30-04-2022 LONDON: A British lawmaker suspended by Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party following accusations that he watched pornography on his phone in the House of Commons debating chamber has said he opened the explicit content in error. Neil Parish was suspended as a Conservative lawmaker on Friday after reporting …

30-04-2022 Bureau Report SYDNEY: Australia’s prime minister accused China on Saturday of “form”, or a record, on interference in foreign politics, after his home minister said Beijing’s unveiling of a security deal with the nearby Solomon Islands was timed to influence an election. With most polls showing Scott Morrison’s conservative …

30-04-2022 KYIV: Russian forces pounded Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region on Saturday but failed to capture three target areas, Ukraine’s military said, while Moscow said Western sanctions on Russia and arms shipments to Ukraine were impeding peace negotiations. The Russians were trying to capture the areas of Lyman in Donetsk and …

29-04-2022 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: A powerful blast hit a mosque in western Kabul during prayers on Friday, martyring 15 more and wounding 25, officials said, amidst a spate of attacks on Afghan places of worship and civilian targets during the holy Islamic month of Ramadan. …

29-04-2022 JERUSALEM: Hundreds of more Palestinians have been injured in a raid by Israeli police forces on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, the Palestinian Red Crescent said, following weeks of violence at the flashpoint site. The unrest came on the final Friday in the Muslim holy month …

29-04-2022 Bureau Report + Agencies BEIJING/ NEW DELHI: Elon Musk’s $44bn bid to buy Twitter puts the world’s richest man in the crosshairs of censorship-prone governments such as China and India, raising questions about how the Tesla CEO might respond to demands to stifle dissent in countries where he does …

29-04-2022 KYIV: An operation is planned to evacuate civilians trapped in Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant on Friday, the Ukrainian president’s office has said, without providing further details. At least one person has been killed after two explosions hit the capital Kyiv during UN’s chief Antonio Guterres’ visit who was left …

28-04-2022 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: Tensions are high between Pakistan and Afghanistan over cross-border attacks, with Islamabad accusing Kabul of doing little to stop attacks that have increased since the Taliban came to power last August. Pakistan says its security forces are being targeted from across …

28-04-2022 Bureau Report NEW DELHI:  India is getting too hot too early, raising the risk of fires, Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned on Wednesday, as New Delhi sweltered in extreme heat and a burning landfill on the outskirts of the capital spewed toxic smoke into the air. “Temperatures are rising …

28-04-2022 PARIS/ KYIV/ MOSCOW: Emmanuel Macron’s victory in securing a second term as France’s president will enable him to adopt a more aggressive approach on the Ukraine-Russia conflict, analysts say. In the run-up to the presidential election held earlier this month, Macron eschewed campaigning in favour of shuttle diplomacy, regularly …