International

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Wednesday finalised the Joint Action Plan for Strategic Dialogue (2022-26). The plan, in line with a memorandum of understanding on strategic dialogue, provides for an institutional approach to deepen cooperation in various fields, including political, security, trade and investment, agricultural and food security, transportation, energy, environment, health, culture and education. The …

A BRITISH court convicted Lord Nazir Ahmed, a former British parliamentarian of Pak­istan descent, on Wednesday of sexual offences against two children in the 1970s. According to the BBC, the court found Lord Ahmed guilty of a serious sexual assault against a boy and the attempted rape of a girl. The Sheffield Crown Court heard the repea­ted sexual abuse happened in …

ROME: Police were called to Afghanistan’s embassy in Rome this week after a sacked Afghan diplomat claiming ties to the Taliban attacked the ambassador, the mission said. Many of Afghanistan’s embassies are in diplomatic limbo, with staff still loyal to the Western-backed government toppled by the Taliban last August. The Taliban have not appointed new representatives to most missions, however, …

UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan urged the international community on Thursday to persuade India to immediately end its blatant oppression of the Kashmiri people, reverse all unilateral and illegal measures instituted since August 5, 2019, and halt the genocidal settler project in the occupied territory. In a message on the Right to Self-Determination Day, Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Munir Akram also urged international …

The Taliban government in Afghanistan said on Tuesday that issues related to the fencing of Pak-Afghan border would be addressed through diplomatic channels, echoing an earlier statement by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. Qureshi, during a press conference in Islamabad on Monday, had acknowledged that there were “some complications” pertaining to the fencing of Pak-Afghan border but added that the matter was …

PHI LEH: Thailand has reopened Maya Bay, a white sand beach made famous by the 2000 film “The Beach” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, more than three years after closing it to allow its ecosystem to recover from the impact of thousands of visitors each day. The beach, surrounded by 100-metre (328-ft) high cliffs, lies on the island of Phi Phi Leh …

LONDON: Britain on Tuesday faced warnings of an impending hospital crisis due to staff shortages caused by a wave of Omicron infections, as the country’s daily Covid caseload breached 200,000 for the first time. The 24-hour tally, after chalking up multiple records in the run-up to New Year, hit 218,724 and another 48 deaths were reported in the latest government …

NEW DELHI: Authorities in Delhi on Tuesday ordered people to stay home over coming weekends having seen Covid-19 cases quadruple in a week, with its chief minister saying he had caught the virus just a day after he addressed an election rally without a mask. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the most senior elected official of the Indian capital’s administration, was …

MONTREAL: A Canadian court has awarded more than $80 million in compensation to the families of six people who died when Iran shot down a Ukrainian airliner almost two years ago, according to a decision made public on Monday. Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 was shot down shortly after take-off from Tehran on January 8, 2020, killing all 176 people aboard — …

NEW YORK: Prince Andrew’s lawyers on Tuesday urged a New York judge to dismiss a sexual assault lawsuit brought against the British royal, citing a settlement that his accuser signed in 2009. Lawyer Andrew Brettler said Virginia Giuffre had “waived her rights” to sue other defendants in relation to alleged sex crimes committed by late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Oral …