LONDON: Prime Minister Boris Johnson won approval for his Brexit deal in parliament on Friday, the first step toward fulfilling his election pledge to deliver Britain’s departure from the European Union by Jan 31 after his landslide victory. Lawmakers voted by 358 to 234 to pass the second reading of the legislation, underlining Johnson’s large majority in parliament that should …

WASHINGTON: The United States has retained Pakistan among the countries that tolerate religious discrimination, says a US State Depart­ment statement released on Friday. The determination, made on Dec 18, includes Myanmar, China, Erit­r­­ea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkm­enistan among the states that have been re-designated as “Countries of Particular Concern (CPC)”. The State Department makes these designations under …

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump pressed his Republican allies on Thursday to exert rigid control of his Senate trial and ensure a swift exoneration, a day after he was impeached in a historic rebuke by the House of Representatives. A bitter fight looms over the coming trial, expected to begin as early as the second week of January, with Senate …

THE HAGUE: The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor said on Friday she wanted to open a full investigation into alleged war crimes in the Palestinian territories, sparking a furious reaction from Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the decision made the Hague-based court, which Israel has refused to sign up to since its creation in 2002, a “political tool” against …

BEIRUT: Clashes between Syrian regime forces and armed groups in the country’s last major opposition bastion have killed more than 80 on both sides in the past 24 hours, despite UN calls for de-escalation, a war monitor said on Friday. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 42 jihadists and nine rebels had been killed in battles with regime …

The Saudi embassy in Islamabad on Saturday denied “information and fake news” broadcast by some media outlets that Saudi Arabia “pressurised and threatened” Pakistan to refrain from participating in the Kuala Lampur Summit. The statement comes a day after Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah quoted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying Pakistan had decided to stay away from the recently …

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the government is giving top priority to the development of Balochistan and working to provide better opportunities of employment to the youth of the province. “The federal government is committed to assisting the provincial government in every possible way in the construction and development of Balochistan,” the prime minister said while talking …

RAWALPINDI: The Punjab police have been directed to get suspects’ biometrics verified by the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) before shifting them to prisons across the province. A directive to the police said jail authorities will not accept any suspects without a certified copy of their biometric verification, official sources told Dawn. They said a copy of an individual’s CNIC …

KARACHI: Going one step further in its support for retired Gen Pervez Musharraf, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan on Friday announced that it would hold a rally on Sunday (tomorrow) in protest over the special court’s verdict that handed death sentence to the former military dictator for high treason. While the protest rally in Karachi will be held on Liaquatabad flyover …

ISLAMABAD: Days before its belated meeting, the president has reconstituted the Council of Common Interests (CCI) by inducting Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar and Power Minister Omar Ayub as its members. As such, the ministers for finance, revenue & economic affairs and industries & production have been replaced by the planning and power ministers. The prime minister has convened …