DHAKA: More than two dozen Rohingya refugees were missing and feared drowned after a boat carrying them capsized in the Bay of Bengal, the United Nations and Bangladeshi police said on Sunday. The refugees were apparently trying to flee a remote Bangladeshi island. Several thousand Rohingya have been relocated to the island after previously residing in crowded camps near the …

KARACHI: The Afghan Taliban on Sunday assured the people, foreign missions, staff as well as those who worked in the Kabul administration and foreign forces that their life and property are safe and they could resume their normal activities, as the Taliban await a peaceful transfer of power to form an Afghan inclusive Islamic government. In a live interview with BBC, …

WASINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that the United States will only recognise a future government in Afghanistan if it upholds basic rights of its people and keeps terrorists out of the country. Asked to comment on media reports that China was ready to recognise the Taliban as a legitimate government, Secretary Blinken said: “A future …

KABUL: Afghanistan’s embattled president Ashraf Ghani left the country on Sunday, joining foreigners and locals in a stampede fle­e­ing the advancing Taliban. A Taliban official said they would soon announce the creation of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan from the presidential palace in Kabul. That was the name of the country under Taliban rule before they had been ousted by …

The death toll from a 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Haiti climbed to 1,297 on Sunday, a day after the powerful temblor turned thousands of structures into rubble and set off frantic rescue efforts ahead of a potential deluge from an approaching storm. Saturday’s earthquake also left at least 5,700 people injured in the Caribbean nation, with thousands more displaced from their destroyed or …

President Joe Biden and other top US officials were stunned on Sunday by the pace of the Taliban’s nearly complete takeover of Afghanistan, as the planned withdrawal of American forces urgently became a mission to ensure a safe evacuation. The speed of the Afghan government’s collapse and the ensuing chaos posed the most serious test of Biden as commander in chief, and …

Malaysia’s Muhyiddin Yassin stepped down as prime minister on Monday after months of political turmoil culminated in the loss of his majority, but his resignation is likely to open another chapter of instability in the absence of any obvious successor. Yassin’s resignation ends a tumultuous 17 months in office, the shortest stint of a Malaysian leader, but also hampers efforts …

The Taliban declared the war in Afghanistan over after taking control of the presidential palace in Kabul while Western nations scrambled on Monday to evacuate their citizens amid chaos at the airport as frantic Afghans searched for a way out. President Ashraf Ghani fled the country on Sunday as the militants entered the capital virtually unopposed, saying he wanted to avoid bloodshed, …

HYDERABAD: Sindh irrigation department has again urged the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) to restrict water release for Chashma-Jehlum (CJ) and Taunsa-Panjnad (TP) link canals in the wake of fresh dip in flows in the Indus Rivers System. The latest dip will affect water availability in command areas of right bank canals of Sukkur barrage and Balochistan’s share in water …

ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) on Sunday completed its three-day anti-encroachment operation in the Margalla Hills. Construction was being carried out in the area. Sources said recently Prime Minister Imran Khan had directed the CDA to remove all types of encroachments from Margalla Hills. Following this, CDA conducted some operations in the hills but the main operation was conducted …