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Palestinian Mission in London Raises Flag After Recognition

Husam S. Zomlot, Ambassador for the Palestinian Mission to the United Kingdom holds up a new sign during a Palestinian flag raising ceremony at the Palestinian Mission in London, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025.(AP)
Husam S. Zomlot, Ambassador for the Palestinian Mission to the United Kingdom holds up a new sign during a Palestinian flag raising ceremony at the Palestinian Mission in London, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025.(AP)
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Palestinian Mission in London Raises Flag After Recognition

Husam S. Zomlot, Ambassador for the Palestinian Mission to the United Kingdom holds up a new sign during a Palestinian flag raising ceremony at the Palestinian Mission in London, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025.(AP)
Husam S. Zomlot, Ambassador for the Palestinian Mission to the United Kingdom holds up a new sign during a Palestinian flag raising ceremony at the Palestinian Mission in London, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025.(AP)

A flag-raising ceremony was held outside the Palestinian mission in London on Monday, a day after the UK announced it would recognize the State of Palestine, along with Australia, Canada and Portugal.  

Other countries, including France, are due to follow suit in recognizing Palestinian statehood at the annual UN General Assembly that opens Monday in New York.  

Head of Mission Husam Zomlot hailed the "long overdue" recognition as the flag was raised in front of a crowd outside the building in Hammersmith in west London.  

Holding up a plaque reading "Embassy of the State of Palestine", Zomlot said it would be put up soon, "pending some legal work, some bureaucratic work". 

He called the recognition move an "acknowledgement of a historic injustice" at a time of "unimaginable suffering" for the Palestinian people in the war in Gaza.  

He said the UK's recognition had particular resonance as Britain was pivotal in laying the groundwork for the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, through the 1917 Balfour Declaration.  

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the Palestinian Authority could now "set up an embassy and an ambassador in the UK". 

"We will set out the diplomatic steps with the Palestinian Authority, there will be a series of different stages and processes to go through," Cooper told the BBC.  

"On that practical side the most important thing is that it's part of that process to keep everyone working towards a two-state solution," she added.  

Questioned on when the British consulate in east Jerusalem would become an embassy, Cooper said it had been there for longer than the Israeli state, "so it will continue for now, and we will set out the diplomatic process with the Palestinian Authority".  

Following Sunday's announcement, Britain's foreign ministry updated its travel advice page to remove the reference to "Occupied Palestinian territories", replacing it with "Palestine".  

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denounced the push for recognition as "absurd", saying it would "endanger" Israel's existence.  

He has also vowed to accelerate the creation of new settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. 

The war in Gaza follows Hamas's attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023 that resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.  

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 65,208 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, which the UN considers reliable. 

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World

Pakistan Security Forces Kill 12 Militants, Thwarting Attempted Hostage-taking in Southwest

File photo: Pakistani Army and security officials stand guard as the opposition party Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaft (PTI) continue their protest for the third day demanding release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, in Islamabad, Pakistan, 06 October 2024. EPA/SOHAIL SHAHZAD
File photo: Pakistani Army and security officials stand guard as the opposition party Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaft (PTI) continue their protest for the third day demanding release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, in Islamabad, Pakistan, 06 October 2024. EPA/SOHAIL SHAHZAD
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Pakistan Security Forces Kill 12 Militants, Thwarting Attempted Hostage-taking in Southwest

File photo: Pakistani Army and security officials stand guard as the opposition party Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaft (PTI) continue their protest for the third day demanding release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, in Islamabad, Pakistan, 06 October 2024. EPA/SOHAIL SHAHZAD
File photo: Pakistani Army and security officials stand guard as the opposition party Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaft (PTI) continue their protest for the third day demanding release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, in Islamabad, Pakistan, 06 October 2024. EPA/SOHAIL SHAHZAD

Pakistani security forces killed at least 12 militants and thwarted an attempted hostage-taking in southwestern Pakistan after assailants attacked a police station, the military said Friday.

In a statement, it said the attackers also targeted two banks and looted millions of rupees (dollars) during the assault in Kharan district of Balochistan province a day earlier. The militants attempted to seize hostages at the police station, but a swift response by security forces forced them to retreat, it said.

