Malaysia’s king has abdicated, royal officials said on Sunday, in a historic first for the country that ended weeks of speculation about his future after he took medical leave. Sultan Muhammad V’s decision marks the first time a king has abdicated in the Muslim-majority country since it gained independence from Britain in 1957. It came after the king took leave …

WASHINGTON: Presid­ent Donald Trump stood firm on Sunday on his demand for billions of dollars to fund a border wall with Mexico, claiming “tremendous” support inside his camp on the contentious issue which has forced a government shutdown now entering its third week. “We have to build the wall,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House for the …

SYDNEY: Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday slammed “ugly racial protests” in Australia’s second-largest city, after some far-right demonstrators were seen making Nazi salutes. An anti-immigration rally at St Kilda Beach in Melbou­rne drew hundreds of demonstrators and counter-protesters on Saturday, but a large Victoria Police presence was broadly successful in keeping the two groups apart. “I thank Vic police …

LONDON: Prime Mini­ster Theresa May said on Sunday that Britain would be in uncharted territory if her Brexit deal is rejected by parliament later this month, despite little sign that she has won over sceptical lawmakers. Britain is due to leave the European Union on March 29 but May’s inability so far to get her deal for a managed exit …

RIYADH: Saudi courts will notify women by text message when they get divorced, in a new regulation that took effect on Sunday, officials said. The measure approved by the justice ministry appears aimed at curbing seemingly rampant cases of men secretly ending marriages without informing their wives. “Women … will be notified of any changes to their marital status via …

WASHINGTON: A US Senator, who plans to contest the 2020 presidential election against Donald Trump, has said she supports withdrawing Ameri­can troops from military engagements in Syria and Afghanistan. “I think it is right to get our troops out of Syria and let me add, I think it is right to get our troops out of Afghanistan,” said Senator Elizabeth …

PESHAWAR: The Taliban will not attend planned peace talks with the United States in Saudi Arabia this month, and want to shift the venue to Qatar, Taliban officials said on Sunday, seeking to fend off Riyadh’s push to include the Afghan government in talks. The upcoming negotiations, the fourth in a series aimed at ending the 17-year war in Afghanistan, …

HARIPUR: A school principal and a female teacher were arrested and sent to jail for allegedly subjecting a girl student to corporal punishment, police said on Sunday. Both the accused were on pre-arrest bail from a local court since the registration of case. Khalabat Township police quoted Waheed Khan, a resident of Sector No 4 in Khalabat Township, as saying …

ABBOTTABAD: Five members of a family died of suffocation caused by gas leak in Qalandarabad area here on Saturday night. According to police, Naveed along with his family, including his wife and three children aged from three to seven years, went to sleep in a room of the house, but forgot to switch off a gas heater. All the five …

LARKANA: Pakistan Peoples Party Sindh president Nisar Ahmed Khuhro has expressed his serious doubts about independence of state institutions saying that only such an impression is being created. He claimed that attempts were made to “make them follow instructions”. Speaking at a press conference at the local press club on Sunday, he argued that “if they [institutions] are free to …