30-06-2024 TEHRAN: Iran will hold a run-off election after hardline candidate Saeed Jalili and rival Massoud Pezeshkian, who is seen as reformist, both failed to secure a majority in the presidential race. Candidates need to win 50% of the vote but the pair both hovered around the 40% mark with …

30-06-2024 BERLIN: Police and protesters have clashed outside the annual conference of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Tens of thousands of people opposed to the AfD gathered in the city of Essen, local media reported, with police drafted in from around the country in a bid to prevent …

30-06-2024 WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden has hit back at criticism over his age, telling supporters in a fiery speech that he will win re-election in November after a poor debate performance fueled concern about his candidacy. “I know I’m not a young man, to state the obvious,” he told …

30-06-2024 PARIS: France’s lightning-quick election campaign is over, and despite last-ditch appeals not to back the far right, voters appear ready to hand the National Rally party a historic victory in parliamentary elections. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal warned it would unleash “impulses of hate and aggression” but the party of …

30-06-2024 OTTAWA: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faced new pressure Friday over his leadership of the Liberal Party, with one MP and a former member of his cabinet calling on him to resign, while another MP said party members should be given a say on whether he stays. Catherine McKenna, who …

29-06-2024 GAZA CITY: At least five Palestinians, including a girl, were killed in overnight Israeli attacks on two houses in Deir el-Balah. Gaza’s Civil Defence says three of its medics were killed by Israeli aircraft and 12 others wounded while they carried out rescue efforts in central Bureij refugee camp. …

29-06-2024 By SJA Jafri KARACHI: Karachi, the port city that once gleamed with state-of-the-art infrastructure and modern education, has been ranked as the least liveable city in global survey once again. The Economist Intelligence Unit, a sister organization to The Economist, has ranked 173 cities across the globe on a …

29-06-2024 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI/ BENGALURU: Demand for beer in India is at a multi-year high and air conditioner sales are skyrocketing as the intense, unprecedented heat scorching parts of the country becomes a boon for some consumer businesses. Temperatures in the Indian capital Delhi and the western …

29-06-2024 TEHRAN: A snap election called after a deadly helicopter crash. A candidate promising a different approach both at home and abroad and suddenly there’s an element of suspense and unpredictability in Iran, as voters go to the polls to choose a new president. Elections in the Islamic Republic are …

29-06-2024 TOKYO/ OKLAHOMA: Oklahoma’s top education official has ordered schools in the state to begin incorporating the Bible into lessons, in the latest US cultural flashpoint over religion in the classroom. A directive sent by Republican state Superintendent Ryan Walters said the rule was compulsory, requiring “immediate and strict compliance”. …