JERUSALEM: Turkish and Israeli foreign ministers said on Wednesday their countries were hoping to expand economic ties as they seek an end to more than a decade of strained relations. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is on the second-day of a two-day trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories, the first such visit by a senior Turkish official in 15 …

WASHINGTON: “When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?” US President Joe Biden asked his nation on Wednesday, hours after a teenage gunman killed at least 19 children and two teachers in an elementary school in Texas. The powerful gun lobby in America has so far prevented all administrations from making strict gun control …

ISLAMABAD: UK Minister for Armed Forces James Heappey on Wed­nesday said Pakistan’s political uphea­val was because of domestic factors rather than some sinister foreign plot and looked relieved that there was now a convergence of views on international order. The British minister, while talking to journalists at a virtual session during his visit to Islamabad, said: “What is happening in …

The Taliban government’s restrictions on women are aimed at making them “invisible” in Afghan society, a UN human rights observer said on Thursday during a visit to the nation. Since the Taliban stormed back to power last year, they have imposed harsh restrictions on women and girls. Teenage girls have been shut out from secondary schools, while women have been forced from …

KABUL: Four bombs ripped through minibuses and a mosque in Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing 12 people, officials said. The number of bomb attacks has dropped across the country since the Taliban seized power last year in August, but several deadly bombings had rocked the country during Ramazan. On Wednesday, 10 people were killed when three bombs placed on board separate …

Israel has told the United States it was responsible for the killing of an Iranian Revolutionary Guards colonel last week, The New York Times reported on Wednesday. Colonel Sayyad Khodai was shot dead on Sunday by a gunman on the back of a motorcycle as he sat in a car outside his home in Tehran. Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has vowed to avenge the …

An Indian court on Wednesday ordered life in jail for Kashmiri leader Yasin Malik for funding “terrorist” activities and other charges, a judge said, prompting street protests outside the politician’s residence. Malik, head of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), earlier told a special court designated for the National Investigation Agency that he had been following Gandhian principles and …

ISLAMABAD: Former interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed could not get relief from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) over a petition seeking protective bail due to his absence during the hearing. IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah on Wednesday took up the petition of the former minister. An objection was raised from the registrar’s office, as per which, the petitioner did not …

ISLAMABAD: As the armed forces are subordinate to the federal government under Article 245 of the Constitution, it is the government’s constitutional obligation to dispel the impression that state institutions are behind enforced disappearances, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) observed on Wednesday. While hearing a missing persons case, the court asked the interior secretary to explain as to why proceedings …

LAHORE: An accountability court on Wednesday adjourned the hearing of a money laundering reference against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his Chief Minister of Punjab Hamza Shehbaz. The defence counsel filed applications for a one-time exemption from personal appearance on behalf of Shehbaz and Hamza due to the law and order situation in the city in the wake of a …