22-02-2024 JOHANNESBURG: South Africa will hold national and provincial elections on May 29, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office said on Tuesday. The elections are expected to be the most competitive since the end of the apartheid system. Political analysts widely predict that the governing African National Congress (ANC) party will lose …

22-02-2024 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI: India will invite private firms to invest about $26 billion in its nuclear energy sector to increase the amount of electricity from sources that don’t produce carbon dioxide emissions, two government sources told Reuters. This is the first time New Delhi is pursuing …

22-02-2024 WASHINGTON/ JERUSALEM/ AMMAN: Two senior U.S lawmakers who held talks with Israeli and Arab leaders said on Tuesday that they were hopeful a deal could be struck allowing a humanitarian pause in the war in Gaza before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. In an interview with Reuters in …

22-02-2024 CAPE TOWN: A “death ship” carrying thousands of cattle whose foul smell caused a stink in top tourist city Cape Town is expected to continue its voyage to Iraq later on Tuesday, port officials said. The ship, in route from Brazil and carrying an estimated 19,000 cattle, docked in …

22-02-2024 THE HAGUE: The United States and Russia will present arguments on Wednesday in proceedings at the UN’s highest court examining the legality of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories. The International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court, was asked in 2022 by the UN General …

21-02-2024 By SJA Jafri ISLAMABAD/ LAHORE/ KARACHI: Two political parties in Pakistan have reached a formal agreement to form a new government following an election mired in controversy. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) will be backed by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in a new administration, they jointly announced. Both …

21-02-2024 UNITED NATIONS: The US has vetoed a resolution at the UN demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza after proposing its own draft urging a temporary ceasefire. Washington said the Algerian-proposed resolution would “jeopardize” talks to end the war but the move has been condemned, with US allies expressing regret …

21-02-2024 LONDON/ CAIRO: Yemen’s Houthi militants said on Monday they had attacked the Rubymar cargo vessel in the Gulf of Aden which was at risk of sinking, raising the stakes in their campaign to disrupt global shipping in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza war. The Iran-aligned Houthis have made …

21-02-2024 LONDON: The most luminous object ever detected has been spied in the distant Universe. It’s a quasar, the bright core of a galaxy that is powered by a gargantuan black hole some 17 billion times the mass of our Sun. Known as J0529-4351, the object’s power was confirmed in …

21-02-2024 WASHINGTON/ UNITED NATIONS: The US has proposed a draft resolution at the UN Security Council which calls for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza. It has also warned Israel against invading the overcrowded city of Rafah. The US has previously avoided the word “ceasefire” during UN votes on the war, …