ISLAMABAD: The D-8 Organisation for Economic Cooperation, an alliance of developing nations of Turkiye, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran, Nigeria and Indonesia, on Saturday demanded full Palestinian membership of the United Nations and greater international pressure on Israel for ceasefire amid the Gaza war. Calling for an immediate ceasefire, foreign ministers from the group at an extraordinary meeting in Istanbul asked the United States …

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia said on Saturday that security forces had cleared hundreds of thousands of unregistered pilgrims from Makkah ahead of Haj which begins next week. Crowd management is a major concern during the annual pilgrimage, which drew over 1.8m people last year, according to official figures. Those turned away in recent days from the holy city, include 153,998 foreigners …

WASHINGTON: William Anders, the former US astronaut who took the historic “Earthrise” photo from space over 55 years ago, died in a plane crash on Friday at the age of 90, his family said. Anders had been piloting a small plane which crashed off the coast of Washington state on Friday morning, his son told US media. Anders was alone …

ISLAMABAD: Pak­istan and China on Saturday vowed to strengthen their strategic relations and safeguard common interests, besides promoting socio-economic development and well-being of the people of both countries. According to the Prime Minister’s Office, the two sides agreed to work together to jointly uphold regional peace, stability, development and prosperity, and accelerate the building of an even closer “Pakistan-China community …

WASHINGTON/LONDON: Thousands of protesters held a “red line” rally near the White House on Saturday, voicing anger at US President Joe Biden’s tolerance of Israel’s brutal military campaign against Hamas. Chanting “From DC to Palestine, we are the red line”, the demonstrators held a long banner scribbled with the names of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces.     In London …

BEIRUT: Israeli strikes on Saturday killed two people and sparked wildfires in southern Lebanon, state media said, with Hezbollah announcing the death of one fighter. Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, has traded near-daily fire with Israeli forces in the eight months since the Gaza conflict began, triggered by Hamas’ October 7 raid. The deadly clashes have intensified in recent weeks, causing …

GAZA: Israel pressed its bombardment of Gaza as strikes rattled various neighbourhoods and appeared to be focused on central areas of the Palestinian territory. The onslaught persisted, despite scrutiny on Israel after its warplanes carried out an attack on a UN-run school that a Gaza hospital said killed at least 37 people. The Israeli military acknowledged it conducted the strike …

UNITED NATIONS: Human rights groups have welcomed the United Nations decision to place Israel on a ‘List of Shame’ of countries that fail to protect children in war. The UN informed Israel about the move on Friday. Israel has killed tens of thousands of Palestinian children and maimed many more in its brutal bombing on Gaza, sparking global outrage against …

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to be sworn in on Sunday for a third term after worse than expected election results left him reliant on coalition partners to govern. With Modi yet to announce the makeup of this cabinet, the ceremony at the presidential palace on Sunday evening (13:45 GMT) will be keenly watched when some 30 ministers-to-be also take …

LONDON: In a historic first, Israr Kakar, a student from Baloc­hi­stan, has been elected as president of the Oxford Union. He is the third Pakistani and first from Balochistan to hold this prestigious position. The Oxford Union, founded in 1823, is one of the oldest and most esteemed debating societies in the world. Mr Kakar hails from a small village …