expire

Suicide car bomber strikes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa amid unconfirmed reports that Qatar has offered to host peace talks.

Tensions are mounting between Pakistan and Afghanistan amid reports of a brutal border attack on the former’s troops as a fragile truce between the neighbours, and once allies, nears its expiry.

A 48-hour ceasefire between the two sides, which came into effect this week after days of bloody cross-border attacks, is set to expire at 13:00 GMT on Friday.

As the end of the truce approached, Pakistani police official Irfan Ali said a suicide car bomber backed by Pakistan Taliban, known by the acronym TTP, attacked a military compound in Mir Ali, a city in North Waziristan district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Accounts of losses suffered during the attack varied.

The official, quoted by news agency The Associated Press, said three fighters were killed in an intense shootout and did not report any troop casualties.

News agency Reuters quoted Pakistani security officials as saying seven Pakistani soldiers were killed in an attack by a fighter who rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the wall of a Pakistani military camp in North Waziristan.

The anonymous officials said two other fighters were shot dead as they tried to get into the facility. At least 13 were left injured.

Pakistan’s Geo News reported that four assailants from TTP were killed in a suicide attack on a military camp in North Waziristan, with security sources saying security forces had suffered no losses.

Pakistan’s army did not immediately comment.

Deadly clashes

The truce, imposed on Wednesday, brought a temporary halt to the deadliest clashes between the neighbours since 2021, when the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of United States and NATO forces.

The conflict, which threatens to destabilise a region where groups like ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda are trying to resurface, was triggered after Islamabad demanded that Kabul rein in fighters who had stepped up attacks in Pakistan, saying they operated from havens in Afghanistan.

The Taliban denies the charge and accuses the Pakistani military of spreading misinformation about Afghanistan, provoking border tensions, and sheltering fighters to undermine its stability and sovereignty.

Media reported that Qatar has offered to host peace talks between the two countries in Doha, though neither government has confirmed the offer.

Reporting from Peshawar, Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder said there had been “some talk of a meeting in Doha … Friendly countries are trying to make efforts in order to ensure that the ceasefire is extended,” he said.

He described the situation on the border as “tense”, adding that Pakistan had stated that unless the Afghan side addressed its concerns, the situation would be “precarious and can escalate at any moment”.

Afghanistan’s Taliban government said on Thursday that Pakistan had carried out two drone attacks on Kabul the previous day, just before the ceasefire came into effect. Doctors told AP that five people were killed and dozens were injured.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said on Thursday that 37 civilians were killed and 425 were wounded in Afghanistan as a result of cross-border clashes with Pakistan this week.

Pakistan has not provided figures for civilian casualties suffered on its side of the border.

On Thursday, Dawn cited Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the military, as saying 34 “India-backed terrorists” from “Fitna-al-Khawarij” – the government’s term for TTP – had been killed during multiple operations across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the week.

LOVE a freebie? Don’t we all – but the best giveaways rarely last forever.

We’ve rounded up the very best offers and promotions that are due to run out before the end of 2025. Don’t ignore them: you could miss out on free Apple AirPods, a £400 laptop, cheap theatre tickets, and more video games than you could ever hope to play.

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FREE SAMSUNG LAPTOP

A tempting offer to claim a free £400 laptop from Samsung is due to expire this year.

Samsung launched the promotion back in August.

It gets you either a £399 14-inch Chromebook Go or a Samsung Galaxy Watch7 worth £239.

You can claim it if you’ve recently bought an eligible Samsung smartphone.

For a free laptop, you’d need to have bought:

• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7
• Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge
• Samsung Galaxy S25+
• Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

And for a free smartwatch, you’d need to have snapped up one of the following:

• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE
• Samsung Galaxy S25
• Samsung Galaxy S25 FE

The promotion is due to close down on October 2 this year.

And you need to submit your claim for the freebie within 30 days of making your purchase.

To claim the offer, just follow our guide here: Samsung free laptop promotion.

THREE+ FREEBIES

Earlier this year, Three revealed a generous batch of freebies along with the dates that they would expire.

