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A Gallup survey has found that 51 per cent Pakistanis have a favourable opinion of PM Khan.   More than half of Pakistan has a favourable opinion of Prime Minister Imran Khan's overall performance after his first five months in power, a  new poll conducted by Gallup & Gilani Pakistan  suggests. As part of the survey, a representative sample of 1,141 people was asked, “What is your opinion on Prime Minister Imran Khan’s overall performance up until now, i.e., since his winning the 2018 elections?” According to the survey's findings, 38 per cent of Pakistanis rated the premier's performance as "good", whereas another 13pc had a "very good" opinion of whatever he's been up to. Read:  Jury out on PTI’s performance amid claims, counterclaims In total, 51pc of the sampled people held a favourable opinion of the prime minister's performance, who  assumed the top office  on August 18 last year following his party's  triu...

The coalition was not immediately available for comment, but has in the past said it does everything to avoid targeting civilians. Coalition missile strikes have killed 42 people including 13 civilians in what remains of the militant Islamic State (IS) group's last holdout in eastern Syria, a war monitor said. The Syrian Democratic Forces, with backing from a US-led coalition, are battling to expel the last militants from hamlets in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said short-range missiles late on Friday hit homes on farmland near the village of Baghouz, killing 42 people. Among them were 13 civilians, the Britain-based monitor said. They included seven Syrians linked to the IS including three children from the same family, as well as six Iraqi non-combatants, it said. The coalition was not immediately available for comment, but has in the past said it does everything to avoid targeting civilians. “The area is ...

Baidu and Microsoft's Bing are widely used search engines in China.  Microsoft's Bing search engine was inaccessible in China on Thursday, with social media users fearing it could be the latest foreign website to be blocked by censors. Attempts to open cn.bing.com has resulted in an error message for users since Wednesday, taking away the most prominent foreign search engine available in China. “We've confirmed that Bing is currently inaccessible in China and are engaged to determine next steps,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a brief statement, hours after saying the company was investigating the matter. China's Communist authorities operate an online censorship apparatus known as the “Great Firewall”, which blocks a slew of websites including Facebook, Twitter and several foreign media outlets. But it was not clear whether or not Bing had joined the list of prohibited websites, or if its China service was experiencing technical difficulti...

Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal warns that aggression from New Delhi will be responded to in kind.  Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal on Thursday termed India's response to Pakistan's invitation for negotiations on the opening of the Kartarpur crossing as "childish", saying that Islamabad's reply will be "mature". Earlier this week, Pakistan had sent India a  draft of the proposed agreement  on the Kartarpur corridor and called for initiation of negotiations for its finalisation. A statement issued at the time by the Foreign Office said: “The Government of Pakistan has shared the draft agreement between Pakistan and India for facilitation of Sikh yatrees (pilgrims) to visit the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, Narowal.” The statement was accompanied by a short video titled “Development of Kartarpur Corridor” and 14 pictures showing development activity on the Pakistan side. Instead of responding to Paki...

Airbus chief Tom Enders warned on Thursday that a no-deal Brexit could prompt the European aerospace giant to make "very harmful decisions" for Britain, branding the government's handling a "disgrace".   Airbus chief Tom Enders warned on Thursday that a no-deal Brexit could prompt the European aerospace giant to make "very harmful decisions" for Britain, branding the government's handling a "disgrace". Read more:Businesses sound alarm as UK prepares for no-deal Brexit The aircraft manufacturer currently employs 14,000 people in Britain, including sites at Filton in southwest England and Broughton in north Wales, designing and manufacturing wings. "If there is a no-deal Brexit, we at Airbus will have to make potentially very harmful decisions for the UK," Enders warned in a video published on the group's website. Airbus, which has repeatedly warned that Brexit could mean pulling investment out of Bri...

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne urged China to treat Chinese-Australian writer, Yang Hengjun, fairly and transparently. Australia on Thursday demanded China handle  the case of detained author Yang Hengjun  “transparently and fairly,” amid a growing row about the fate of the Chinese-Australian. Yang — a novelist, democracy advocate and former Chinese diplomat — was detained shortly after he made a rare return to China from the United States (US) last week. Friend and colleague Chongyi Feng told  AFP  he believes Yang is being charged with “espionage” although a Chinese official at a press briefing on Thursday said that the Chinese-Australian detained in China was suspected of engaging in “criminal activities that endanger China's national security”. Yang Hengjun was detained by Beijing state security, ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying added. Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said diplomats and Chinese officials met in Beijing o...

