Russia imposes personal sanctions against UK’s media representatives, defence figures
Russia has imposed personal sanctions against 29 media representatives and 20 defence figures of the UK in a retaliatory move, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said. The media representatives, including journalists working for The Guardian, BBC, and others, and the defence figures, including British Minister for Defence Procurement Jeremy Quin, would be denied entry into […]
Russia urges US to explain military biological activities
Russia has asked the United States to explain its military biological activities in some post-Soviet countries. On Sunday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the United States must fulfil its obligations under the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC), which is essential for international security. Zakharova added that Russia plans to hold consultations with […]
Saudi Arabia offers $10m to prevent Red Sea oil spill disaster off Yemen
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Sunday pledged $10 million to help prevent an ageing Yemeni oil tanker from unleashing a potentially catastrophic spill in the Red Sea bordering its waters. The decaying 45-year-old oil tanker known as the FSO Safer, long used as a floating storage platform and now abandoned off the rebel-held Yemeni port of […]
Flights halted from Damascus airport after Israeli strikes
DAMASCUS: All flights to and from Syria’s capital were halted on Friday, the government said, after Israeli air strikes wounded one civilian and damaged an airport runway. Since civil war broke out in Syria in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes against its neighbour, targeting government troops as well as allied Iran-backed […]
US: 3 killed in mass shooting at Maryland
Three people have been killed in a mass shooting incident at a manufacturing plant in the Maryland town of Smithsburg on Thursday, local US media said. Three people were killed on Thursday in a shooting at a manufacturing plant in Smithsburg and a state trooper was shot in the shoulder, according to Maryland Gov. Larry […]
Ex-Afghan minister returns to Kabul
KABUL: A former Afghan minister who fled as the Taliban took over Afghanistan last year, returned on Wednesday, following security assurances given as part of the hardline group’s initiative to woo back high-profile individuals. Ghulam Farooq Wardak, a member of the cabinets of former presidents Hamid Karzai and Ashraf Ghani, is the latest in a […]
China accuses Australia, Canada of ‘disinformation’ over jet encounters
BEIJING: Beijing on Tuesday accused Australia and Canada of “spreading disinformation” over allegedly dangerous manoeuvres by Chinese military pilots in international airspace. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a day earlier hit out at “irresponsible and provocative” actions by Beijing’s air force after Canadian aircraft deployed in Japan narrowly avoided a collision with Chinese jets late […]
US, Europe may seek to censure Iran amid stalled nuclear talks
VIENNA: Major European countries and the United States are expected to seek to censure Iran as the UN atomic watchdog started meeting on Monday with talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal stalled. The resolution drafted by the United States, Britain, France and Germany is a sign of their growing impatience as diplomats warn the […]
Six dead in latest US mass shootings
WASHINGTON: Mass shootings in Philadelphia and Chattanooga, Tennessee, left at least six people dead and over 25 others wounded, police said on Sunday in the latest cases of gun violence after recent massacres in Texas, New York and Oklahoma. Multiple shooters opened fire in Philadelphia’s busy South Street, an area with many bars and restaurants, […]
No major breakthrough yet as jirga returns from Kabul
PESHAWAR: A 57-member jirga negotiating with the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) returned to Pakistan on Friday without any major breakthrough over the militants’ demand for the reversal of Fata’s merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a member of the jirga told Dawn. The jirga consists of tribal elders, politicians and parliamentarians who met with senior TTP leaders at […]
