US ready to take in thousands of more Afghans as violence worsens
WASHINGTON: The United States said on Monday it was ready to take in thousands more Afghans whose US links put them at risk from the Taliban as Western troops leave, but the asylum-seekers will face an arduous journey to safety. Less than a month before the United States is set to end its longest-ever war, […]
Fires force evacuations in Turkey, southern Europe
ANKARA: Dozens of villages were evacuated in tourist hotspots in southern Turkey on Sunday as wildfires that have claimed eight lives raged for the fifth day, while Greece, Italy and Spain were also hit by blazes. Fanned by soaring temperatures, strong winds and climate change — which experts say increases both the frequency and intensity […]
Taliban, Afghan troops clash outside Herat city
HERAT: Afghan troops and Taliban fighters clashed again on the outskirts of Herat on Saturday, a day after a police guard was killed when a United Nations compound in the western city came under attack. Violence has surged across the country since early May, when the militants launched a sweeping offensive as US-led foreign forces […]
Saudi Arabia to reopen to vaccinated tourists after 17-month Covid closure
Saudi Arabia announced on Friday that it would reopen its borders to fully vaccinated foreign tourists after a 17-month closure due to the coronavirus pandemic, the state news agency said. However, Riyadh did not announce any lifting of restrictions on Umrah, which can be performed at any time and usually attracts millions of Muslims from […]
Huge quake of magnitude 8.2 on Alaska Peninsula triggers tsunami alert
A strong and shallow earthquake of magnitude 8.2 struck the Alaskan peninsula late on Wednesday, prompting tsunami warnings in the US state and heightened surveillance across the pacific. There were no immediate reports of loss of property or life. Tsunami warning sirens were sounded close to a Walmart store in Kodiak, Alaska, a video filmed […]
Taliban start collecting taxes in Spin Boldak, Wesh areas
QUETTA: Taliban, who captured the Afghan border district of Spin Boldak early this month, on Tuesday imposed new tariff and started collecting taxes on goods coming into Afghanistan or going to Pakistan, a day after Pakistan reopened the border for trade activities after a suspension of over two weeks because of the fighting between Taliban […]
Russia eyes free trade zone on islands disputed by Japan
MOSCOW: Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on Monday visited the disputed Kuril Islands and said authorities wanted to establish a free economic zone there, sparking a protest from Japan. The Kurils, which lie north of Japan’s Hokkaido island, have been controlled by Moscow since they were seized by Soviet troops in the dying days of […]
Typhoon drenches China’s east, affects Shanghai
NINGBO: Typhoon In-Fa uprooted trees and drenched communities in knee-deep water in parts of eastern China, but there were no reports of major damage as it made landfall on Sunday. Sea, air and rail traffic had been shut down across a swathe of the coast centered on the major shipping port of Ningbo, where the […]
President Xi makes rare trip to Tibet
BEIJING: President Xi Jinping is on a rare trip to China’s politically sensitive region of Tibet, state media reported on Friday, the first such visit by the country’s top leader in more than three decades. Tibet has alternated over the centuries between independence and control by China, which says it “peacefully liberated” the rugged plateau […]
Australia state declares emergency over Covid
An Australian state government on Friday declared an emergency due to a Covid-19 outbreak in Sydney. The New South Wales state government reported one fatality and 136 new infections in the latest 24-hour period, the biggest daily tally of new cases since the outbreak began in mid June. State Premier Gladys Berejiklian called on the […]
