Last year's FIFA World Cup host nation Qatar has donated 10,000 cabins and caravans used during the tournament to areas impacted by the catastrophic earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
At least 41,000 people have died since the initial 7.8 magnitude quake and aftershocks struck last Monday (February 6), and the disaster has had a devastating impact on cities in both countries.
More than one million people have lost their homes in Turkey, and it is feared the number is much higher in Syria.
International relief efforts are ongoing, with the focus switching from rescuing survivors under the rubble to providing food, psychological care and shelter.
Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who is an International Olympic Committee member, was the first foreign leader to visit Turkey since the earthquake when he travelled to Istanbul to hold talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on how the Gulf state could help to "mitigate this disaster" on Sunday (February 12).
It has pledged to send 10,000 mobile housing units used to reduce the burden of accommodation at the Qatar 2022 World Cup to Turkey and Syria.
"In view of the urgent needs in Turkey and Syria, we have taken the decision to ship our cabins and caravans to the region, providing much needed and immediate support to the people of Turkey and Syria," a Qatari official told Reuters.
Fans reportedly paid around £175 ($213/€198) per night to stay in the cabins located in empty stretches of desert at the World Cup, where there were complaints over issues including leaky toilets.
The first batch of the mobile homes have been dispatched to Turkey and Syria.
Qatar is also donating tents, food packages and medical supplies to assist relief efforts, and has about 130 people on the ground in Turkey.
Turkey and Qatar had already built strong ties in recent years, particularly since the Saudi-led blockade of Qatar in 2017, which ended in 2021.
Erdoğan, who has led Turkey since 2003 and faced accusations of pursuing an increasingly authoritarian approach particularly since a failed military coup in 2016, faced criticism for the Government's response to the earthquakes.
He accepted there were shortcomings in the initial stages of the response, but has insisted the situation is now under control.
Pakistan broadcaster Geo News reported at least 10 people were injured in the blast in addition to some fatalities.
Two Chinese nationals were killed in an explosion near the international airport of the southern Pakistani city of Karachi on Sunday night, the Chinese embassy in Pakistan said, in what it described as a "terrorist attack", Reuters reported.
In a statement emailed to journalists, separatist militant group Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed the explosion was an attack carried out by them using a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device targeting Chinese nationals, including engineers.
Pakistan broadcaster Geo News reported at least 10 people were injured in the blast in addition to some fatalities. The nature of the blast was not immediately clear, Geo News cited a provincial official as saying.
Karachi police did not immediately respond to request for comment.
The Chinese embassy said a convoy from the Port Qasim Electric Power Company was attacked near the airport, read the report.
"The Chinese Embassy and Consulates General in Pakistan strongly condemn this terrorist attack, express deep condolences to the innocent victims of both countries and sincere sympathies to the injured and (their) families," the statement said, adding the Chinese side has been working with Pakistani authorities in the aftermath.
The BLA seeks independence for the province of Balochistan, located in Pakistan's southwest and bordering on Afghanistan and Iran. In August, it launched coordinated attacks in the province, in which more than 70 people were killed.
BLA specifically targets Chinese interests - in particular the strategic port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea, accusing Beijing of helping Islamabad exploit the province. It has previously killed Chinese citizens working in the region and attacked Beijing's consulate in Karachi, Reuters reported.
The protesters plan to gather in the city’s red zone, which houses the country’s parliament and a fortified enclave of foreign embassies.
Over 80 police personnel have been injured in clashes with supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan taking part in a march near Islamabad, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Saturday.
The march, which is being led by the head of the northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, where Khan's party remains in power, aims to gather in the capital, defying a ban on congregations, to press for Khan's release and agitate against the ruling coalition, Reuters reported.
"The convoy, led by the chief minister, fired on the police and continuously used teargas against law-enforcers," Naqvi told journalists.
He said more than 80 police officers had been treated for injuries since Friday, when clashes broke out just outside the city during an anti-government rally.
Authorities have sealed off Islamabad and blocked cellphone services to prevent the gathering, read the report.
Islamabad is on high alert ahead of a series of top-level diplomatic events scheduled over the next two weeks, including a visit by India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
Naqvi said while the convoy was heavily armed, the police had been instructed not to carry weapons to prevent the situation from escalating. The government has deployed the army to enhance security in Islamabad.
Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party denies using violence, and says it wants to hold a peaceful gathering.
Naqvi had previously called on the PTI to delay any gathering until after diplomatic engagements in the city, including a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting on Oct. 15-16 which will be attended by delegations, including from China, Russia and India.
On Saturday, Naqvi said the authorities had intelligence that the protesters planned to disrupt the SCO conference in a bid to gain attention.
"We can't allow this. I will say to them again, to not cross more red lines - don't make us take extreme steps," Naqvi said.
The PTI, which says the Islamabad protest is just for one day, is also holding a gathering in the eastern city of Lahore on Saturday, where a lockdown of roads is in place, Reuters reported.
Six Pakistani soldiers, including a high ranking officer, were killed in a clash with militants in the country's restive northwest, the military said in a statement on Saturday.
Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Ali Shoukat, who the military said was leading the troops in the encounter with militants, was among those killed in the tribal district of North Waziristan, on Friday night.
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