HELSINKI: A Baltic Sea ferry with 331 passengers and a crew of 98 has run aground in the Aland Islands archipelago between Finland and Sweden. Finnish authorities say there are no lives in immediate danger and the vessel isn’t leaking. The Finnish coast guard tweeted on Saturday afternoon that the Viking Line ferry that runs between the Finnish port city …

WASHINGTON: Twitter confirmed on Saturday it will hand control of the presidential @POTUS account to Joe Biden when he is sworn in on inauguration day, even if President Donald Trump has not conceded his election loss. “Twitter is actively preparing to support the transition of White House institutional Twitter accounts on January 20th, 2021,” the social network said in a statement. “As …

ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopia’s government claimed advances in its battle against the dissident Tigray region on Saturday, while showing no signs of bowing to international pressure for a halt to the conflict that has caused tens of thousands to flee and raised fears of a humanitarian disaster. “Our defence forces are currently marching on Mekele,” the Ethiopia State of Emergency Fact …

NEW YORK: Russia on Friday stopped a UN Security Council committee from blacklisting a Libyan militia group and its leader for human rights abuses because it said it wanted to see more evidence first that they had killed civilians. The United States and Germany proposed that the council’s 15-member Libya sanctions committee impose an asset freeze and travel ban on …

LAHORE: A huge crowd gathered on Saturday around the Minar-i-Pakistan for the Namaz-i-Janaza of Khadim Hussain Rizvi, by all accounts the biggest ever funeral prayers in the history of the city. The prayers were led by the late Rizvi’s son, Saad Hussain Rizvi, who was then chosen by the party’s shura to lead the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) that has emerged …

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Hamza Shafqaat has ordered an inquiry into the death of a man in police custody a few days ago. When contacted, Mr Shafqaat that he has directed the subdivisional magistrate to conduct an inquiry within a month and submit a report to his office. The police claimed that the man was arrested for keeping an illegal …

DOHA: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met negotiators from the Afghan government and the Taliban in Doha on Saturday, amid signs of progress in their talks as Washington speeds up its withdrawal. Pompeo met separately with the Afghan government and Taliban negotiation teams in a luxury hotel in the Qatari capital. “I would be most interested in getting your …

ele ISLAMABAD: A controversy concerning the import of elephants for a zoological garden in Pakistan has landed in the Supreme Court. A firm — Mohammad Hanif and Engineer Construction Ltd — has approached the Supreme Court (SC) through an appeal against the Sept 17 order of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) which had rejected its plea to import plant-eating mammals. …

KARACHI: “From January 1, 2021 we are implementing a new, fairer, global points-based immigration system, which will welcome people to the United Kingdom, who want to work and study based on what they have to offer, rather than where their passport is from.” This was said by UK’s Minister for Future Borders and Immigration Kevin Foster in an exclusive online …

RAWALPINDI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday convicted an accused in the assassination case of Punjab home minister retired Col Shuja Khanzada. ATC Judge Raja Pervaiz Akhtar convicted Mohammad Qasim Muavia under section 5 of the Explosive Substance Act (ESA) 1908 and sentenced him to 10-year rigorous imprisonment. He was arrested in Sept 2015 and was facing charges under various sections of …