Alvi's comments walking back on the earlier stance came during a meeting with Dr Saleh bin Abdullah Humaid, Imam Khatib at Masjid Al-Haram, and adviser at Saudi Royal Courts of Saudi Arabia on Thursday, according to a report in the newspaper Dawn.
Grandmaster D Gukesh endured a heartbreak in the final tie-breaker against Wei Yi of China and had to be content with a joint second place finish at the Tata Steel Masters chess tournament in Wijk Aan Zee, The Netherlands.
For the second consecutive night, Israeli troops carried out targeted strikes inside Gaza, as confirmed by the IDF, bracing them for their preparations for the next phase in the conflict against Hamas.
The announcement comes as the military conflict between Hamas militants and Israel continued for the fifth day.
Taliban have imposed a blockade in Afghanistan's Panjshir province, denying residents food and carrying out some extrajudicial killings, The Washington Post reported.
Congress sitting MLA Saleh Mohammad, is hoping to buck the trend of anti-incumbency in the seat, and believes people will vote for his development work and not along religious lines.
These are the 15 seats to watch out for in Rajasthan where assembly elections will be held on November 23. The state has 200 constituencies.
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has been cautioned by the United States and its allies against escalating the conflict in Israel. This comes after the deployment of US military assets to prevent a potential widening of the war, multiple US officials aware of the matter told CNN.
The Indian Navy, which regards itself as the 'net security provider' in the Indian Ocean Region, has also stepped up to the plate, with a warship stationed at all times off the Gulf of Aden for counter-piracy tasks. 91 Indian warships have been deployed in the region since 2008, patrolling high risk areas where piracy was rampant.
Rajasthan is all set to vote on Saturday to elect members of a new assembly with the Bharatiya Janata Party aiming to unseat the ruling Congress, which is fighting hard to change the trend of alternate governments in the state.
Congress in-charge for Rajasthan Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on Wednesday started one-to-one meetings with state ministers and MLAs amid attempts by the party's central leadership to broker peace between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and dissident leader Sachin Pilot ahead of assembly polls due later this year.
Russian energy giant Rosneft has appointed a former Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) director to its board in signs it may be looking at boosting trade links with India. G K Satish, who retired as director for business development at IOC in 2021, is one of the three new faces appointed to the 11-strong board of directors of Rosneft, according to a statement issued by the Russian firm. Satish, 62, is the first Indian to be appointed to the board of Rosneft.
Saudi Arabia stunned Lionel Messi's Argentina 2-1 with brilliant individual goals from Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al-Dawsari during the FIFA World Cup Group C match on Tuesday.
A surprise attack by Hamas militants from Gaza at daybreak killed at least 200 Israelis on Saturday even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared "war" and said his country would extract an "unprecedented price" from its enemy.
Messi said his team knew Saudi Arabia, despite being the team ranked second-lowest in the tournament, could hurt them.
The Taliban is highly pragmatic and would regard it wasteful to resume military offensive to capture Panjshir. The Taliban's preference, historically, has been to keep the military option as the last resort, explains Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar
Ronaldo being benched in Portugal's 6-1 demolition of Switzerland has caused some of his die-hard fans to reconsider the current state of affairs.
Mexico's exit ended a run of seven successive last-16 appearances at the World Cup and the defeat for Saudi Arabia killed off what had looked to be a realistic chance of advancing from the group stages for the first time in 28 years.
Khan, however, evaded a question on whether Pakistan has no control over the Taliban anymore.
Reports coming from the ground confirm that an intense battle between Taliban and opposition forces to control the Panjshir Valley north of Kabul, the last Afghan province holding out against the group.
Last week's surprise 2-1 win over Argentina means victory over Mexico on Wednesday would take Saudi Arabia into the next round in Qatar and the Green Falcons' improved performances have come as a result of increased professionalism domestically.
IMAGES from the FIFA World Cup Group C match played between Poland and Saudi Arabia at Education City Stadium on Saturday.
"We had a crazy coach who gave us instructions and motivated us strongly during halftime," Saudi Arabia midfielder Abdel-Ilah al-Maliki told Al-Kass TV station after the win over Argentina.
The development came soon after Ghani left Afghanistan following the Taliban advance into the capital city, Sputnik reported.
Saudi Arabia, FIFA's 51st ranked team and who have suffered 5-0 and 8-0 World Cup defeats down the years, roared back to claim an astonishing 2-1 victory that will go down as one of the greatest shocks in any sport ever.
Sachin Tendulkar, who led India Legends to title victory in the inaugural edition of the Road Safety World Series, will not be taking part in its second season.
The Taliban on Wednesday said that the negotiations with the leaders of the Panjshir province have gone in vain as it is the only province that is still out of the Taliban's reach in the country.
The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan has denied Taliban's claim and said that the resistance forces are present at all strategic positions across the valley to continue the fight.
The Qatar World Cup has delivered a rich feast of soccer for the past month
Saudi Arabia's 2-1 victory over Argentina is rated the biggest shock in World Cup history.
'Islam has nothing to do with terrorism or terror acts.'
Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar turned the clock back with a class batting an unbeaten 114-run opening partnership.
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Saturday announced that he was ready to step down after incessant protests against his regime rocked the country for over eight months. "I don't want power and I will give it up in the coming days," he said. But Saleh refused to clarify who he will hand over the power to.
Ahmad Massoud had called for a 'national uprising' against the Taliban.
Hundreds of 'mujahideen' are heading towards the state of Panjshir to control the province, Sputnik reported citing a news agency.
'Whatever comes in the minds of the Pakistani generals and Pakistan military, they just go for it.' 'They do not care about the consequences for their country or the consequences to the people of Pakistan.'
The Taliban have the ISIS in its crosshairs. The Taliban has shown the skill to assimilate extremist elements if they are reconcilable as well as the ruthlessness to eliminate troublemakers, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar
Embattled Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Friday rejected a plan for his exit mooted by Gulf states. Plunging his strife-torn nation into a new crisis, Saleh told a pro-regime rally in capital Saana that the exit plan mooted by Gulf Cooperation Council states is "blatant interference in Yemeni affairs". A defiant Saleh said, "We reject any coup against democracy, the constitution and our freedom."
Aseem Chhabra presents his list of 10 international films that mattered to him, stories that he connected with and characters that gave him a better understanding of the human condition.
The team's remarkable rise has been cricket's biggest fairytale story in recent times but Afghanistan risk isolation following the country's takeover by the Taliban in August.
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