Senator Lindsey Graham and Prime Minister Imran Khan during a meeting.   ISLAMABAD: A senate panel on Monday lamented the presence of a US senator’s guard during his meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan, terming it disgrace to the country. Senate Standing Committee on Interior chairman and former interior minister Rehman Malik said the members wanted to know why US Senator Lindsey Graham’s guard had been allowed to remain present during the  meeting with the prime minister  and directed the interior secretary to submit details on the matter. The committee during its meeting called for a judicial probe into the  Sahiwal tragedy  in which four people, including three members of a family, were killed in front of their children. Mr Malik was of the view that the police could not be given the licence to kill and even if there was evidence against them, the Senate committee must be given the reason for not arresting them instead. “It is an ala...

PML-Q leaders urge Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain to "take the decision" about the party's coalition with PTI.  LAHORE: The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) lawmakers on Monday termed the attitude of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-led coalition government at Centre and in Punjab ‘negative’ in their respective constituencies and asked the party leadership to decide the fate of the ruling coalition. These views were expressed at a meeting attended by PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, fed­eral minister Tariq Bashir Cheema, members of the National Assembly Moo­nis Elahi, Salik Hussain, Hussain Elahi and Mrs Farrukh Khan. All 10 PML-Q members of the Punjab Assembly and a lawmaker from Khyber Pakh­tun­khwa, Mufti Obaidur Rehman, were also present. In a statement issued after the meeting, the party declared: “PML-Q lawmakers have expressed concern over ‘negative attitude’ of the federal and provincial governmen...

Former PM's daughter Maryam Nawaz says family has "no knowledge" of Nawaz medical condition.   LAHORE: Maryam Nawaz said on Monday that her father former premier Nawaz Sharif was not well and he would be taken to the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) for a check-up. “I have been told that MNS (Mian Nawaz Sharif) is unwell and is being taken to PIC tomorrow (Tuesday) but myself or the family have no knowledge of it. We still haven’t received the reports given by the medical boards. “After pleading with the jail authorities, we have also written to the Home department,”  Maryam Nawaz tweeted  on Monday. Mr Sharif’s cardiologist  Dr Adnan Khan tweeted : “The findings and recommendations of the high-profile medical board which consulted former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Jan 16 is still awaited & not shared with me or the family. Health concerns demand an early action by the authorities. Matter is of immense urgency.” Mr Sharif has...

The bombardment hit Iranian and Syrian targets around Damascus as well as near a military airport to the south of the capital, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.  Israeli air strikes and ground-to-ground missiles that hit near the Syrian capital overnight to Monday killed at least 11 fighters including two Syrians, a Britain-based war monitor said. The bombardment hit Iranian and Syrian targets around Damascus as well as near a military airport to the south of the capital, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

China's economy grew at its slowest pace in almost three decades in 2018, losing more steam in the last quarter as it battles a massive debt pile and a US trade war, official data showed on Monday. The 6.6 per cent growth comes in above the official target of around 6.5pc and matches a forecast by analysts polled by  AFP , but is down from the 6.8pc chalked up in 2017, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). And in a sign of the struggle Beijing faces, growth in the last three months of the year clocked in at 6.4pc, matching a low seen during the global financial crisis 10 years ago, with economists widely expecting the slowdown to deepen. "Everyone is widely concerned about the direction of the international situation where there are many variables and uncertain factors," said NBS commissioner Ning Jizhe, noting trade protectionism was in vogue. "For the world's second-largest economy, where trade accounts for one-third of GDP, this...

Australian police suspect an "expansive criminal group" was exploiting Australian public.  Six people have been charged after Australian authorities uncovered a multi-million-dollar crime syndicate stealing baby formula and vitamins from major retailers across Sydney for shipment to China, police said on Monday. Four members of one family and two other men have been arrested and charged over the “organised criminal group” that New South Wales (NSW) Police believe has operated for several years. “We're thinking this is quite an expansive criminal group that was exploiting an overseas market at the disadvantage of the Australian public,” NSW Police Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty told reporters in Sydney. Doherty said investigators were still probing where the products were being sold, but alleged that so far, “thousands of shipments of baby formula were sent to China”. Premium baby milk formula, vitamins and honey from Australia are highly ...