Taliban to attend Afghan peace talks in Moscow

Taliban to attend Afghan peace talks in Moscow

DOHA: Senior members of the Taliban will attend talks with the Kabul government in Moscow this week to discuss the future of war-ravaged Afghanistan, the insurgent group said on Monday. The two sides are due to meet at Russia’s invitation ahead of a May deadline for US President Joe Biden to decide whether to end […]

Afghan bomb kills at least 8; UN slams high civilian deaths

Afghan bomb kills at least 8; UN slams high civilian deaths

A powerful car bomb killed at least eight people and injured 47 in Afghanistan’s western Herat province, officials said on Saturday. The death toll in the explosion, late on Friday, that also destroyed 14 houses is expected to rise because several of the injured were critical, said Rafiq Sherzai, a spokesman for the provincial hospital. […]

UN chief warns of risk of famine for millions around the world

UN chief warns of risk of famine for millions around the world

UNITED NATIONS: Millions of people around the world risk dying of hunger, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday, adding that climate change and Covid-19 had worsened the threat. “Without immediate action, millions of people will reach the brink of extreme hunger and death,” Guterres told the Security Council during a meeting on the links […]

US blocks delivery of Turkish gunships to Pakistan

US blocks delivery of Turkish gunships to Pakistan

WASHINGTON: The United States has prevented Turkey from supplying 30 locally-made attack helicopters to Pakistan, diplomatic sources in Washington told Dawn. According to Bloomberg News, Turkey’s presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin told reporters on Monday that “the US has blocked Turkey’s helicopter sale to Pakistan, which will likely lead to Islamabad buying it from China.” The […]

Yemen’s Houthis attack Saudi oil heartland with drones, missiles

Yemen’s Houthis attack Saudi oil heartland with drones, missiles

Yemen’s Houthi forces fired drones and missiles at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry on Sunday, including a Saudi Aramco facility at Ras Tanura vital to petroleum exports, in what Riyadh called a failed assault on global energy security. Announcing the attacks, the Houthis, who have been battling a Saudi-led coalition for six years, […]

Switzerland Votes To Ban ‘Burqa’ And Other Face Coverings

Switzerland Votes To Ban ‘Burqa’ And Other Face Coverings

Swiss voters narrowly approved on Sunday a proposal to ban face coverings, both the niqabs and burqas worn by a few Muslim women in the country and the ski masks and bandannas used by protesters. The measure will outlaw covering one’s face in public places like restaurants, sports stadiums, public transport or simply walking in […]

Pakistan PM Imran Khan wins trust vote in National Assembly

Pakistan PM Imran Khan wins trust vote in National Assembly

Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday won a trust vote in the National Assembly amid a boycott call by the Opposition parties, strengthening his government’s legitimacy after an embarrassing defeat of the finance minister in the hotly-contested Senate elections. Prime Minister Khan secured 178 votes in the 342-member lower house of Parliament during […]

UN: 38 Died On Deadliest Day Yet For Myanmar Coup Opposition

UN: 38 Died On Deadliest Day Yet For Myanmar Coup Opposition

Myanmar security forces were seen firing slingshots at protesters, chasing them down and even brutally beating an ambulance crew in video showing a dramatic escalation of violence against opponents of last month’s military coup. A UN official speaking from Switzerland said 38 people had been killed Wednesday, a figure consistent with other reports though accounts […]