27-08-2024 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI/ BENGALURU: Gold demand in India during the upcoming festive season is likely to remain robust, as the substantial reduction in import duty has made prices appealing, providing comfort to retail consumers and encouraging purchases, industry officials said. Higher demand in the world’s second-largest …

27-08-2024 CANBERRA: A “right to disconnect” rule has come into effect in Australia, offering relief to people who feel forced to take calls or read messages from employers after they finish their day’s work. The new law allows employees to ignore communications after hours if they choose to, without fear …

27-08-2024 JERUSALEM/ BEIRUT/ GAZA CITY: Israel has said it carried out a wave of pre-emptive strikes across southern Lebanon to thwart a large-scale rocket and drone attack by Hezbollah. Jets destroyed thousands of the Iran-backed armed group’s rocket launchers on Sunday morning, Israel’s military said. Hezbollah and its Amal allies …

27-08-2024 LONDON: The ride-hailing app Uber has been hit with a €290m (£246m; $324m) fine for transferring the personal data of European drivers to US servers in violation of EU rules, the Dutch data protection regulator said on Monday. The Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) said the transfers were a …

27-08-2024 CAIRO/ WASHINGTON: There was no agreement on Sunday in the Gaza ceasefire talks that took place in Cairo, with neither Hamas nor Israel agreeing to several compromises presented by mediators, two Egyptian security sources said, casting doubt on the chances of success in the latest US-backed effort to end …

27-08-2024 WASHINGTON: The FBI is investigating an Aug. 11 drive-by shooting that targeted a California activist with close ties to Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was fatally shot last year in a killing that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said could be linked to India. In an …

27-08-2024 CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned America’s top general during a meeting on Sunday of the dangers of a major conflict in Lebanon. US Air Force General C.Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Egypt hours after a significant missile exchange between Israel and …

27-08-2024 LONDON: Prime Minister Keir Starmer will warn Britons next week that the changes needed to fix Britain’s many problems will take time, saying “things will get worse before we get better” in a speech he describes as a chance to level with the public. After being elected as prime …

26-08-2024 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies QUETTA/ KARACHI/ MUSAKHAIL: Separatist militants killed at least 39 people in “coordinated” attacks in southwestern Pakistan on Monday that largely targeted Shia-Muslims, ethnic, political, government officials said. In one of the attacks, dozens of militants stopped vehicles travelling on a highway …

26-08-2024 BEIRUT: Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has made a televised speech after a heavy exchange of fire between the Lebanese group and Israel. Hezbollah’s attack on Sunday was billed as its response to the Israeli assassination of its senior military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut last month. Israel said it …