They’re part of the Three+ rewards scheme, which is free to join. You just claim the freebies through the dedicated app.

And many of them are currently due to cut off at the end of the year.

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That includes 10% off theatre tickets, a cut-price English Heritage membership, and cheap airport parking.

They’re all decent perks, so don’t miss out on claiming them.

Here’s the full list of Three perks with a current expiry date of December 31, 2025:

• LOVEtheatre – 10% off tickets
• English Heritage – 25% off annual membership for 2x adults and up to 12 children = £36
• Tiqets – Get up to 45% off museums, theme parks, zoos and more, plus an extra 10% off with Three+
• Airparks – Up to 30% off airport parking
• Go Henry – two months free on financial education app for kids, plus £15 pocket money
• Banjo Robinson – free activity pack

It’s always possible that some of these perks could be extended, but there’s no guarantee.

FREE APPLE AIRPODS

Yes, really.

Apple is running a back-to-school promotion that expires next month.

And the offer nets you a free pair of Apple AirPods if you’ve bought a qualifying gadget.

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You just need to be a teacher, staff, student or parent.

And students are anyone who has gone on to college, university, or any other public or private tertiary education institution.

But beware: the deal runs out on October 21, 2025.

If you’ve bought a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro then you can claim:

• Apple AirPods Pro 3 (with £50 fee) – saving £169
• Apple AirPods 4 with ANC (free) – saving £169

If you’ve snapped up an iPad Air or iPad Pro, you can get:

• Apple AirPods 4 (free) – saving £119
• Apple AirPods Pro 3 (with £100 fee) – saving £119

And if you’ve bagged an iMac, the options are:

• Apple AirPods 4 with ANC (free) – saving £169
• Apple AirPods Pro 3 (with £50 fee) – saving £169

The main catch is that you can only do this once for the promotion period. Just don’t miss the offer window.

It’s also worth noting that Apple’s AirPods Pro 3 are brand new, so they’re a good buy.

BONUS £100 FROM O2

If you’re planning to buy one of the new iPhone models recently announced by Apple, take a look at this O2 offer.

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It comes with a bonus £100 – but only until October 8, 2025.

If you buy the new iPhone 17, iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, or iPhone 17 Pro Max on a pay-monthly plan, you’ll get an extra £100 if you recycle your existing mobile.

That’s in addition to the regular trade-in value of your phone.

It’s a special promotion on the O2 Recycle scheme, and you can only claim the deal once.

You don’t get the money in cash – but it’ll be credited to your plan.

So effectively, it’s a £100 discount on the amount you would’ve plaid.

You can check out the full terms for the offer here.

AMAZON PRIME GAMES

There are loads of Amazon Prime freebies that will vanish before the year is out.

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Amazon runs a special scheme for Prime members called Prime Gaming.

Every month, Amazon will dish out a selection of free games that you can keep forever.

Usually the monthly haul is worth hundreds of pounds, so it’s not bad at all.

The games drop in waves every single Thursday, and by the end of the month, the full batch is available.

But the games are only available for a month before they vanish from Amazon’s freebie list.

So you need to claim them before they disappear.

If you’re savvy, you’ll collect them all. You can bag September’s lot, and then get the October, November, and December offerings too.

You’ll probably end up with more than £1,000 in games from a four-month run.

But if you miss any of them then you’ll be too late – they’re then gone for good.

So make sure you’re hot on checking for the freebies each month. You can find them here at the Prime Gaming website.

Just note that you’ll need to have an active Amazon Prime membership to claim the games.

All prices in this article were correct at the time of writing, but may have since changed.

Always do your own research before making any purchase.

JIMMY Kimmel has fans wondering what’s next for the nighttime talk show host as his multi-million-dollar contract is set to expire.

ABC suspended its long-running show, Jimmy Kimmel Live! indefinitely following his ill-received remarks about conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s murder.

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A permanent decision has yet to be made about the program’s fate, although Jimmy has been ordered to publicly apologize to Charlie’s family if he wants to get the show back on the air.

