Five Afghan policemen killed as militants attack base
KHOST: An hours-long attack on a base of Afghan police special force involving car bombs and an intense firefight killed five policemen and wounded dozens of people, officials said on Tuesday, as violence continued to surge in the war-weary country. Three suicide bombers detonated their explosives-laden vehicles targeting the base in Khost near the Pakistan […]
US air strike kills five Taliban in Wardak
KABUL: A US air strike launched to support Afghan security forces killed five Taliban fighters in central Afghanistan on Sunday evening, a spokesman for US forces in Afghanistan said. Violence has escalated in recent weeks with clashes taking place between the insurgents and government troops across the country, while negotiators from both sides have held […]
7 killed, 70 injured in bomb blast at seminary in Pakistan
Peshawar: A powerful bomb blast ripped through a seminary in northwest Pakistan’s Peshawar city on Tuesday, killing at least seven children and wounding 70 others, senior police officials said. The blast occurred at the seminary in Dir Colony in interior Peshawar city after Fajr (morning) prayers. A bag filled with explosive materials was kept close […]
Pak PM Imran hits out at Macron; asks Facebook to ban Islamophobic content
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan called on Facebook to ban Islamophobic content on its platform, warning of a spike in radicalisation amongst Muslims, hours after he hit out at the French president for “attacking Islam”. Khan, in an open letter posted on Twitter on Sunday, said “growing Islamophobia” was encouraging extremism and violence worldwide, especially […]
Iran deploys troops on Azerbaijan border
TEHRAN/BAKU: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday they have deployed troops along the border with Azerbaijan and Armenia, following stray fire from the fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh. “Units of (the Guards) ground forces have been dispatched to and stationed in the region,” their commander Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour said, quoted by state news agency IRNA. Their mission […]
Libyan rivals sign ceasefire accord
GENEVA: Libya’s two warring factions signed a “permanent” ceasefire agreement on Friday after five days of talks at the United Nations, which hailed the deal as a historic moment following years of turmoil and bloodshed. “Today is a good day for the Libyan people,” said Stephanie Williams, the UN’s acting envoy to the troubled North […]
Bill passed, sweeping powers for Lanka President
Sri Lanka’s Parliament on Thursday passed the 20th Amendment to the Constitution with two-thirds majority, consolidating the power in the hands of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and undermining the authority of Parliament. The second reading of the 20th Amendment was passed in Parliament, with 156 MPs voting in favour of the Bill and 65 against it […]
2 killed in suspected gas explosion in London’s Punjabi suburb Southall
Two people were killed after a suspected gas explosion that led to a building collapse in Southall, the west London suburb with a large Punjabi-origin Indian diaspora population. The explosion occurred at a hair salon and phone shop underneath a set of flats on Wednesday. Four adults and one child, of Punjabi-origin, were rescued at […]
Nigeria in turmoil after police fire on demonstrators
LAGOS: Nigeria’s biggest city Lagos and several states were under curfew on Wednesday as unrest rooted in anti-police protests broke out again following a day of violence, including the shooting of civilians by security forces. Fires burned across Lagos and residents reported hearing gunfire despite President Muhammadu Buhari’s appeal for “understanding and calm”. Armed police […]
Washington to host talks on Karabakh, say warring sides
YEREVAN: Armenia and Azerbaijan said on Tuesday their foreign ministers would meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington on Friday in efforts to end the heaviest fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh since the 1990s. The State Department did not immediately comment. But the planned meetings suggest that, just before the US presidential election, Washington is […]
