ISLAMABAD: With intra-Afghan talks looking imminent after the deal between the Afghan government and Taliban on prisoners, Prime Minister Imran Khan sounded a cautious note on Thursday about the dialogue ending the protracted dispute soon. In an interview with Al Jazeera TV, PM Khan said: “There has been so much bloodshed for anyone to believe in this utopia that suddenly they …

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump renewed a call on Thursday for supporters to try to vote twice on Nov 3, claiming that only this way can they be sure their ballot is counted. Trump said Americans should first try to vote by mail, if that option is offered in their state, then also go to the polling station on election day …

JERUSALEM: Israel’s national carrier El Al on Thursday announced a first cargo flight to Dubai, days after its groundbreaking commercial passenger trip to the United Arab Emirates. Following on the heels of a deal to normalise Israel-UAE ties, the cargo flight is scheduled to take off from Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv on September 16, the airline said in …

NEW DELHI: Facebook has banned an outspoken right-wing Indian politician for spreading hate speech about Muslims as the social media giant battles accusations of bias over its handling of rival parties in the key market. T. Raja Singh, a regional lawmaker for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party, was blocked “for violating our policy prohibiting those that promote or engage …

PARIS: Asia has registered more than 100,000 deaths linked to the new coronavirus since it first emerged in December, according to a tally based on official sources. A total of 100,667 deaths have been attributed to the coronavirus in the region out of 5.42 million officially declared cases, with 4.25m people considered to have recovered. In terms of fatalities, India …

TOKYO: More than 40 crew members were missing after a ship carrying cattle from New Zealand to China capsized in stormy weather in the East China Sea, the Japanese coastguard said on Thursday. A lone crew member from the Gulf Livestock 1 had been rescued so far. Three vessels, four aeroplanes and two divers were taking part in the search. …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday regretted the politicisation of the United Nations sanctions regime after five UN Security Council members blocked its bid to get two Indians accused of terrorism here listed. “We regret the decision by some members of the UNSC Sanctions Committee to block the designation of two Indian nationals, Gob­in­da Patnaik and Angara Appaji, to the sanctions list on 2 …

Bahrain will allow “all flights coming to and departing from the United Arab Emirates” to cross through the island kingdom’s airspace — a statement apparently allowing Israeli flights after neighboring Saudi Arabia issued a similar announcement. The state-run Bahrain News Agency (BNA) made the announcement without directly naming Israel, just as Saudi Arabia had. However, the announcement late Thursday came …

India’s army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane said on Friday he was confident the ongoing border stand-off with China could be resolved through talks, even as thousands of troops remained amassed along a disputed Western Himalayan region. “We are sure that the problem can be resolved fully through talks,” Naravane told Reuters partner ANI during a visit to the Ladakh region, where troops from the two …

ISLAMABAD: The city managers are all set to set up a first-ever food laboratory in Islamabad which will also have four mobile labs. Sources said recently Prime Minister Imran Khan while chairing a price control committee meeting directed Chief Commissioner and CDA Chairman Amer Ali Ahmed to establish the food laboratory to have a proper quality check on food items, …