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Airbus completes record 24-hour flight with plane to be used by Qantas

A specially modified Airbus A350 plane touched down in France on Tuesday after a record 24-hour test flight from Australia, ahead of its joining Qantas’s fleet next year. Its 23,076-kilometre journey — across three continents and two oceans, and through two sunsets and two dawns — was one of the most-watched flights shown on the Flightradar24 tracking site. It was also a crucial step before Australian airline Qantas receives its first A350-1000ULR in April next year, to be followed by 11 others for services able to link Australia non-stop to destinations in the United States and Europe. The ULR in its designation stands for “ultra long distance”, a feat made possible by an additional 20,000-litre rear centre fuel tank being fitted to Airbus’s A350-1000 model. The flight from Australia to France took precisely 24 hours and 24 minutes. On its outbound flight last week, from Toulouse to Melbourne, the test aircraft flew 17,000 kilometre...
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Lull in fighting

AFTER two weeks of escalating violence, the US has halted its strikes on Iran , with Tehran also silencing it guns. But rather than any newfound belief in the benefits of peace, the Trump administration may have made the U-turn on account of the mounting practical costs of continuing the conflict. Moreover, efforts by regional states, including Pakistan, may have also helped convince both sides to give diplomacy another chance. Whatever the motivations for the belligerents to refrain from hostilities, the cessation of conflict in the Gulf is a welcome development, and it is hoped that the dialogue process can be brought back on track and a more permanent peace established in the region. America’s ambassador to the UN said that President Donald Trump wanted to give “talks some space”. While that may be so, there are also reports in the US media — denied by Mr Trump — that America was running low on munitions. Besides, some of America’s top generals have...
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PHC stops deportation of man named ‘Quaid-e-Azam’, directs him to appear before Nadra board

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Monday restrained authorities from deporting a petitioner named ‘Quaid-e-Azam’ and directed him to appear before the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra)’s verification board. A two-member PHC bench, comprising Justice Waqar Ahmed and Justice Inamullah Khan, was hearing a petition filed by resident Quaid-e-Azam against the blocking of his national identity card. Advocate Saifullah Mohib Kakakhel appeared on behalf of the petitioner, while Nadra’s legal representative Shahid Imran Gigiyani represented the authority. During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel informed the court that his client was doing business in Dubai and Pakistan. He said the authorities had blocked his client’s national identity card. The counsel said his client was a Pakistani citizen who was running a business and paying taxes to the government. He said his client was being penalised by the blocking of his identity card, which was causing him immense...
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President, PM, others return gifts to Toshakhana

ISLAMABAD: Presi­dent Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and other federal cabinet members received dozens of gifts from foreign dignitaries this year, with the items being deposited in Toshakhana. The information ministry recently issued details of gifts received by the premier, deputy premier and other officials over the past three months, as the cabinet division also made available on its official website records of gifts received by officeholders since 2002 although the names of foreign dignitaries who presented the gifts were not disclosed. Following the release of the latest Toshakhana rec­o­rds, Information Mini­ster Attaullah Tarar told Dawn that the government periodically publishes details of gifts received by officials and that the latest information covered the previous three months. Interestingly, the cabinet division’s website, while releasing details of gifts, mentioned that the evaluation [of ...
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Israel to allow international force into Gaza, Israeli official says

Israel will allow a multinational security force to enter Gaza as proposed under US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan for the enclave, an Israeli official said on Sunday, a day before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads to Washington. Netanyahu’s security cabinet on Sunday approved the legal framework that would allow the force’s entry to Gaza, the official said. Netanyahu is scheduled to depart for Washington on Monday and is expected to meet Trump on Tuesday. The official said that the mission, called the International Stabilisation Force (ISF), will include 200 members from “friendly countries such as Uganda and Morocco” deploying in areas that are not under Israeli control. Each contingent requires individual Israeli approval to enter Gaza. It was unclear when the forces would deploy. Much of Gaza remains in ruins from two years ​of relentless Israeli bombing triggered by the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct 7, 2023. After a ceas...
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Suspect in Berlin attack near Pride gathering shot dead by police

A known suspect in the driving of a minivan into a crowd near a major LGBTQ Pride gathering in Berlin was shot dead by law enforcement officers in the city’s Spandau district, police said on Sunday. The ramming attack happened in the Tiergarten park near the Brandenburg Gate at about 10pm (2000 GMT) on Saturday, not far from one of Europe’s biggest annual LGBTQ celebrations, Christopher Street Day. One person was killed, and 29 were injured, authorities said. “Around 6pm (1600 GMT), the suspect involved in yesterday’s attack in Tiergarten was located at an allotment garden complex in Spandau,” Berlin police wrote on X. “According to initial findings, he ran towards officers while armed with a bladed weapon; police… subsequently opened fire. Despite immediate resuscitation efforts by the Berlin Fire Department, he died at the scene.” A federal prosecutor’s spokesperson confirmed one person had been shot and declared dead. Berlin police had identified the suspect as Abdul B, 21, and...
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On first visit to Syria in 17 years, UN chief meets Sharaa

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Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa receives UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres at presidential palace.—AFP • Guterres pledges support for Syria’s reconstruction; backs Syria’s request for EU support; calls situation in Golan Heights ‘totally unacceptable’ • Damascus demands Israeli withdrawal from ‘buffer zone’ DAMASCUS: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres pledged help for Syrian reconstruction on Saturday during the first visit to Damascus by a serving United Nations chief since 2009, before the start of a civil war that killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa received Guterres at the presidential palace in Damascus, state news agency SANA said, without providing further details. “No country emerges from a very severe conflict and rebuilds itself on its own,” Guterres said after the talks with Sharaa at a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani. “We must help Syria in its determin...
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