Britain on Friday ends almost half a century of integration with its closest neighbours and leaves the European Union, starting a new — but still uncertain — chapter in its long history. At the clocks strike 11pm (UK time) — midnight in Brussels — Britain becomes the first country to leave the 28-member bloc and does it alone for the …

Authorities rescued 23 children after killing a man who held them hostage for nearly 11 hours after inviting them to his home for his daughters birthday party in northern India, police said on Friday. Officer Mohit Agarwal said two police officers were injured after the man, identified as Subhash Batham, fired at them on Thursday night as they tried to …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday blasted some Arab countries for backing a Middle East plan unveiled by the United States, condemning it as “treason”. “Some Arab countries that support such a plan commit treason against Jerusalem, as well as against their own people, and more importantly against all humanity,” Erdogan told his party’s lawmakers in the parliament. President …

British health officials said on Friday two people had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, in the country’s first confirmed cases since the deadly outbreak emerged in China and began to spread globally this month. “We can confirm that two patients in England, who are members of the same family, have tested positive for coronavirus,” Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer …

US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad on Friday held meetings with Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa and expressed his gratitude for Pakistan’s facilitation of the Afghan peace process. According to a press release issued by the foreign office, Khalilzad — who arrived in Pakistan today from Qatar …

ISLAMABAD: The Iranian envoy on Thursday asked Pakistan to look for ways to bypass American sanctions for increasing its bilateral trade and economic cooperation with Iran. Iranian Ambassador Seyyed Mohammed Ali Hosseini was delivering a lecture on ‘Pak-Iran Peace and Security Cooperation’ at the Islamabad Policy Institute (IPI). The ambassador’s lecture covered a wide range of issues, including the bilateral …

PESHAWAR/SWABI: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has constituted a three-member committee to probe the firing and killing of two lady health workers during the polio campaign in Swabi district on Wednesday. The committee has been told to submit its report within three days. A notification, issued by home and tribal affairs department on Thursday, said that a fact-finding committee on the …

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) decided on Thursday to suspend flights to Beijing until Feb 2. Other airlines began suspending flights to and from China on Wednesday due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. Aviation Senior Joint Secretary Abdul Sattar Khokhar told Dawn that PIA had been operating two flights between Pakistan and China but it has been decided to suspend …

  ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan was on Thursday informed that the land record of Islamabad would be computerised in six months as updating of the record was in progress. The prime minister chaired a meeting to get a briefing from city managers on law and order, development projects, health and education initiatives in the capital city. The meeting was …

Pakistan on Friday halted flights to and from China with immediate effect, a civil aviation official said, as the death toll from a virus outbreak spreading in China mounted and the World Health Organisation called it a global health emergency. “We are suspending flights to China until February 2,” Senior Joint Secretary of aviation Abdul Sattar Khokhar told Reuters by phone, adding that …