International

President Emmanuel Macron was given a red carpet welcome and an elephant honour guard on Thursday as he started a two-day visit to India, with France eyeing lucrative deals with the world’s fifth-largest economy. Landing in Jaipur, state capital of Rajasthan, Macron will be hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a banquet in a 19th-century maharaja’s palace. On Friday, …

UNITED NATIONS: UN chief António Guterres urged world leaders on Tuesday to reject any refusal of a two-state solution in Palestine, during an urgent UN Security Council meeting in New York. He reiterated his call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Palestine conflict, stating, “I renew my appeal for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire,” and emphasized that “nothing can justify …

KHYBER: Excitement and jubilation by the exhausted transporters marked the resumption of bilateral trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan via the Torkham border on Tuesday as Pakistan announced a relaxation in visa conditions for Afghan transporters till end of March. Local custom clearing agents told Dawn that preference was given to vehicles loaded with perishable items which included oranges and potatoes from Pakistan …

WASHINGTON: US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk is in Cairo and will travel in the region for “active” discussions on ensuring the release of prisoners held by Hamas in Gaza and securing a humanitarian pause, the White House said on Tuesday. White House spokesperson John Kirby said the US would support a longer humanitarian pause in combat in Gaza to …

WASHINGTON: The voice of the missing persons will echo in the US Congress on Wednesday when a group of Sindhi and Baloch activists will brief US lawmakers on these alleged forced disappearances. A section of the Pakistani American community has increased its engagement with Congress as Pakistan moves closer to the Feb 8 national elections. Most active among them are …

San Antonio (Texas): A man suspected of shooting eight people to death and wounding another in suburban Chicago has turned up dead hundreds of miles away in Texas, where he apparently took his own life after an encounter with law enforcement there, police said on Monday. The death of 23-year-old Romeo Nance near the town of Natalia, Texas, about 35 …

KARACHI: A foreign policy expert said at a seminar on Tuesday that the people across the globe want better economics and fewer wars and since there’s no unified global economic order, the world seems to be heading towards a headless, leaderless year of transition. “This is the year of turmoil for all of those who believe in the liberal order …

WASHINGTON: Five US Senators have endorsed an amendment that could link military aid to Israel, aligning with increasing calls for a Gaza ceasefire. This follows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s outright rejection of a Palestinian state. The new supporters include Democratic Senators Tina Smith, Raphael Warnock, LaPhonza Butler, Tammy Baldwin, and Jon Ossoff, bringing the total backing Senator Chris Van …

KYIV: A wave of Russian missiles hit Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities on Tuesday, killing eight people and wounding dozens as new panic spread among exhausted residents. Rescue workers in Khar­kiv — Ukraine’s second city that is near Russia’s border — hauled survivors from smouldering piles of rubble as apartment blocks were set ablaze and toppled by the strikes, journalists …

GAZA STRIP: Israel said on Tuesday 24 soldiers were killed in the biggest single-day losses since the start of its ground war in Gaza amid growing pressure on the government to find a way to end the conflict. The heavy clashes came as a White House official was due in the region for talks aimed at securing more hostage releases, …