Hundreds of migrants moved from Crete to Greek mainland as island struggles with Libya arrivals
EU officials earlier this week were turned away from eastern Libya following an apparent disagreement on the format of talks planned on curbing crossings
Updated 10 July 2025
AP
LAVRIO: More than 500 migrants arrived at the port of Lavrio near Athens Thursday after being intercepted south of the island of Crete, as Greece implements emergency measures to address a surge in Mediterranean crossings from Libya.
The migrants, consisting mostly of young men, were transferred overnight aboard a bulk carrier after their fishing trawler was intercepted by Greek authorities. Service vessels helped bring them ashore at the mainland port. They will be sent to detention facilities near the capital.
Their transfer to the mainland was ordered because makeshift reception centers on Crete have reached capacity, with roughly 500 news arrivals per day on the Mediterranean island since the weekend.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced Wednesday that Greece would suspend asylum processing for migrants arriving by sea from North Africa for three months. The measure targets arrivals on Crete and was taken during a diplomatic strain between the European Union and Libya over migration cooperation. EU officials earlier this week were turned away from eastern Libya following an apparent disagreement on the format of talks planned on curbing crossings.
Authorities on Crete are struggling to provide basic services, using temporary facilities to house migrants, primarily from Somalia, Sudan, Egypt and Morocco, according to island officials.
FAISALABAD: Interloop Holdings, a Pakistani conglomerate that mainly supplies textile products to global sportswear giants, is expanding its footprint into the dairy sector with plans to export premium mozzarella cheese to the Gulf region through a joint venture (JV) in Turkiye, the group’s chairman has said.
The conglomerate, best known globally for manufacturing socks and leggings for brands such as Nike, Adidas, Puma, Target, H&M, Marks & Spencer and Zara, operates large-scale textile and apparel units in Pakistan, China, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It now aims to diversify its portfolio and boost Pakistan’s non-textile exports through its dairy arm, IRC Dairy Products Ltd.
IRC and its Turkish JV Rella Gida are processing 120,000 liters of milk daily to produce Turkish mozzarella cheese and butter for clients in Pakistan, Eurasia and the Far East.
Interloop Holdings Chairman Musadaq Zulqarnain told Arab News in an interview he will travel to Turkiye this month to discuss with Rella Gida the prospects of starting exports to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) market, which he says spends more than $2 billion on cheese and butter imports annually.
In 2024, GCC countries imported cheese and butter worth $2.3 billion, with Saudi imports alone amounting to $980 million, said Zulqarnain, whose IRC Dairy gets nearly 10 percent of its revenues from exports and plans to boost them.
“We would be producing about 7–8 percent of the cheese which the entire Gulf Cooperation [Council] countries import,” Zulqarnain told Arab News in an interview in the Pakistani city of Faisalabad, where the company’s multiple manufacturing units are based.
IRC Dairy, whose sales are projected to reach Rs10 billion ($36 million) this fiscal year through June, expects them to surge to Rs40 billion ($142 million) once its expansion plans materialize.
“We are going to triple its [IRC Dairy’s] capacity in the next three years,” Zulqarnain said.
The picture taken on October 10, 2025, shows cheese being produced at an Interloop plant in Faisalabad, Pakistan. (AN photo)
IRC currently produces 6,000 tons of cheese, 1,000 tons of butter and 2,400 tons of whey powder annually, which it expects will surge to 21,000 tons, 3,500 tons, and 8,400 tons respectively by calendar year 2028.
“We have ambition that part of the cheese which we manufacture here… we would be exporting to the Gulf,” Zulqarnain said.
“We could even consider installing a plant in Saudi Arabia with a joint venture with any Saudi investor,” he added, emphasizing the Kingdom’s growing demand.
Interloop’s expansion into dairy exports is in line with the Pakistani government’s broader strategy to boost exports to revitalize the economy. Islamabad recently secured a tariff concession from the US, from 29 percent to 19 percent, aiming to improve export competitiveness.
