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 […]
Four Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in two days
RAMALLAH: Israeli troops shot dead a teen in the West Bank on Thursday, the Palestinian health ministry said, the fourth Palestinian killed in the occupied territory in two days. The ministry identified the slain Palestinian as 17-year-old Odeh Odeh, who was hit in the chest by what it said was an Israeli bullet near the […]
Big tobacco’s environmental impact is devastating: WHO
GENEVA: The tobacco industry is a far greater threat than many realise as it is one of the world’s biggest polluters, from leaving mountains of waste to driving global warming, the WHO said on Tuesday. The World Health Organisation accused the industry of causing widespread deforestation, diverting badly needed land and water in poor countries […]
Russians enter outskirts of Ukraine city
KYIV: Russian troops have entered the outskirts of the Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk, according to the regional governor, who described fierce fighting on Monday over the ruins of a city that has become the focus of Moscow’s offensive. The European Union has sought to make Moscow pay a heavy price for invading Ukraine, but leaders […]
Nepal says missing plane with 22 on board crashed
Nepal’s army said on Monday it had located the crash site of a plane that went missing with 22 people on board during cloudy weather on Sunday. “Search and rescue troops have physically located the plane crash site,” army spokesperson Narayan Silwal said on Twitter, posting a picture of the wreckage with the plane’s tail […]
UNSC split spells end of an era for US-led sanctions on North Korea
NEW YORK: A decision by China and Russia to veto new United Nations sanctions on North Korea pushed by the United States shattered any veneer of global cooperation, straining efforts to pressure Pyongyang as it prepares to conduct a new nuclear test. The two countries on Thursday vetoed a US-led push to impose more UN […]
China issues unusual warning on ‘Covid-hit economy’
BEIJING: China’s premier called for more to be done to stabilise the world’s second-largest economy, issuing an unusually stark warning as the country’s zero-Covid strategy bites into growth. China is the last major economy welded to a policy of mass testing and hard lockdowns to eliminate virus clusters, but the strict curbs have battered businesses. […]
Biden urges gun control after shooter kills 19 children at Texas school
WASHINGTON: “When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?” US President Joe Biden asked his nation on Wednesday, hours after a teenage gunman killed at least 19 children and two teachers in an elementary school in Texas. The powerful gun lobby in America has so far prevented all administrations […]
UK MPs blast ‘systemic failures’ during Afghan withdrawal
LONDON: The UK’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan last year showed “systemic failures of leadership, planning and preparation”, according to a scathing inquiry by MPs published on Tuesday. The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee probe revealed a “fundamental lack of planning, grip or leadership at a time of national emergency” before and during the Taliban […]
Drug shortage worries doctors in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO: A shortage of medicine caused by an economic crisis in Sri Lanka could soon cause deaths, doctors said, as hospitals are forced to postpone life-saving procedures for their patients because they do not have the necessary drugs. Sri Lanka imports more than 80pc of its medical supplies but with foreign currency reserves running out […]
