International Affairs

Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lost three National Assembly (NA) seats in the October 14 byelections, two of which were won by Mr. Khan in the July general election and vacated later, in what is widely seen as a reality check for the Prime Minister. Byelections took place …

The newly-appointed U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, recently concluded a trip to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar aimed at setting the stage for talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. Mr. Khalilzad met with Taliban representatives in Qatar in early October, following several statements made by …

Quietly, the rapidly deteriorating ties between China and the United States — often dubbed a “trade war”— are acquiring a military edge. In the midst of the downslide in the relationship, which first began in the form of rising tariff walls and Washington’s efforts to deny high technology to China, …

China has successfully tested the world’s largest unmanned transport drone which can carry a payload of 1.5 tonnes, official media reported on Wednesday. A commercial drone Feihong-98 (FH-98) developed and modified by the China Academy of Aerospace Electronics Technology made a test flight in the Baotou site in north China …

Anna Burns has won the prestigious Man Booker Prize for fiction for Milkman , a vibrant, violent story about men, women, conflict and power set during Northern Ireland’s years of Catholic-Protestant violence. Ms. Burns is the first writer from Northern Ireland to win the £50,000 (Rs. 48 lakh) prize, which …

A pro-government Turkish newspaper on Wednesday published a gruesome recounting of the alleged slaying of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, just as America’s top diplomat arrived in the country for talks over The Washington Post columnist’s disappearance. The report by Yeni Şafak adds to the …

Uzma Nawaz, who works in an auto repairs garage, has earned the respect of male co-workers Since picking up a wrench as one of the first woman car mechanics in conservative Pakistan, Uzma Nawaz has faced two common reactions: shock and surprise. And then a bit of respect. The 24-year-old …

Chinese experts have blamed the volatile organic compounds in hair spray, perfume and air refreshers for the recurring air pollution in the country as the dreaded smog returned to haunt Beijing on Monday. The air quality index in the city climbed to 213, which is categorised by the WHO as …

Will take appropriate measures if strongman does not leave office quietly: U.S. Maldives’ judges on Sunday heard a petition by strongman President Abdulla Yameen to have his recent election defeat annulled, potentially triggering U.S. sanctions and plunging the Indian Ocean archipelago into fresh turmoil. Mr. Yameen lost heavily in the …

Beijing’s central bank head calls for ‘constructive solutions’ to end trade spat U.S President Donald Trump said on Sunday that China, under pressure due to Washington’s policies, wanted to have a trade deal with him, but he told them a week ago that they were not ready yet. “I told …

Rejects threats of economic sanctions over Khashoggi case even as Riyadh stocks take a plunge Saudi Arabia warned on Sunday that it would retaliate against any sanctions imposed on it over the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as the Riyadh stock market plunged on growing investor jitters. From tech tycoons …

Visa policy seen as hostile, warn submissions to a parliamentary inquiry on post-Brexit ties India accounts for the largest number of individuals staying in the U.K. illegally, and the number of those subjected to forced returns to India has fallen by 50% in three years, Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office …

Tibetan monks vow to ‘heal divisions’ Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, met with Trinley Thaye Dorje, a rival claimant in the Tibetan movement. While the Dalai Lama has on several occasions in the past endorsed Ogyen Trinley Dorje as the future of the Tibetan movement, the other Buddhist …

India accounts for the largest number of individuals staying in the U.K. illegally, and the number of those subjected to forced returns to India has fallen by 50% in three years, Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office has said. The problem of “visa overstayers” was highlighted by the department in its …

Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, met with Trinley Thaye Dorje, a rival claimant in the Tibetan movement. While the Dalai Lama has on several occasions in the past endorsed Ogyen Trinley Dorje as the future of the Tibetan movement, the other Buddhist leader has also laid claim to …

Instagram on Tuesday added more weapons to battle cyber-bullying, using artificial intelligence to scan photos for abusive content at the Facebook-owned service. The move comes after Facebook also increased anti-harassment measures, following a survey which said young victims of online abuse feel social media firms aren’t doing enough to fight …

Inflatable sculpture takes over rusting warehouse in U.S. A giant sea monster has taken over a building at Philadelphia’s Navy Yard, but only temporarily. The inflatable sculpture titled “Sea Monsters HERE” is at a rusting warehouse called Building 611. It features huge purple tentacles bursting out of windows and reaching …

Musician Nathan Meltzer plays instrument owned by Roman Totenberg The Stradivarius stolen from the late violinist Roman Totenberg and miraculously found more than three decades later has a new life under the chin of a budding 18-year-old virtuoso. On Tuesday in New York, his three daughters presented the multimillion-dollar instrument …

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un wants Pope Francis to visit the officially atheist country, South Korea said on Tuesday. South Korea’s presidential office said in a statement that Mr. Kim told President Moon Jae-in during their summit last month that the Pope would be “enthusiastically” welcomed in North Korea. Mr. …

Says Beijing did not initiate the trade war but was acting in self defence China has stepped up its war of words with the U.S., following a frosty back-and-forth between its Foreign Minister Wang Yi and visiting U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday. In response to a question …