17-04-2025 PARIS: France says it will expel 12 Algerian diplomatic and consular staff members and has recalled its ambassador from Algiers, deepening a crisis that threatens to unravel months of attempted reconciliation between the two countries. The announcement on Tuesday comes a day after Algeria ordered 12 French diplomats to …

17-04-2025 UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has ramped up the forced mass deportation of Afghan refugees and migrants, with nearly 60,000 having crossed the border since the start of April, the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) said. Nearly three million Afghans in Pakistan are facing deportation after Prime Minister Shehbaz …

17-04-2025 WASHINGTON/ TEHRAN: United States special envoy Steve Witkoff has said that Tehran “must stop and eliminate” its nuclear enrichment program to reach a deal with Washington, seemingly raising the bar of US demands ahead of another round of talks with Iranian officials. Witkoff’s remarks on Tuesday appear to contradict …

17-04-2025 WASHINGTON: Former President Barack Obama is applauding Harvard University’s decision to refuse the White House’s demands that it change its policies or lose federal money, in his first social media post to criticize the Trump administration since at least Inauguration Day. President Donald Trump is freezing more than $2bn …

17-04-2025 CAIRO/ GAZA: Hamas is said to have rejected an Israeli proposal for a six-week ceasefire in Gaza which called for the armed group to give up its weapons. A senior Palestinian official familiar with the talks said the plan gave no commitment to end the war or for an …

16-04-2025 UNITED NATIONS/ KHARTOUM: As Sudan’s civil war enters its third year, the conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has displaced approximately 13 million people, according to the United Nations. “The conflict has provoked the displacement of 13 million people, including 8.6 million internally displaced …

16-04-2025 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: India has decided to pursue a path of trade liberalization with the United States, India’s trade secretary said on Tuesday, with the two countries signing the terms of reference for the first part of a bilateral trade deal. India and the US agreed in February …

16-04-2025 VICTORIA/ LONDON: Amnesty International has relaunched its Hong Kong office “in exile”, more than three years after the rights group shut its operation in the Chinese financial hub citing risks from sweeping national security legislation. The Chinese government has tightened its grip on Hong Kong after massive and sometimes …

16-04-2025 BEIJING: China accused the United States National Security Agency (NSA) on Tuesday of launching “advanced” cyber-attacks during the Asian Winter Games in February, targeting essential industries. Police in the northeastern city of Harbin said three alleged NSA agents to a wanted list and also accused the University of California …

16-04-2025 GAZA STRIP/ BEIRUT: Hamas is reviewing a new ceasefire proposal from Israel and will respond “as soon as possible” as the movement’s spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri tells Al Jazeera that “the request to disarm Hamas is not acceptable to even hear”. At least 17 Palestinians have been killed and …