The military identified the assailants as “Fitna al-Hindustan,” a phrase the government uses for the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army, or BLA, and other separatist groups. It claimed the attackers, including those killed in the shootouts with security forces, were backed by India, though it provided no evidence. India has repeatedly denied Pakistan’s accusations that it supports separatists in Balochistan or Pakistani Taliban fighters.

Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in a statement praised the security forces for killing the militants and foiling the attacks by the insurgents in Kharan, reported The Associated Press.

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but least populated province, has long been the scene of insurgency by separatist groups, along with attacks by the Pakistani Taliban. The BLA, which the United States designated a terrorist organization in 2019, has been behind numerous attacks targeting security forces and civilians across the province in recent years.

World

Massive Fire at a Shopping Mall in Southern Pakistan, Kills 3 People

People gather as firefighters try to control a massive fire that broke out in a multi-story shopping mall, in Karachi, Pakistan, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammad Farooq)
People gather as firefighters try to control a massive fire that broke out in a multi-story shopping mall, in Karachi, Pakistan, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammad Farooq)
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Massive Fire at a Shopping Mall in Southern Pakistan, Kills 3 People

People gather as firefighters try to control a massive fire that broke out in a multi-story shopping mall, in Karachi, Pakistan, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammad Farooq)
People gather as firefighters try to control a massive fire that broke out in a multi-story shopping mall, in Karachi, Pakistan, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammad Farooq)

A massive fire swept through a multistory shopping mall in Pakistan’s largest southern city of Karachi late Saturday, killing at least three people and injuring about a dozen others, police and rescue officials said.

Firefighters and rescue workers rushed to the Gul Plaza shortly after 10 p.m. local time following reports of the blaze, police and rescuer officials said. According to the local media, most shop owners were closing their stores or had already left when the fire broke out and spread quickly, The Associated Press said.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known. Police said an investigation would be launched once the blaze was extinguished. However, most structures in Karachi, and other parts of the country, lack fire prevention and firefighting systems, which often results in damages and casualties.

TV footage showed firefighters in protective gear battling the flames. Several fire trucks used ladders, water cannons and hoses to douse the building’s floors, where flames shot out of windows and balconies. Thick black smoke billowed into the night sky and was visible from several blocks away, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene.

Authorities said the fire spread rapidly after erupting in an area of the mall where shopkeepers had stored imported garments, clothing and plastic household goods, which helped fuel the flames.

Karachi is the capital of southern Sindh province, where such incidents are common. In November 2023, a fire tore through a shopping mall in the city, killing 10 people and injuring 22 others.

World

Flash Flooding Eases in Australia's Largest City Sydney

Some of the more than ten cars washed into the surf by the flood at the Cumberland River Caravan park after flash flooding near the Wye River, Australia, 16 January 2026. EPA/MICHAEL CURRIE AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT
Some of the more than ten cars washed into the surf by the flood at the Cumberland River Caravan park after flash flooding near the Wye River, Australia, 16 January 2026. EPA/MICHAEL CURRIE AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT
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Flash Flooding Eases in Australia's Largest City Sydney

Some of the more than ten cars washed into the surf by the flood at the Cumberland River Caravan park after flash flooding near the Wye River, Australia, 16 January 2026. EPA/MICHAEL CURRIE AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT
Some of the more than ten cars washed into the surf by the flood at the Cumberland River Caravan park after flash flooding near the Wye River, Australia, 16 January 2026. EPA/MICHAEL CURRIE AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

Australian authorities on Sunday downgraded a flood alert for a suburb of the country's largest city Sydney, after residents were evacuated due to rising waters sparked by torrential rains, said Reuters. 

Flooding was "receding and ‌no further ‌significant rise ‌in flood ⁠levels is expected," ‌State Emergency Services said on Sunday afternoon, referring to the suburb of Narrabeen, a beachside area with a population of around 8,000. 

Residents and holidaymakers in the low-lying area ⁠of New South Wales capital Sydney had ‌been told late on ‍Saturday to evacuate to ‍higher ground due to dangerous ‍flash flooding, according to state authorities. 

Climate change is causing heavy short-term rainfall events to become more intense in Australia, the country's science agency said last year. 

Emergency crews responded to more ⁠than 1,700 incidents in New South Wales since the heavy rain hit on Saturday, the state authorities said. 

A woman died on Saturday amid the wild weather after being hit by a falling tree branch near Wollongong, about 66 km (41 miles) south of Sydney, the Australian ‌Broadcasting Corporation reported.