KYIV: Russia on Thursday withdrew from Snake Island, a craggy speck of land in the Black Sea, handing Ukraine a symbolically-potent political victory and depriving Moscow of a strategic outpost for its air defences and electronic warfare systems. The island’s capture by Russian forces on the first day of their invasion entered Ukrainian folklore. Just over four months later, Kyiv’s …

HONG KONG: Hong Kong has overcome its challenges and “risen from the ashes”, China’s President Xi Jinping said on Thursday, as he arrived in the former British colony to celebrate 25 years since its return to Chinese rule. Xi will swear in the global financial hub’s new leader, John Lee, on Friday during his first visit to the city since …

JERUSALEM: Israeli lawmakers dissolved parliament on Thursday, forcing the country’s fifth election in less than four years, with Foreign Minister Yair Lapid set to take over as caretaker prime minister at midnight. After the unanimous 92-0 vote, the centrist Lapid embraced outgoing Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, whose year in charge of an unwieldy, eight-party coalition was ultimately undone by its …

India imposed a ban on many single-use plastics on Friday in a bid to tackle waste choking rivers and poisoning wildlife, but experts say it faces severe headwinds from unprepared manufacturers and consumers unwilling to pay more. The country generates around four million tonnes of plastic waste per year, about a third of which is not recycled and ends up …

The Indian Supreme Court on Friday berated Nupur Sharma, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) suspended official whose derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) last month sparked global protests, saying she should “apologise to the whole country”. “We saw the debate on how she was incited. But the way she said all this and later says she was a lawyer, it is …

RAWALPINDI: A transgender person died after being stabbed in the jurisdiction of Race Course police. Rashid Haleem, nephew of Amir Masih (the victim), resident of Misryal Road lodged a first information report (FIR) with police saying that he received a phone call from someone who informed him that his uncle (Amir) had been murdered. He said he along with his …

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday suspended the order of the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI), removing Chairman Council of Islamic Ideology Dr Qibla Ayaz as member of Board of Governors. Dr Ayaz, an eminent Islamic scholar who holds the post of Chairman CII, has filed a petition before Islamabad High Court challenging his removal from the university’s …

ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) is all set to launch two environment friendly electric feeder buses that will transport passengers towards the Green and Blue Line metro terminals. The Green Line service will operate from Bhara Kahu (Jillani Stop) to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims). CDA officials said that the existing two-lane Murree Road in Bhara Kahu area …

ISLAMABAD: The capital administration on Thursday issued a no-objection certificate to the PTI to organise a public gathering at Parade Ground subject to permission from the General Headquarters (GHQ) for using the venue. According to the NOC issued from the office of the deputy commissioner Islamabad, the NOC is subject to permission/NOC by the staff duties directorate at the GHQ, …

ISLAMABAD: The government announced several reforms on Thursday in multiple public sectors like customs, banking, overseas Pakistanis, information technology, health and social welfare to ensure smooth service delivery. The reforms — announced by Head of Prime Minister’s Strategic Reforms Salman Sufi in a press conference — allow Pakistanis travelling abroad to return with duty-free baggage of up to $1,200, besides …