https://www.arabnews.com/cat/3/rss.xml en https://www.arabnews.com/node/2619791/world LONDON: King Charles III leaves for a state visit to the Vatican Wednesday, where he will meet Pope Leo XIV and make history as the first head of the Church of England to pray publicly with the pontiff since the schism between the churches 500 years ago. The visit comes at a delicate time for the British king following new revelations about his brother, Prince Andrew, who is mired in a scandal surrounding late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Charles and Queen Camilla will meet Leo for the first time since he succeeded the late pope Francis in May. Wed, 22 Oct 2025 01:10:13 +03 rbksa 2619791 at https://www.arabnews.com https://www.arabnews.com/node/2619788/world PARIS: More than 700 scientists, political figures and celebrities including Prince Harry, Richard Branson and Steve Bannon on Wednesday called for an end to the development of artificial intelligence capable of outsmarting humans. “The initiative calls for a prohibition on the development of superintelligence until the technology is reliably safe and controllable, and has public buy-in,” according to an open letter published by the Future of Life Institute, a US-based NGO that campaigns against the dangers of AI. Wed, 22 Oct 2025 12:10:50 +03 rbksa 2619788 at https://www.arabnews.com https://www.arabnews.com/node/2619787/world KYIV: Ukraine’s state security service has unveiled an upgraded sea drone it says can now operate anywhere in the Black Sea, carry heavier weapons and use artificial intelligence for targeting. Ukraine has used the unmanned naval drones to target Russian shipping and infrastructure in the Black Sea. The Security Service of Ukraine, known by its Ukrainian acronym SBU, has credited strikes by the unmanned vessel known as the “Sea Baby” with forcing a strategic shift in Russia’s naval operations. Wed, 22 Oct 2025 12:10:23 +03 rbksa 2619787 at https://www.arabnews.com https://www.arabnews.com/node/2619781/world TOKYO: The spouse of Japan’s first woman Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi hopes to support her by being a “stealth husband,” cooking meals but staying out of the spotlight. “Unlike in the West, it is better for a partner to stay out of the spotlight,” Fukui Television quoted Taku Yamamoto, 73, as saying on Tuesday after Takaichi became premier. He said it was essential that Takaichi, who won the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership this month, can “pursue her vision of Prime Minister.” Wed, 22 Oct 2025 11:10:58 +03 rbksa 2619781 at https://www.arabnews.com https://www.arabnews.com/node/2619780/world COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan opposition politician was shot dead in his office on Wednesday, police said, the latest in a wave of assassinations and the first to target a political figure.Lasantha Wickramasekara, 38, the council chairman of the coastal city of Weligama, was meeting with constituents when a gunman burst in and fired multiple times with a revolver.No one else was wounded, and the gunman fled the scene.“An investigation is underway to track down the killer,” police said in a statement, adding that the motive for the attack remains unclear. Wed, 22 Oct 2025 11:10:00 +03 rbksa 2619780 at https://www.arabnews.com https://www.arabnews.com/node/2619779/world NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday he had held a conversation with Donald Trump, with the US president saying the pair had discussed trade as the countries negotiate a deal that could mend strained ties. Relations plummeted in August when Trump raised tariffs on Indian exports to the United States to 50 percent and US officials accused India of financing Russia’s war in Ukraine by buying Moscow’s discounted oil. Wed, 22 Oct 2025 11:10:03 +03 rbksa 2619779 at https://www.arabnews.com https://www.arabnews.com/node/2619778/world ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday launched a national semiconductor training program to develop chip-design expertise and reduce dependence on foreign technology, with officials saying the country also plans to work closely with Saudi Arabia’s semiconductor industry. The five-year INSPIRE Initiative, valued at Rs 4.8 billion ($17.2 million), aims to train around 3,200 young professionals and establish nine university clusters and six state-of-the-art integrated-circuit laboratories. Wed, 22 Oct 2025 11:10:06 +03 Khaled Alkhawaldeh 2619778 at https://www.arabnews.com https://www.arabnews.com/node/2619773/world BERLIN: Germany plans to pay some 11,000 local employees at US military bases in the country whose paycheques have been impacted by the government shutdown in Washington, the finance ministry said Wednesday. “The federal government will initiate an unscheduled expenditure to ensure that October salaries are paid on time,” a ministry spokeswoman said. The trade union Verdi on Tuesday said that local staff have continued being paid during past US government shutdowns, but expressed fears that the current Trump administration appeared likely to halt paycheques. Wed, 22 Oct 2025 10:10:23 +03 rbksa 2619773 at https://www.arabnews.com https://www.arabnews.com/node/2619771/world PARIS: The Louvre reopened its doors to visitors on Wednesday, three days after it had been shuttered over the theft of precious royal jewelry, an AFP journalist saw. From 9:00 a.m. (0700 GMT), the museum’s usual opening time, the first visitors began entering the world-famous institution, though the museum said the Apollo Gallery, where Sunday’s theft occurred, remains closed. Wed, 22 Oct 2025 10:10:36 +03 rbksa 2619771 at https://www.arabnews.com https://www.arabnews.com/node/2619767/world TAIPEI: Taiwan reported its first cases of African swine fever on Wednesday and authorities culled at least 195 pigs and ordered a ban on the movement and slaughter of pigs across the island. The Ministry of Agriculture said that samples from dead pigs from a farm in the coastal city of Taichung had tested positive for African swine fever on Tuesday. Wed, 22 Oct 2025 10:10:08 +03 rbksa 2619767 at https://www.arabnews.com