DHAKA: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Haseena Wajid has advised Developing-8 (D-8) Muslim countries to make mutual trade easier between them and introduce a common currency like Euro in the European Union. A delegation of eight Muslim countries led by Turk deputy minister of commerce called of the Bangladeshi prime minister at her residence in Dhaka. The D-8 group comprises of …

Turkey stopped all exports and imports to and from Israel as of Thursday, the Turkish trade ministry said, citing “worsening humanitarian tragedy” in the Palestinian territories. “Export and import transactions related to Israel have been stopped, covering all products,” Turkey’s trade ministry said in a statement. “Turkey will strictly and decisively implement these new measures until the Israeli Government allows …

HONOLULU: U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Thursday he did not see any indication Hamas was planning any attack on U.S. troops in Gaza but added adequate measures were being put in place for the safety of military personnel. “I don’t discuss intelligence information at the podium. But I don’t see any indications currently that there is an active …

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday visited the country’s south where floods and mudslides caused by torrential rains have killed 29 people, with the toll expected to rise. Authorities in Rio Grande do Sul have declared a state of emergency as rescuers continue to search for dozens of people reported missing among the ruins of collapsed homes, bridges …

UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan Thursday told the UN General Assembly that India was targeting Indian Muslims, Christians, as also Muslims of occupied Kashmir, and called for an end to their harsh suppression. “Since the BJP-RSS government assumed office in 2014, hate, oppression, and violence against India’s 200 million Muslims – and other minorities, Christians and the ‘lower-caste’ Dalits – have become …

Britain’s ruling Conservatives lost a parliamentary seat to the main Labour opposition Friday, as the country awaited local election results likely to pile more pressure on embattled leader Rishi Sunak. Labour seized the constituency of Blackpool South, in the northwest of England, in the latest by-election defeat for the Tories as it appears on course to lose an upcoming general …

WASHINGTON/DUBAI: The Biden administration and Saudi Arabia are finalizing an agreement for US security guarantees and civilian nuclear assistance, even as an Israel-Saudi normalization deal envisioned as part of a Middle East “grand bargain” remains elusive, according to seven people familiar with the matter. A working draft lays out principles and proposals aimed at putting back on track a US-led …

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) Justice Babar Sattar Friday dismissed a petition filed by the Intelligence Bureau seeking withdrawal of its objection on the bench hearing the audio leaks case. IB filed the withdrawal plea just days after the court had fined three other government departments for filing their objection in the same case. Earlier this week, Pakistan Electronic Media …

KHUZDAR: At least three people, including journalist Mohammad Siddiq Mengal, were killed in a remote-controlled blast in Khuzdar, police told Geo News on Friday. Mengal, a local veteran journalist and president of the Khuzdar Press Club, was targeted in the deadly blast when he was going to university from his home, the station house officer said, adding that his car was the target. At …

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which is a US based non-governmental organisation (NGO), has called on the authorities concerned in Pakistan to probe the “death threats and online harassment” against senior journalist and anchorperson Hamid Mir. The CPJ’s statement comes after Mir, who is affiliated with Geo News and hosts “Capital Talk” programme, informed CPJ that he had received multiple death threats on …