To IRC Dairy CEO Matloob Hussain, Pakistan’s geographical proximity to the Gulf is a logistical advantage.
“The shipping lead time to reach the market from Pakistan is way lesser as compared to any other Western country,” Hussain, who has worked at Coca-Cola and Friesland Campina, told Arab News.
“It gives an advantage to us to reach the Middle Eastern market.”
EXPANDING INTO TECH AND LOGISTICS
Interloop Holdings is also diversifying into logistics and IT services, with a sister tech company already active in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) while it explores partnerships in Saudi Arabia.
“Our IT company is now already discussing partnerships in Saudi Arabia so that we can provide AI, cloud services, data centers and end-to-end software production,” said Zulqarnain, who is also eyeing apparel exports to Saudi Arabia, which accounts for half of the GCC’s $35 billion market.
His group now plans to raise funds through the Pakistani bourse to finance business expansion.
“You will see our dairy products company go to the stock exchange to raise funds,” he said.
CHALLENGES AND OUTLOOK
The announcement comes as Pakistan struggles with a widening trade deficit and sluggish exports.
Last month, the country’s exports dropped 12 percent year-on-year to $2.5 billion, while imports surged by 14 percent, widening the trade gap by 46 percent to $3.3 billion, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). The July–September quarterly trade gap widened 33 percent to $9.4 billion.
Pakistan’s food exports accounted for 23 percent of total exports and dropped 3 percent to $7.1 billion last year, according to the PBS.
Milk production rose 3 percent to 72 million tons, partly because of expansion in commercial dairy operations, according to the Economic Survey 2024–25. Pakistanis consumed 58.3 million tons of milk in the last fiscal year.
Asked about challenges, Zulqarnain pointed to persistent structural issues in Pakistan’s economy as the main hurdles.
“We have to bring our laws and our policies in line with other competitor countries,” he said, adding that Pakistan’s businesses needed competitive prices because of “higher” energy and labor costs.
This, coupled with global trade uncertainty created by US tariffs, is weighing on Interloop’s profits.
Zulqarnain also complained about the country’s taxation rate of as much as 40 percent.
“The taxation rate is very high in Pakistan because the government was unable to expand its tax net to the undocumented sector.”
Still, Zulqarnain sees his company expanding into the Gulf market once he finds “the right partners” there.
“I am very certain that with this increased defense cooperation between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia… there is a lot of scope in Saudi Arabia,” he added, referring to a landmark defense pact signed between the two nations last month, deepening decades of military and security cooperation.
Top Pakistani government officials, including National Food Security Minister Rana Tanveer, have said that following the defense agreement, Islamabad and Riyadh will now sign a wide-ranging economic pact as early as the end of October.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Customs said on Sunday it had foiled an attempt to import banned Indian-origin textile machinery misdeclared as Chinese equipment, in one of the first major detections under the Federal Board of Revenue’s new Risk Management System (RMS 2.0).
The seizure, jointly conducted by Customs Appraisement (West) Karachi and Customs Enforcement Karachi, took place at the Karachi International Container Terminal (KICT) after an alert was generated by the RMS 2.0 software, which is currently being test-run at Karachi Port.
“In a joint operation, Customs Appraisement (West) Karachi & Customs Enforcement Karachi successfully foiled an attempt to import banned Indian-origin textile machinery misdeclared as Chinese-origin equipment,” the FBR said in an official post on X.
It said the consignment had been imported via Jebel Ali, Dubai, and intercepted after the system flagged the container for inspection.
“Physical examination revealed the machinery to be of Indian origin with manufacturer markings deliberately removed,” the post said, adding:
“Legal proceedings have been initiated. The goods are valued at USD 85,107. The detection reflects Customs’ vigilance & the effectiveness of FBR’s upgraded RMS 2.0.”
