International

Israel approved 2,166 new homes in settlements across the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, official figures seen by AFP showed, ending an eight-month lull in settlement expansion. The approvals came less than a month after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed agreements to normalise relations with Israel, which in return pledged to freeze its plans to annex swathes of the West Bank. NGO …

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has asked the Commonwealth to launch a dialogue over deeper and sustained debt relief for developing countries for rapid, stronger and sustained economic recovery of these countries. He was speaking at a virtual meeting of Commonwealth foreign ministers on Wednesday. Mr Qureshi’s call follows a similar suggestion by Prime Minister Imran Khan earlier this year. Mr …

UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan’s re-election to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) with an overwhelming majority refutes the claim that the country has been isolated in the international community, Islamabad’s top UN diplomat said on Wednesday. Pakistan was re-elected to the UNHRC on Tuesday, securing 169 votes in the 193-member UN General Assembly, higher than any other contestant. “How can you say …

Ongoing illness after infection with Covid-19, sometimes called “long Covid”, may not be one syndrome but possibly up to four causing a rollercoaster of symptoms affecting all parts of the body and mind, doctors said on Thursday. In an initial report about long-term Covid-19, Britain’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) said one common theme among ongoing Covid patients — some of …

Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Munir Akram on Wednesday said India’s aggressive policies and military posture posed an “immediate and pervasive threat” to international peace and security. Addressing the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) First Committee on disarmament and international security, Akram said instead of bringing humanity together, the pandemic had revealed old fault lines and accentuated …

BANGKOK: Thousands of Thai protesters marched on the prime minister’s office to demand his resignation on Thursday after scuffling with royalists opposed to the youth-led movement’s calls for reforms to the monarchy. Student activists have staged huge rallies recently calling for Premier Prayut Chan-o-cha, a former army chief who took power in a coup six years ago, to step down. …

RIYADH: A young falcon in Saudi Arabia has sold for more than $170,000, the most expensive sale ever of that type of bird and the costliest purchase so far at an annual 45-day auction. The bird was sold on Tuesday for 650,000 Saudi riyals ($173,000) by virtue of its unique characteristics and scarcity, the auction’s organisers, the Saudi Falcon Club, …

ZURICH: Countries straining to contain a second wave of Covid-19 are turning to faster, cheaper but less accurate tests to avoid the delays and shortages that have plagued efforts to diagnose and trace those infected quickly. Germany, where infections jumped by 4,122 on Tuesday to 329,453 total, has secured 9 million so-called antigen tests per month that can deliver a …

• In an interview with Karan Thapar, PM’s aide says prime minister and army chief desire peace with India • Islamabad wants dialogue on both Kashmir and terrorism NEW DELHI: India has sent messages to Pakistan over the past year expressing a desire for conversation, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s adviser on national security and strategic policy planning Moeed Yusuf told The …

BANGKOK: Police arrested 21 protesters on Tuesday during a Bangkok rally that saw dozens of people give a royal motorcade a three-fingered salute — a show of defiance by Thai pro-democracy activists calling for reforms to the monarchy. Since July, Thailand has seen frequent youth-led demonstrations demanding the resignation of Premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha, a former army chief. Some in the …