The former chairman of Japan’s Nissan Motor Co., Carlos Ghosn, denied any wrongdoing and proclaimed his loyalty to the company at a court hearing in Tokyo on Tuesday. It was Ghosn’s first public appearance since he was arrested on Nov 19 and charged with false financial reporting. “Your honour, I am innocent of the accusations against me,” Ghosn told the …

Militants defending their last bastion in eastern Syria used the cover of bad weather to launch a deadly counterattack against a Kurdish-led force, a war monitor said on Tuesday. The militant Islamic State group was unable to hold on to the positions they attacked but the assault killed 23 members of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and also left …

US officials held a second day of trade talks with Chinese counterparts in Beijing on Tuesday, overshadowed by an unannounced visit from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. This is the first time the two sides have met face-to-face since US President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping agreed to a tariff truce during a meeting in Argentina on December …

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Monday sought to end fears of an abrupt US pullout from Syria, saying the fight against the so-called Islamic State group was not over and that withdrawal would be done in a “prudent” manner. “We will be leaving at a proper pace while at the same time continuing to fight ISIS and doing all else …

The flow of Afghans forced to leave Iran turned into a flood in 2018, with a record nearly 800,000 coming back as renewed United States sanctions sent the Iranian currency into freefall and fuelled inflation. The 773,125 voluntary returnees and deportees was 66 per cent more than in 2017 and the trend is expected to continue, said Laurence Hart, the …

MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan said the AJK government is determined to achieve the goal of economic self reliance by exploring new avenues of financial resources and completing projects of national importance. He expressed these views while addressing officials of the AJK Planning and Development Department after a briefing on important development projects in AJK. …

RAWALPINDI: The Punjab government has decided to establish foreigners’ security cells in the Central Police Office (CPO) and the Home Department as well as in all the districts with requisite staff and logistics. All foreigners will inform their first arrival to the desks concerned. The District Foreign Security Cell (DFSC) will be headed by an officer not below the rank …

OKARA: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar has approved Rs9.5 million compensation for the victims of the February 2018 terrorist attack in Kharan district of Balochistan and ordered the two employer companies to pay Rs20,000 per month to each of the six families for the next three years. About 11 months back, labourers Mazhar, Shahzad Ali, Riaz, Waqas, …

ISLAMABAD: Only 30pc of children are registered in Pakistan, which also makes it difficult to identify children in cases of death and untoward instances, the Ministry of Human Rights told a parliamentary committee. The Senate Special Committee on the Issue of Increasing Incidents of Child Abuse met on Monday at Parliament House with Senator Nuzhat Sadiq in the chair. Ministry …

ISLAMABAD: The Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP) has directed government institutions to commercialise research breakthroughs in the country. The commission, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar, issued the directive after a hearing of stakeholders in Islamabad on Monday. Justice Nisar had taken a suo motu notice in December regarding commercialisation of research breakthroughs. National Health …