News

LONDON: Syria has no future under Bashar Assad but is stuck with the president due to Russian support, Britain’s top diplomat has said.
Jeremy Hunt, the UK foreign secretary, said that Assad is likely to remain in his position “for the short-term and possibly longer,” and called on Moscow to come forward with a solution.

KHARTOUM: A Sudanese parliamentary committee has postponed a meeting on amending the country’s constitution to allow President Omar Al-Bashir to run for a new term, state media reported Saturday.
The session, set for Sunday, has been shelved for the time being, the official SUNA news agency said, without giving a new date.
Bashir, who is facing deadly nationwide protests against his three-decade rule, is considering running for a third term in elections scheduled for next year.

JEDDAH: Royal Saudi Naval Forces and the Saudi Arabian Border Guards rescued a 72-year-old French sailor after he fell ill while on a yacht in international waters.
A Border Guards spokesman, Lt. Musfer Al-Quraini, said the search and rescue coordination center in Jeddah (JMRCC) had been contacted by the French Gris-Nez Maritime Rescue Coordination Center to report that a crew member on the yacht had experienced a severe medical condition requiring evacuation.

RIYADH: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman presided over the ceremony of the Equestrian Club’s Grand Annual Horse Race in Riyadh on Friday night.
The event was held at the King Abdul Aziz Racetrack in Janadriyah.
Upon his arrival at King Abdul Aziz Equestrian Center, he was received by Prince Faisal bin Bandar, governor of Riyadh, Prince Bandar bin Khalid Al-Faisal, chairman of board of directors of the Equestrian Club, Prince Abdul Aziz bin Saud bin Naif, minister of interior and a number of officials. 

BAGHOUZ, Syria: A US-backed force in Syria is closing in on Daesh militants in a tiny area less than a square kilometer (square mile) in eastern Syria, and will soon declare the defeat of the militant group, a commander with the group said Saturday.

DURBAN: Sri Lanka pulled off a stunning against-the-odds run chase to beat South Africa by one wicket in the first Test on Saturday as Kusal Perera almost single-handedly won the game with his 153 not out.
Chasing an unlikely 304, Sri Lanka were 226-9 and seemingly out of it. But a last-wicket partnership of 78 between Perera and Vishwa Fernando took the tourists to a thrilling victory on the fourth day.
Perera scored 68 of those 78 runs, but Fernando hung in for 27 balls for his 6 not out to allow Perera to guide the tourists home.

DUBAI: Arab and Muslim models took the runways by storm at New York Fashion Week, which closed on Sunday in the Big Apple.

Bella Hadid

The Palestinian-American model was a smash during the Michael Kors show, which paid tribute to 1970s fashion, rocking a sparkling black blazer with feathers on the sleeves.

Gigi Hadid

LONDON: Junior foreign ministers from Britain and Russia met in Germany on Saturday in the highest-level contact between the two countries since an alleged nerve agent attack in Britain last March froze diplomatic relations.
Britain’s Minister for Europe Alan Duncan held talks with Russia’s First Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov on the margins of the Munich Security Conference, according to the foreign office in London.

ISLAMABAD: The streets of Pakistan were lined with pictures of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince in preparation of his reception on Saturday.

Pakistan was rescheduling flights, blocking off luxury hotels and, according to one report on Friday, collecting 3,500 pigeons and colorful balloons to release during a welcome ceremony for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top government and opposition party officials have released warm welcome messages for Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman who is due to arrive in Islamabad on Sunday for a two-day visit.
Minister of Information Fawad Chaudhry told reporters in Islamabad on Friday that the government has finalized arrangements to welcome the crown prince and that Prime Minister Imran Khan would personally receive him at the airport.