09-05-2026 BERLIN: A diplomatic rift between US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the war on Iran has escalated into a broader debate about Europe’s transatlantic ties while Berlin pushes to become the continent’s leading military power. Merz sparked controversy last week when he said Washington had …

08-05-2026 BAMAKO: Mali has been gripped by a succession of coups, political instability and a security crisis since at least 2012. In the most recent upheaval on April 25, an al-Qaeda-linked armed group joined forces with Tuareg separatists to launch simultaneous attacks on targets across the country, killing Defence Minister …

08-05-2026 KHARTOUM: Sudan’s armed forces have accused Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates of being involved in a drone attack on Khartoum airport, part of a barrage that ​has shattered months of relative calm in the capital three years into a civil war. Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday rejected what …

08-05-2026 KYIV: Ukrainian troops are rapidly increasing medium-range drone strikes on Russian forces, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday, demonstrating a ‌growing capability for Kyiv’s outmanned military as it fights Moscow in the fifth year of the war. As Kyiv confronts renewed Russian offensives along the eastern front, it is …

08-05-2026 ANKARA: Turkish nationalist party leader Devlet Bahceli said ‌on Tuesday the jailed head of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) should be given an official role to help advance a peace process aimed at ending a decades-long conflict. Bahceli, a close ally of President Tayyip Erdogan who in 2024 …

08-05-2026 WASHINGTON: US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday that the ceasefire with Iran was not over, even as the US and Iran exchanged fire in the Gulf as they wrestled for ‌control of the Strait of Hormuz. Hegseth said the US had successfully secured a path through the …

08-05-2026 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: The rupee slid to a record low on Tuesday as a fragile truce in the Middle East came under strain after the US and Iran launched new attacks to wrestle for control of the Strait of Hormuz, a key artery for global energy supplies. The …

08-05-2026 DUBAI/ TEHRAN/ WASHINGTON: A fragile truce in the Middle East was under strain on Tuesday after the US and Iran exchanged fire in the Gulf as they wrestled for control of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said in a social media post on Tuesday …

07-05-2026 TEHRAN/ WASHINGTON: Brent crude oil jumped around 2% on Monday and the dollar strengthened amid conflicting reports from Iran and the US about American warships in the Strait of Hormuz. US stocks were mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.5%, the S&P 500 0.05% lower and the …

07-05-2026 AMSTERDAM: Amsterdam has become the world’s first capital city to ban public advertisements for both meat and fossil fuel products. Since 1 May, adverts for burgers, petrol cars and airlines have been stripped from billboards, tram shelters, and metro stations. At one of the city’s busiest tram stops, adjacent …