Experts say the interception underscores both the continuing challenge of enforcing the India trade ban and the growing sophistication of Pakistan’s customs technology.
Pakistan suspended all trade with India in August 2019, following New Delhi’s revocation of the special constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir.
Since then, the import of Indian-origin goods has been prohibited under the country’s customs and trade regulations.
Officials said the use of Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port, one of the world’s busiest re-export hubs, to reroute restricted goods illustrates how Pakistani authorities are tightening enforcement through digital tracking and data-driven inspections.
The RMS 2.0 platform, part of Pakistan’s ongoing customs modernization initiative, uses risk profiling, analytics, and automated alerts to detect high-risk shipments and prevent revenue leakage or trade violations.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan inaugurated its national pavilion at Expand North Star 2025 in Dubai on Sunday, showcasing ten of the country’s most promising start-ups at the region’s premier technology and innovation gathering.
Held at the Dubai Harbor from Oct. 12 to 15, Expand North Star brings together start-ups, investors, and global innovators from more than 100 countries. Pakistan’s presence this year, under Ignite — National Technology Fund, underscores the country’s growing role in the global digital economy. The fund is a public-sector organization under Pakistan’s Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT).
The Pakistan Pavilion was inaugurated by Ambassador Faisal Niaz Tirmizi, Pakistan’s envoy to the UAE, along with Rafique Ahmed Buriro, Additional Secretary at the Ministry of IT & Telecom and CEO of Ignite, and other officials.
Speaking on the occasion, Tirmizi highlighted the remarkable growth of Pakistan’s IT exports to the UAE, which reached $376 million in fiscal year 2024–25. He added that Pakistan’s overall IT exports had surpassed $3.76 billion, reflecting the country’s expanding global technology footprint.
“The participation of Pakistani startups at Expand North Star 2025 reflects our government’s vision to empower youth through technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship,” Buriro was quoted as saying in a statement.
“These startups are not only ambassadors of Pakistan’s digital potential but also vital contributors to our national goal of achieving sustainable economic growth through the knowledge economy. We are committed to continuing our efforts in supporting and expanding Pakistan’s startup ecosystem to compete globally.”
Buriro encouraged investors, entrepreneurs, and IT professionals to visit the Pakistan Pavilion, being held in Hall 8, Stand No. H8-B180, to witness the creativity and innovation driving Pakistan’s start-up ecosystem and to explore avenues for collaboration and investment.
Officials from the Ministry of IT & Telecom said that more than 40 independent Pakistani start-ups are participating this year across sectors such as fintech, healthtech, edtech, and artificial intelligence.
Investor interest at the Pakistan Pavilion has been “notably strong and vibrant,” with global venture capital firms, accelerators, and corporate partners exploring funding opportunities with Pakistani founders, according to the statement.
These engagements reflect “rising confidence in Pakistan’s ability to produce scalable, impactful, and investment-ready businesses,” the handout added.
‘The war is over’: Trump to be lauded in Israel as long-held hostages return home
“The war is over,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he began his flight from Washington to Israel
Trump is to address the Israeli parliament amid fragile ceasefire
Updated 31 min 5 sec ago
Reuters
JERUSALEM/CAIRO: US President Donald Trump will receive a hero’s welcome in Israel’s parliament on Monday as a fragile Gaza ceasefire he helped to broker enters a fourth day, with the expected release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners marking tentative steps in a conflict long resistant to resolution.
Trump’s Knesset speech follows two years of war sparked by a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, that killed around 1,200 people in Israel with 251 taken hostage. Israeli airstrikes and ground assaults have since devastated Gaza, killing more than 67,000 Palestinians, the enclave’s health officials say.
“The war is over,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he began his flight from Washington to Israel. Asked about prospects for the region, he said: “I think it’s going to normalize.”
The UN said humanitarian aid was ramping up, with cooking gas entering for the first time since March and expanded food and medical deliveries.
