18-07-2022 TEHRAN/ MOSCOW: Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is expected to meet his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran on Tuesday. The meeting, which will include Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will take place in the trilateral “Astana format” aimed at resolving differences in Syria, but there is much more at …

18-07-2022 BISHKEK: An award-winning Imam in Muslim-majority Kyrgyzstan has blamed women’s thighs for the skyrocketing prices of meat in the country. He said that women have cheapened them by showing too much of their skin. Imam Sadybakas Doolov said in a program in the capital city of Bishkek, “Do you …

18-07-2022 LONDON/ PARIS: Parts of Europe including France and Britain were on high alert Monday as temperatures were expected to surpass 42°C (107°F) in some regions, with one French meteorologist warning of a “heat apocalypse” and the UK weather service warning the heat posed a “risk to life”. France was …

18-07-2022 TEHRAN: Iran is technically capable of making a nuclear bomb but has not decided whether to build one, a senior adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told media. Kamal Kharrazi spoke a day after US President Joe Biden ended his four-day trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia, …

18-07-2022 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: Indian traders and shopkeepers will hold a nationwide protest next week against a hike in taxes on a range of products and services, including food grains and household items, that went into effect on Monday, a top official of a leading traders’ group said. “The …

17-07-2022 KYIV/ MOSCOW: Russian forces have fired missiles and shells at cities and towns across Ukraine after Russia’s military announced it was stepping up its onslaught against its neighbor, with Ukrainian officials reporting that at least 17 more civilians had been killed. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu gave “instructions to …

17-07-2022 TEHRAN: The Iranian government has blacklisted United States officials over their backing of a group that Tehran considers to be a “terrorist” organization. The Iranian foreign ministry on Saturday published a list of 61 current and former American officials who it said have provided “deliberate support” to the Mujahideen-e …

17-07-2022 PORT-AU-PRINCE: The UN human rights office has expressed concern about rising violence around Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, saying 99 people have been reported killed in recent fighting between rival gangs in the Cite Soleil district alone. The warning on Saturday came hours after the UN Security Council unanimously approved a …

17-07-2022 RIYADH: The United States “will not walk away” from the Middle East and leave a vacuum to be filled by Russia, China or Iran, US President Joe Biden has told a summit in Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea city of Jeddah. He also told the summit that the US is …

16-07-2022 COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan parliament met on Saturday to begin choosing a new leader to serve the rest of the current term after the president fled abroad and resigned following mass protests over the country’s economic collapse. Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena promised a swift and transparent political process …