TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his ally, Finance Minister Taro Aso, face mounting pressure over a suspected cronyism scandal as the finance ministry prepares to report on Monday that documents in the case were doctored. Abe, now in his sixth year in office, had hoped to put the …

Supporters of a black-turbaned Shiite cleric are seeing red in the runup to Iraq’s May elections thanks to an unprecedented alliance with the once-powerful communist party. Populist preacher Moqtada Sadr has defied his clerical rivals and opted to campaign for the May 12 poll alongside former enemies, Marxists who demand …

TEHRAN: A private Turkish plane flying from the United Arab Emirates to Istanbul crashed Sunday in the south of Iran with 11 people on board. The plane had left from the emirate of Sharjah and went down near the city of Shahr-e Kord, about 400 kilometres (250 miles) south of …

BEIJING: China’s parliament on Sunday abolished the presidential term limits through an amendment in the constitution, allowing President Xi Jinping to pursue the vision of transforming the nation into an economic superpower. “It is a key measure to improve the state leadership system,” Shen Chunyao, chairman of the Commission for …

ISLAMABAD: An armed group on Sunday stopped Pakistani trucks from heading to Afghan capital Kabul after officials cleared the consignment to proceed to its destination, officials aware of the development said. Earlier the Afghan security officials had stopped four trucks, carrying cement, shortly after the convoy crossed Ghulam Khan border …

Lahore: As a handful of Balochistan lawmakers whose electoral mandates remain questionable at best emerged as key brokers for Senate chairman’s election over the weekend, the provincial capital on Sunday hosted a historic jalsa of the most inspiring grassroots movement to have emerged in the country over the last two …

WASHINGTON: Pakistan is not helping enough with resolving issues related to cross-border terrorism and the problems faced by Afghanistan, said former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton at the India Today Conclave 2018. To a question regarding the crisis surrounding Afghanistan, Hillary said that the country has been under pressure …

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Sunday announced to support Sadiq Sanjrani, an independent senator-elect from Balochistan, for the slot of Senate chairman. Speaking to media alongside Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bazinjo, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto announced to field Saleem Mandviwala for the deputy chairman slot in the …

RAWALPINDI: Hours after a shoe was hurled at Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif at a seminary in Lahore, Maryam Nawaz slammed those who ‘hate’ the former prime minister, claiming the episode was part of a ‘planning against the leader’. Addressing the party’s social media convention in Rawalpindi, Maryam …

LAHORE: A man was beaten up and handed over to police for allegedly trying to hurl a shoe at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan as he was getting into his vehicle to leave the venue of a political rally he addressed in Faisalabad on Sunday. The suspect was caught …