Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered to mediate for a new ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan as border clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan entered their sixth day on Wednesday (Mar. 4). The conflict erupted last week with Afghanistan launching attacks in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes the previous weekend. Since then, Pakistan has carried out operations along the border and declared it was in an "open war" with Afghanistan, alarming the international community.

The ongoing clashes ended an earlier ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey in October, when the two neighbors had again come close to a war. The truce, signed in Qatar at the time, was followed by six days of talks in Istanbul, which resulted in an agreement to extend the truce and hold a third round of negotiations in November. Those talks, held on Nov. 6 and Nov. 7 failed to produce any breakthrough and the process stalled.

Millions of Nepalis have voted in the country's first general election since violent youth-led protests toppled the government last September. Corruption, economic stagnation and inequality were the main issues in the vote. They sparked the uprising in which 77 people died, many of them protesters shot by police. The election represents a crossroads for Nepal, pitting the establishment against a new generation of politicians advocating for angry, young Gen Z voters hungry for change.

Counting the votes cast for the Nepalese parliament's 275 seats is expected to take several days, and results are not expected before next week. Nepal's mountainous terrain makes it slow and difficult to transport ballots, which are tallied by hand. Nearly 19 million people, including almost a million first-time voters, were registered to take part in the 5 March ballot for the House of Representatives. The Election Commission, speaking shortly after polls closed, said it expected voter turnout to be around 60%.

India and Canada agreed to strengthen their economic partnership, in a move aimed at boosting ties after two years of strained relations. The two countries concluded eight agreements and a slew of other pacts spanning trade, energy, agriculture and space, during the visit of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to India between February 27 and March 2. Relations between the two countries were mired in bitter recrimination until recently, and the pacts signed during Carney's visit, though mainly preliminary in nature, mark a significant step forward on the road to normalisation of ties.

Carney's visit came at a time when India and Canada are looking to diversify their partnerships in an increasingly uncertain world, rocked by turbulence triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's unilateral tariffs and worsened by several ongoing military conflicts. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the two countries would soon finalize a "comprehensive economic partnership" which is expected to increase bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030.

Three men, including the husband of a Labour member of parliament, were arrested in the UK on suspicion of spying for China. David Taylor, 39, who is married to Joani Reid, the MP for East Kilbride and Strathaven, was arrested on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service, contrary to section 3 of the National Security Act, 2023. The investigation relates to China, the Metropolitan Police said, adding that the arrests were supported by the Welsh and Scottish branches of Counter Terrorism Policing.

In a statement following her spouse's arrest, Ms Reid said: "I have never seen anything to make me suspect my husband has broken any law." All three have been detained under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act and remain in police custody, the Met added. The arrests come weeks after Sir Keir Starmer visited Beijing, as the government looks to pursue a cautious reset of UK-China economic ties.