RAMALLAH: Hundreds of millions of euros in European funds to support the Palestinian Territories can be paid out following the resolution of problems that had blocked their release, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday. Payment of the funds had been held up by a dispute over proposals by the EU Commissioner for Neighb­ourhood and Enlargement, Oliver …

BEERSHEBA: The European Union wants to strengthen its energy cooperation with Israel in light of Russia’s use of gas supplies to “blackmail” its members over the Ukraine conflict, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday. Her remarks came as Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, also visiting Israel, said Rome was seeking to boost gas supplies from Israel …

TEHRAN: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Tuesday reiterated the country’s commitment to strengthening bilateral relations with Iran in diverse areas, saying that building close relations with Tehran remained a high priority for Pakistan. Moreover, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, while speaking during a joint press conference with Mr Bhutto-Zardari, said Iran still believes that negotiations can succeed in reviving the …

Ambas­sador Masood Khan, Islam­abad’s ambassador in Wa­­shington, has met US President Joe Biden on his visit to the White House where the two discussed building a “strong basis for moving Pakistan-US ties forward”. According to a press release issued by the Pakistan Embassy in the US, Khan visited the White House for a “meet and greet” and an official photograph …

KOLKATA: Thousands of Muslims marched in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata on Tuesday in a second week of protests, while six prominent former judges said a state government had acted illegally by demolishing the house of a Muslim activist. Muslims have taken to the streets across India to protest against anti-Islamic comments made by two members of the Bharatiya …

Four out of five children in Gaza suffer from emotional distress, Save the Children said Wednesday, 15 years after Israel slapped a strict blockade on the Palestinian territory. Israel imposed the measure in June 2007, as fighters of the Hamas movement took control of the densely populated enclave. Israel, and Egypt, continue to severely restrict the flow of people and …

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Interior is examining a request from the advocate general Islamabad to remove two prosecutors appointed by the previous PTI government who allegedly facilitated the acquittal of President Arif Alvi, former prime minister Imran Khan along with a number of ex-ministers in the Parliament House attack case by making conceding statements before an anti-terrorism court (ATC). Advocate …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) lawyer Anwar Mansoor Khan has moved an application before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), asking it to decide all foreign funding cases together. The ECP reserved its judgement on the most recent PTI application in a series of applications and writ petitions to delay a verdict in the almost eight-year-old foreign funding case. The hearing …

KARACHI: Two leading German companies, Audi in collaboration with Siemens unveiled Pakistan’s first and only ultra-rapid DC charging station equipped with Siemens SICHARGE D series chargers with speeds up to 160kw at the Libra CNG Station, which is now also known as the Libra Charging Hub, in Saddar here on Tuesday. In his welcome address, Abdul Haseeb Khan, CEO of …

KARACHI: The Sindh government has allocated a sum of Rs4 billion in the next financial year 2022-23 for procuring more buses to be run in Karachi under its Sindh Peoples Intra-district Bus Project. In his budget speech at the Sindh Assembly on Tuesday, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said that his government wanted to develop a mass transit system in …