It appears that the outcome might be in Jimmy’s hands, as he could take the bait and issue an apology, or walk away altogether.

According to numerous outlets, Jimmy’s $48 million contract with Disney, which owns ABC, is set to end in 2026.

The network also reportedly wants to keep Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, which Jimmy hosts, going, despite the New York native’s controversial comments.

As of this publishing, Jimmy hasn’t shared a statement in response to ABC pulling Jimmy Kimmel Live! from its weeknight lineup.

However, many notable celebrities have shown that they’re in Jimmy’s corner, such as Ben Stiller, Jean Smart, and Wanda Sykes, who argued that the host was wrongly penalized for exercising his freedom of speech rights.

On the other hand, President Donald Trump was thrilled about the show’s suspension, calling it “great news for America,” in a post on Truth Social.

He also claimed that Jimmy had “zero talent” and that the show’s ratings were “horrible.”

The abrupt halt of Jimmy Kimmel Live! came months after CBS announced the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which had been on the air for a decade.

This leaves a glaring uncertainty for the future of late-night TV, especially given the frequent criticism of Trump’s leadership by many nighttime hosts.

Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, who host The Tonight Show and Late Night with Seth Meyers, respectively, have also frequently scrutinized the president on their shows.

Both hosts’ contracts with NBCUniversal are up in 2028.

The U.S. Sun exclusively revealed on Thursday that Jimmy’s crew was “blindsided” by the sudden suspension, which occurred on Wednesday night.

It happened less than 48 hours after Jimmy’s Monday night monologue, in which he claimed that the so-called “MAGA gang” was trying to score points off of Charlie’s assassination.

Current Late-Night Shows

Late-night shows have become a staple on American television, filled with humorous takes on news, interviews with guests, and music performances.

• Jimmy Kimmel Live, ABC
• Late Night with Seth Meyers, NBC
• The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, NBC
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, CBS
• After Midnight, CBS
• Watch What Happens Live, Bravo
• The Daily Show, Comedy Central
• Real Time with Bill Maher, HBO

Charlie was shot and killed on September 10 while speaking to students at Utah Valley University.

His suspected killer, Tyler Robinson, was arrested three days later and charged with murder.

Jimmy Kimmel Live! was replaced on Wednesday with Celebrity Family Feud hosted by Steve Harvey.

During that time slot on Friday, a Charlie Kirk tribute special will air on Sinclair’s ABC affiliate stations.

Jimmy has hosted Jimmy Kimmel Live! since its debut in 2003, making him one of the longest-running hosts in late-night television.

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WASHINGTON — President Trump’s emergency order over the nation’s capital, which federalized its police force and launched a surge of law enforcement into the city, is set to expire overnight Wednesday after Congress failed to extend it.

But the clash between Republicans and the heavily Democratic district over its autonomy was only set to intensify, with a House committee beginning to debate 13 bills that would wrest away even more of the city’s control if approved.

Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office said the order expires at midnight. The National Guard and some other federal agencies will continue their deployment and it’s not clear when that might end.

Trump’s takeover of Washington’s policing and Wednesday’s discussions in the House underscore how interlinked the capital is with the federal government and how much the city’s capacity to govern is beholden to federal decisions.

Trump’s order federalized the local police force

For the last 30 days, the city’s local Metropolitan Police Department has been under the control of the president for use in what he described as a crime-fighting initiative.

Local police joined hundreds of federal law enforcement officers and agents on sweeps and roundups and other police operations. About 2,000 members of the National Guard from D.C. as well as seven states were also part of the surge of law enforcement.

Crime has dropped during the surge, according to figures from the White House and the local police department, but data also showed crime was falling in the lead up to the federal takeover.

Congress, satisfied by steps that Bowser has taken to ensure that the cooperation with the city will continue, decided not to extend the emergency, returning the police to district control.

