DUBAI: The UAE announced a new visa on Sunday allowing foreigners to work in the country without being sponsored by an employer, relaxing residency requirements in an attempt to boost economic growth. Foreigners in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates are generally only given limited visas tied to their employment, and long-term residency is difficult to obtain. But those holding the …

MUZAFFARNAGAR: Tens of thousands of farmers rallied near India’s capital on Sunday, vowing to remain defiant against the government over controversial agriculture laws they say will destroy their livelihoods. Chanting “farmer, labourer, unity!”, the men and women wore yellow and green scarves signifying harvest and mustard fields while waving national and farmer union flags in Uttar Pradesh state’s Muzaffarnagar district. …

Senior Taliban officials met in Kabul on Sunday with the UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, who promised to maintain assistance for the Afghan people, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, head of the Taliban’s political office and other officials met Martin Griffiths as Afghanistan faces a potentially catastrophic humanitarian crisis caused by severe drought and a collapsing …

A self-described survivalist in body armour shot and killed four people, including a woman and her three-month-old baby boy in her arms, before surrendering to police in central Florida on Sunday, officials said. The shooter, identified as Bryan Riley, 33, a former US Marine, also wounded an 11-year-old girl who underwent surgery for seven gunshot injuries, Polk County Sheriff Grady …

Six Palestinians broke out of an Israeli prison on Monday through a tunnel dug beneath a sink, triggering a massive manhunt for the group. The Israel Prison Service (IPS) said an alert was sounded at roughly 3am by locals who spotted “suspicious figures” outside the Gilboa prison in the country’s north. The group includes Zakaria Zubeidi — a prominent former …

The Taliban said on Monday they have taken control of Panjshir province north of Kabul, the last holdout of anti-Taliban forces in the country and the only province the Taliban had not seized during their blitz across Afghanistan last month. Thousands of Taliban fighters overran eight districts of Panjshir overnight, according to witnesses from the area who spoke on condition of anonymity, …

ISLAMABAD: While 500 people tested positive for Covid-19 in the federal capital and Rawalpindi on Sunday, the district health officer said Islamabad was heading towards herd immunity. Two persons succumbed to the virus in the garrison city while no deaths were reported in the capital. According to data, 266 people got infected in the capital, recording a positivity rate of …

LAHORE: The government claims to have started implementing the special compensation package for the landowners/affectees of the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project under the Land Acquisition Act 1894. The implementation of the package was started after the government approved it in the light of recommendations of a special committee, respective district administrations (Lahore & Sheikhupura) and the Ravi Urban Development …

KHYBER: Minister for Interior Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has categorically rejected presence of Afghan refugees camps in the border regions and called upon the world community to beware of such baseless allegations of India. Speaking to journalists at Torkham border on Sunday during his first visit to the region after Afghan Taliban’s takeover of Kabul, he said that he was at …

PESHAWAR: The cash-starved Gomal University Dera Ismail Khan has been deprived of several millions of rupees of fees through fake bank receipts, according to sources. A preliminary inquiry, conducted by the university administration, found that Rs7.8 million was collected in lieu of students’ fee but the amount was never deposited in its bank account, a senior official of Gomal University …