US, Iran to conduct new round of peace talks in Islambad

Pakistan confirmed on Wednesday that Iran and the United States had agreed to begin a new round of peace consultations in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, on Friday.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Wednesday that Iran and the United States, along with their allies, have agreed to an immediate ceasefire across all conflict zones, including Lebanon. Pakistan has been conducting intensive mediation efforts, actively promoting de-escalation of the regional situation through dialogue and diplomacy. On Wednesday, the United States, relevant countries, and Iran responded positively to Pakistan's ceasefire proposal.

According to Iranian sources on Wednesday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf will lead a delegation to the Iran-U.S. talks in Islamabad.

US, Iran to conduct new round of peace talks in Islambad

Chinese stocks closed higher on Wednesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 2.70 percent to 3,995.00 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 4.79 percent higher at 14,042.50 points.

The combined turnover of the two indices totaled 2.43 trillion yuan (about 353.8 billion U.S. dollars), expanding from 1.61 trillion yuan on the previous trading day.

Precious metals, AI applications, computing hardware and semiconductor chips led the gains, while oil, gas, coal and pharmaceutical retail bucked the trend and fell.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, gained 5.91 percent to close at 3,347.61 points.

The STAR Composite Index, which reflects the performance of stocks on China's sci-tech innovation board, closed 5.64 percent higher at 1,738.35 points.

Chinese shares close higher Wednesday