But Bowser, who has walked a tightrope in collaborating with Trump in an effort to protect the city’s home rule, must now pivot to a Congress that has jurisdiction over the city. The next order of business is a series of proposals that will be debated Wednesday by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Some of the House bills focus on law enforcement

Thirteen of the bills call for repealing or changing D.C. laws. Some provisions in play would remove the district’s elected attorney general, who recently asked a judge to intervene in the takeover. Others would allow the president to appoint someone to the position.

There is also a move to lower the age of trying juveniles to 14 from 16 for certain crimes, and one to change the bail system and remove methods the council can use to extend emergency bills.

Even if the bills pass the committee and House, the question is whether they can get through the filibuster-proof Senate. D.C. activists have already begun lobbying Senate Democrats.

Bowser urged the leaders of the House Oversight Committee to reject those proposals.

She argued that a bill sponsored by Rep. Paul Gosar, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, would “make the District less efficient, competitive, and responsive.” She said she looks forward to working with the committee to build a “productive partnership” that “respects the will of D.C. residents and honors the principles of home rule.”

Republican Rep. Ron Estes and several Republican colleagues said they want their constituents to feel safe visiting the capital, and noted the recent murder of an intern who worked in Estes’ office. “We want to make sure that we have a capital that Americans are proud of,” Estes said.

Members of the Republican Study Committee in the House held a news conference Sept. 2 praising Trump’s intervention and supporting codifying his executive order.

“Congress has a clear constitutional authority over D.C., and we will use it without hesitation to continue making D.C. safe and great again,” said Rep. August Pfluger, chairman of that committee.

D.C. mayor says the bills challenge the city’s autonomy

Bowser said the bills are an affront to the city’s autonomy and said “laws affecting the district should be made by the district.”

The district is granted autonomy through a limited home rule agreement passed in 1973 but federal political leaders retain significant control over local affairs, including the approval of the budget and laws passed by the D.C council.

Bowser has said repeatedly that statehood, a nonstarter for Republicans in Congress, is the only solution.

Fields and Askarinam write for the Associated Press. AP reporter Ashraf Khalil contributed to this report.

US tariff exemption on packages worth $800 or less due to end this week.

Mexico says it will suspend package shipments to the United States before the end of a tariff exemption for small-value packages.

The announcement on Wednesday follows similar moves by postal services from several European countries, including Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, and the United Kingdom, as they await  further details from the US government.

The “de minimis” exemption has allowed packages worth less than $800 to enter the US tariff-free since 2016, but the loophole is set to expire on Friday.

The change is expected to dent the business of Chinese e-commerce platforms like Shein and Temu – which have evaded US tariffs by mailing directly to customers – but it has also created confusion for other US trade partners. Mexico said it will suspend shipments pending more details from Washington about new duties.

“Mexico continues its dialogue with US authorities and international postal organisations to define mechanisms that will allow for the orderly resumption of services, providing certainty to users and avoiding setbacks in the delivery of goods,” the government said.

Shipping giant DHL said “key questions remain unresolved, particularly regarding how and by whom customs duties will be collected in the future, what additional data will be required, and how the data transmission to the US Customs and Border Protection will be carried out.”

The White House announced plans to suspend the de minimis exemption for all countries on July 30, as part of US President Donald Trump’s wider trade war.

The exemption was previously suspended for China, Hong Kong, Mexico, and Canada due to concerns about the flow of fentanyl and other drugs over the US border.

A White House Fact Sheet released on July 30 said two schemes may be used to calculate tariffs for small packages.

The first is calculated based on the value of the package, while the second scheme sets a tariff of $80 to $200 per item.

Both rates are based on the blanket tariff set by the Trump administration for most US trade partners in August, ranging from 10 to 40 percent.

The White House has also imposed tariffs on individual sectors, such as semiconductors, steel and aluminium, vehicles and auto parts.

Mexico is still negotiating its tariff rate with the US, and has pledged to raise tariffs on Chinese goods and take tougher measures against drug cartels to secure a deal with Trump. Some goods, however, will still be covered by the 2020 free trade US-Mexico-Canada Agreement.