A lasting peace seems distant
The truce and the exchange of both hostages and prisoners offered a glimmer of hope, but despite Trump’s optimism, the loss of life, devastation and trauma underscored how distant a lasting peace remains. Progress now hinges on global commitments that could be taken up by a summit later on Monday of more than 20 world leaders led by Trump in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh resort.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will attend the summit in Egypt, an Axios reporter said on Sunday, citing a senior Palestinian official. No Israeli officials will attend.
Israel expects the remaining hostages to begin returning early on Monday, with 20 survivors to be released together, followed by the handover of 28 others — 26 dead and two whose fate is unknown.
The Israeli Justice Ministry released the names of 250 Palestinians convicted of murder and other serious crimes due to be released in the exchange. The list excluded high-profile figures such as senior Hamas commanders as well as Marwan Barghouti and Ahmed Saadat — key demands from Hamas. Talks over the final list were ongoing, said the Hamas prisoners information office. Also to be released were 1,700 Gazans detained since October 7, 2023.
On the ground, Palestinians returning to northern Gaza described scenes of staggering destruction.
“We couldn’t believe the devastation,” said Rami Mohammad-Ali, 37, who walked 15 km (9 miles) with his son from Deir al Balah to Gaza City. “We are joyful to return, but bitter about the destruction,” he added, recounting the sight of human remains scattered along the roads.
Israelis boo Netanyahu, cheer Trump
Multitudes who gathered late on Saturday at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square cheered and waved placards in praise of Trump during a speech by his special envoy Steve Witkoff but booed loudly when Witkoff sought to thank Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his role in the ceasefire effort.
Trump will become only the fourth US president to address the Knesset, following Jimmy Carter in 1979, Bill Clinton in 1994 and George W. Bush in 2008.
In a letter last week inviting Trump to deliver a formal address, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana wrote: “The people of Israel regard you as the greatest friend and ally of the Jewish nation in modern history.”
Israeli critics of Netanyahu, including hostages’ families, accuse him of deliberately prolonging the conflict to placate his far-right government coalition partners, whose backing is crucial to his political survival. The International Criminal Court last year issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, which Israel denies.
“Tomorrow is the beginning of a new path. A path of building, a path of healing, and I hope – a path of uniting hearts,” Netanyahu said in a televised statement on Sunday.
The US, along with Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye, mediated what has been described as a first phase agreement between Israel and Hamas. The next phase of Trump’s plan calls for an international body — a “Board of Peace” led by Trump.
Trump had said earlier that Tony Blair could play a role on the board but on Sunday he questioned whether Blair, the former British prime minister, would be acceptable given criticisms of his role in the Iraq War.
Much could still go wrong. Further steps in Trump’s 20-point plan have yet to be agreed. Those include how Gaza is to be ruled when fighting ends, and the ultimate fate of Hamas, which has rejected Israel’s demands that it disarm.
The Hamas-run Interior Ministry said it would deploy security forces in areas where the Israeli army withdrew. It was unclear whether armed militants would return to the streets in significant numbers, which Israel would see as a provocation.
Tense negotiations over release of Palestinian prisoners
Israel and Hamas were locked in tense, albeit indirect, negotiations over the list of Palestinian prisoners to be freed. Sources close to Hamas said Israel had backtracked on a previously agreed list that included senior militant leaders, raising fears of a breakdown in the fragile deal.
Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that once the hostages were back, the military would proceed to destroy Hamas’ underground tunnel network in Gaza.
Palestinian analyst Akram Attallah told Reuters in Cairo the Trump plan had been crafted to favor Israel, allowing it to dictate terms and shift blame.
“If they choose to backtrack, they can find excuses and blame Hamas. Meanwhile, Hamas, the weaker party, loses all leverage once it hands over the hostages,” Attallah said.
