Biden govt issues sharpest rebuke to Israel over settlements
WASHINGTON: The Biden administration issued on Tuesday its harshest public criticism to date of Israeli plans for Jewish settlement expansion in occupied West Bank, saying that it harmed peace prospects between Israelis and Palestinians. “We are deeply concerned about the Israeli government’s plan to advance thousands of settlement units tomorrow, Wednesday, many of them deep […]
Erdogan steps back from threat to expel Western envoys
ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday backed down from his threat to expel 10 Western ambassadors over their joint statement of support for a jailed civil society leader. He spoke after the United States and several of the other concerned countries issued identical statements saying they respected a UN convention that required diplomats not to […]
Colombia’s most wanted drug lord captured
BOGOTA: Colombia’s most-wanted drug trafficker “Otoniel” has been captured, officials said on Saturday, a major victory for the government of the world’s top cocaine exporter. Dairo Antonio Usuga, who headed the country’s largest narco-trafficking gang known as the Gulf Clan, was captured near one of his main outposts in Necocli, near the border with Panama. […]
Nato agrees on plan to deter Russian threat amid China focus
BRUSSELS: Nato defence ministers agreed a new master plan on Thursday to defend against any potential Russian attack on multiple fronts, reaffirming the alliance’s core goal of deterring Moscow despite a growing focus on China. The confidential strategy aims to prepare for any simultaneous attack in the Baltic and Black Sea regions that could include nuclear […]
Russia reports cases of more contagious Covid-19 variant: Reports
Russia has reported some COVID-19 infections with a new coronavirus variant believed to be even more contagious than the Delta one, the RIA news agency said on Thursday. It is possible that the AY.4.2 variant will spread widely, RIA quoted the state consumer watchdog’s senior researcher Kamil Khafizov as saying. That could cause the rate […]
2 Taliban fighters, 4 school children wounded in Kabul grenade attack
A grenade was thrown at a Taliban vehicle in the Afghan capital on Wednesday morning, wounding two fighters and four nearby school children, government officials said. “This morning a grenade was thrown at a mujahideen vehicle in Deh Mazang, wounding two mujahideen,” Taliban interior ministry spokesman Qari Sayed Khosti told AFP. Another official said: “Our initial […]
Afghanistan-wide polio vaccination starts next month: UN
KABUL: Afghanistan will kick off its first countrywide polio immunisation campaign in years next month to protect millions of unvaccinated children, the UN said on Monday. The United Nations’ health and children’s agencies said the campaign to vaccinate against the crippling and potentially fatal disease would begin on Nov 8, with full support from the […]
Iran to resume nuclear talks this week
TEHRAN: Iran is to resume nuclear negotiations with world powers on October 21 that were suspended in June, an Iranian lawmaker said on Sunday after a meeting with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. The minister said that “talks with the 4+1 Group will restart on Thursday in Brussels”, Ahmad Alirezabeigui told the ultra-conservative news agency Fars after […]
US to lift curbs from Nov 8 for vaccinated foreign travellers
WASHINGTON: The White House said on Friday it would lift Covid-19 travel restrictions for fully vaccinated foreign nationals effective Nov 8, ending historic restrictions that had barred much of the world from entering the United States. Announcing the starting date for the new rules on travel into and out of the country, White House spokesman […]
Turkey ready to help, but will not recognise Taliban
ANKARA: Turkey said on Thursday it was ready to help the Taliban overcome Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis, but would not recognise its rule as it hosted the war-scarred country’s new leaders for the first time. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu received his acting counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi as the movement seeks to gain international legitimacy upon […]
