first-principles thinking to develop Zen. His approach ensures the platform treats liquidity and tokenization as operational rather than speculative functions, aligning with the practical needs of institutions and creators.
By bridging conventional asset markets with programmable digital finance rails, Zen provides a streamlined environment for asset issuance, trading, payments, and custody, marking a pivotal step toward the future of finance.
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Watch: Trump attends dignified transfer for Americans killed in Syria
President Donald Trump made a solemn journey to Delaware’s Dover Air Force Base on Friday to participate in the dignified transfer ceremony honoring three American patriots killed in a hostile engagement in Syria. The fallen include two US service members and a civilian defense department interpreter who lost their lives during a routine patrol in the northern city of Manbij when their convoy was ambushed by an Islamic State militant.
The attack represents the deadliest confrontation for US forces in Syria since American troops commenced operations against the terrorist organization in 2015. The dignified transfer ceremony, a profoundly moving military tradition, saw the President and First Lady Melania Trump standing in respectful silence as flag-draped transfer cases carrying the remains of the deceased were carefully moved from a military aircraft to a waiting vehicle.
This poignant event occurs amid ongoing discussions regarding the future of US military presence in Syria, following President Trump’s December announcement of a planned withdrawal of approximately 2,000 troops from the region. Defense officials have emphasized that despite this tragic incident, the campaign against ISIS continues with undiminished determination, though they acknowledge the terrorist organization still maintains some operational capabilities within the region.
The fallen individuals, whose identities are being withheld pending family notifications, exemplified extraordinary bravery in serving their nation against global terrorism. Their sacrifice underscores the persistent dangers that American personnel face even as ISIS has lost virtually all of its formerly controlled territory.