Chinese coast guard rams and damages a Philippine vessel off an island in the South China Sea
Video shared by the Philippine coast guard shows a Chinese coast guard ship firing a water cannon, hitting the vessel and its two Philippine flags
Chinese coast guard accused the Philippine vessels of illegally entering what it called Chinese waters near a cluster of sandbars known as Sandy Cay
US condemned “China’s aggressive actions in defiance of international law” and expressed support for the Philippines, a close Asian treaty ally
Updated 13 October 2025
AP
MANILA, Philippines: A Chinese coast guard ship used a powerful water cannon on Sunday then rammed and slightly damaged an anchored Philippine government vessel off an island inhabited by Filipinos in the disputed South China Sea, the Philippine Coast Guard said.
There were no injuries among Filipino crewmen of the BRP Datu Pagbuaya, part of the fisheries fleet that provides support to Filipino fishermen. The Chinese coast guard targeted Pagbuaya off the Philippines-occupied Thitu island in the latest flare-up of the long-simmering territorial disputes involving Manila, Beijing and four other governments.
The Chinese coast guard accused the Philippine vessels of illegally entering what it called Chinese waters near a cluster of sandbars known as Sandy Cay, which lies between Thitu and China’s artificial island base called Subi and “ignoring repeated stern warnings from the Chinese side.” It said it “took control measures against the Philippine vessels in accordance with the law and resolutely drove them away.”
China has repeatedly restated its sovereignty and control over virtually the entire South China Sea, a major trade route, despite a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated its historic claims. That ruling has been rejected by China but supported by the United States and its Western and Asian allies, including Japan, Australia, the European Union and Canada.
The US immediately condemned “China’s aggressive actions in defiance of international law” and expressed support for the Philippines, a close Asian treaty ally. US Ambassador to Manila MaryKay Carlson praised the Filipino personnel involved in the incident for their “tremendous valor and skill in the face of China’s dangerous ramming and use of water cannons.”
Pagbuaya and two other Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessels were anchored in the territorial waters off Thitu, called Pag-asa by the Philippines, when Chinese coast guard and suspected militia ships suddenly approached and staged “dangerous and provocative maneuvers,” the Philippine coast guard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela said in a statement. He added that such aggression would not prompt Manila to “surrender a square inch of our territory to any foreign power.”
A Chinese coast guard ship with bow number 21559 “fired its water cannon directly at the BRP Datu Pagbuaya, hitting the vessel,” then rammed the stern of the Philippine fisheries vessel three minutes later, causing “minor structural damage but no injuries to the crew.”
Video issued by the Philippine coast guard shows a Chinese coast guard ship firing a water cannon, hitting the vessel and its two Philippine flags. The Filipino-manned ship is seen moving away from the Chinese coast guard ship.
“Despite these bullying tactics and aggressive actions, the Philippine coast guard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources remain resolute,” Tarriela said. “We will not be intimidated or driven away.”
In Beijing, Chinese coast guard spokesperson Liu Dejun said in a statement the two Philippine vessels illegally entered waters near Sandy Cay, which China calls Tiexian Reef, “without the permission of the Chinese government.” One dangerously approached the Chinese Coast Guard vessel, causing a scrape, he said.
The responsibility rests entirely with the Philippine side, Liu said, accusing the Philippines of undermining the peace and stability in the South China Sea and ”sternly warned” the Southeast Asian country “to immediately stop infringement and harassment.”
“The harassment we faced today only strengthens our resolve,” Philippine coast guard commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan said. “Filipino fisherfolk depend on these waters and neither water cannons nor ramming will deter us from fulfilling our commitment to Pres. Ferdinand Marcos to not surrender a square inch of our territory to any foreign power.”
Thitu is the largest of nine islands, islets and reefs inhabited by Philippine forces and also has a fishing community in the Spratlys archipelago, the most fiercely disputed region of the South China Sea, where China turned seven barren reefs into island bases protected by a missile system. Three of the artificial islands have runways, including Subi, which lies just more than 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Thitu, which China also claims.
