28-04-2026 BAMAKO: Explosions and sustained gunfire have been reported in Mali’s capital, Bamako, as armed groups launched coordinated attacks across the country. Mali’s military said on Sunday evening that efforts to repel the attacks were under way, and some militants had already fled. Fighting has also been reported around Kati, …

28-04-2026 ROME: Food security in Africa could face major disruptions due to continuing uncertainty in the Strait of Hormuz. The conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran is disrupting global fertilizer trade flows and this stands to leave millions of African farmers without the ammonia, urea, phosphate, Sulphur and …

28-04-2026 By SJA Jafri KARACHI: At Karachi port, the largest in Pakistan, over 3,000 stranded containers hold cargo that was meant to be shipped to Iran. What’s in them is not known but the vessels that were supposed to collect them have not arrived and with tensions in the Strait …

28-04-2026 WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s administration is considering more than doubling an annual refugee limit to bring more white South Africans into the US, according to three people familiar with the matter. Trump, a Republican, paused refugee admissions from around the world when he took office in January 2025. Weeks …

28-04-2026 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI/ WASHINGTON: India and the United States are engaged in constructive talks aimed at reaching a balanced and mutually beneficial trade agreement, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday. The comments came after a three-day visit ‌to Washington by an Indian trade delegation led …

28-04-2026 GAZA STRIP/ RAMALLAH: Palestinians were voting in local elections on Saturday that include Gaza for the first time in two decades and will gauge the political mood at a time when Israel’s government is seeking to destroy any future for a Palestinian state. The West Bank-based ‌Palestinian Authority hopes …

28-04-2026 WASHINGTON: The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has directed federal prisons to expand the range of methods used for executions to include firing squads, gas asphyxiation and electrocution. In a 48-page memo released on Friday, the department says this will “strengthen” the death penalty, “deterring the most barbaric crimes, …

27-04-2026 BEIRUT/ JERUSALEM: Lebanon’s Hezbollah said a US-mediated ceasefire in the war with Israel was meaningless a day after it was extended for three weeks, as Lebanese authorities reported two people killed by an Israeli strike and Hezbollah downed an Israeli drone. US President Donald ‌Trump announced the three-week extension …

27-04-2026 WASHINGTON: The Justice Department is closing its investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said on Friday, removing an obstacle to the confirmation of Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the central bank. The move by Pirro, a Trump ally and the top …

27-04-2026 LONDON: A UK government unit responsible for documenting Israel’s possible war crimes during its genocidal war in Gaza has been shut down amid funding cuts, the Guardian has reported. The London-based newspaper on Thursday reported that cuts within the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) have forced the international …