23-02-2022 MOSCOW/ TEHRAN/ KYIV/ WASHINGTON: President Vladimir Putin has insisted that Russia’s interests and security are non-negotiable, amid reports of more Russian troops moving closer towards Ukraine’s borders. Putin gave a video address, hours after US President Joe Biden warned of “the beginning of a Russian invasion”. Russia was always …

17-02-2022 JERUSALEM/ TEHRAN: A senior member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad warned that the movement will not stand idly by as the Israeli regime forces and Zionist settlers brutalize Palestinians in the occupied East al-Quds neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. Khaled al-Batsh, a member of the Islamic Jihad’s Politburo, said in …

17-02-2022 UNITED NATIONS/ SANA’A: Eight million Yemenis will likely lose all humanitarian aid in March unless urgent funds are delivered, United Nations officials have warned, amid an escalation in a long-running war that last month caused the highest toll in civilian casualties in at least three years. UN special envoy …

16-02-2022 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan will be forced to reconsider its policy towards the United States unless Washington reverses a decision to freeze part of the country’s assets as compensation for victims of the 9/11 attacks, the Taliban said Monday. US President Joe Biden last …

16-02-2022 MOSCOW/ BERLIN: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in Moscow on Tuesday to meet President Vladimir Putin in a high-stakes mission to avert war, saying he will hammer home the message from the West that they are open to dialogue about Russia’s security concerns but will impose sanctions if it …

16-02-2022 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI: India on Tuesday claimed that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) was “hijacked by vested interests” after it issued a statement on the recent hijab row and “genocide” of Muslims in the country. “Issues in India are considered and resolved in accordance with …

16-02-2022 MANAMA: Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has met Bahrain’s king on a landmark visit to the oil-rich Gulf country, 17 months after they established relations under a 2020 US-sponsored deal based in part on shared concerns about Iran. Bennett was making a one-day visit on Tuesday to the island …

16-02-2022 Bureau Report + Agencies ISLAMABAD/ TEHRAN: Iran and Pakistan will form a joint working group to look after border management, including security, trade and travel issues between the two countries, the Iranian interior minister has said. Speaking at the conclusion of a one-day visit to the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, …

16-02-2022 Bureau Report LUCKNOW/ NEW DELHI: A dispute over restrictions on the wearing of the hijab by female students in a southern Indian state has now reached India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, with a group of youngsters asking a college to ban the head covering. Authorities closed colleges …

15-02-2022 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies KABUL/ ISLAMABAD/ WASHINGTON: Four women activists in Afghanistan have been released by the Taliban (de-facto authorities) after going missing weeks ago, the United Nations (UN) claimed. Since storming back to power in August, the Taliban have cracked down on dissent by …