ISLAMABAD: Prime Minis­ter Imran Khan has said that peace in Afghanistan will help promote trade and economic activities in the region, though Islamabad has concerns that India, in order to destabilise Pakistan, can use Afghan land. Addressing a seminar titled ‘Pakistan-Afghanistan Trade and Investment Forum’ on Monday, the premier reaffirmed Islama­bad’s strong resolve to continue to play its role for …

Hollywood star Jennifer Garner sparked a frenzy on social media after dropping a photo of her Halloween preps. The Alias star turned to her Instagram and shared a photo of herself holding a carven pumpkin placed inside a larger one. “When you and your jack-o’-lantern share a vibe…,” Garner had written in the caption. The post was widely misinterpreted soon after it …

BEIRUT: Air strikes by Damascus regime ally Russia killed 78 Turkey-backed rebels in northwestern Syria on Monday, a monitor said, in the bloodiest surge in violence since a truce almost eight months ago. More than 90 others were wounded when Russian warplanes targeted a training camp of the Faylaq al-Sham faction in the Jabal Duwayli area in Idlib province, said …

KABUL: A US air strike launched to support Afghan security forces killed five Taliban fighters in central Afghanistan on Sunday evening, a spokesman for US forces in Afghanistan said. Violence has escalated in recent weeks with clashes taking place between the insurgents and government troops across the country, while negotiators from both sides have held talks in Qatar for a …

BRUSSELS: Tensions between the European Union and Turkey have risen further after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan questioned the mental state of his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron. Several EU officials harshly criticised Erdogan’s comments over the weekend and the bloc’s executive arm, the European Commission, said on Monday that the Turkish leader should change his approach if he does not …

NEW DELHI: India will sign a military agreement with the United States for sharing of sensitive satellite data, the defence ministry said on Monday, as the two sides began a top-level security dialogue aimed at countering China’s growing power in the region. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Mark Esper flew into New Delhi for talks with …

BEIJING: China said on Monday it would impose sanctions on Lockheed Martin, a Boeing defence division and other US firms involved in arms sales to Taiwan, the self-governed island that Beijing views as its territory. The two US giants were involved in a recent sale of nearly $2 billion worth of missiles to Taiwan, alongside Raytheon, and foreign ministry spokesman …

US President Donald Trump reveled in one of his signature achievements on Monday at a White House ceremony to celebrate Senate confirmation of his third Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, eight days before the election. The made-for-TV prime time event on the White House lawn mirrored one a month ago, when Barrett’s nomination was announced, which preceded a coronavirus …

Saudi Arabia condemned the publication of blasphemous sketches in France depicting Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), but held back from echoing calls by other Muslim states for action. A foreign ministry official said in a statement that the Gulf state condemns all acts of terrorism, an apparent reference to the beheading of a Paris teacher who showed the blasphemous sketches in …

India on Tuesday introduced new amendments in the country’s land laws for occupied Jammu and Kashmir which would enable any Indian citizen to buy property in the territory, local media reported on Tuesday. A notification by the Indian home ministry said that the new law, Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Adaptation of Central Laws) Third Order, 2020, would come into …