International

15 March, 2020 By SJA Jafri + Agencies CHRISTCHURCH/ MELBOURNE: An ambitious new design concept aims to re-imagine the Linwood Islamic Centre, one of two mosques targeted by a gunman a year ago on March 15, in a building that would fuse Islam with New Zealand’s (NZ) indigenous culture. The …

14 March, 2020 By SJA Jafri + Agencies TEHRAN/ KARBALA: The spokesman for the Iranian Health Ministry said since the outbreak of the new coronavirus known as COVID-19 in the country, 3,529 patients have completely recovered from the infectious disease. In remarks on Friday, Kianoush Jahanpour said that since yesterday …

13 March, 2020 BAGHDAD/ TEHRAN/ WASHINGTON: The US has launched retaliatory air strikes against a pro-Iranian militia group in Iraq after a rocket attack killed two of its soldiers. The strikes targeted five weapons storage facilities across the country, the US defence department said. Two American and a British soldier …

12 March, 2020 Bureau Report BERLIN: Studies suggest that most people who transition to another gender do not have second thoughts but after two Trans men met and fell in love, their personal gender journeys took an unexpected turn, to a destination neither had foreseen. “I always felt we have …

11 March, 2020 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report ISLAMABAD: A Pakistan Air Force (PAF) F-16 fighter jet has crashed near a park in the capital Islamabad, killing the pilot. In a statement, the PAF said the aircraft was carrying out rehearsals for the 23 March national day parade. Police …

09 March, 2020 KABUL/ ISLAMABAD/ WASHINGTON: The United States of America (USA) has started withdrawing troops from Afghanistan as part of a deal with the Taliban aimed at bringing peace to the country. The US agreed to reduce its troops from about 12,000 to 8,600 within 135 days of signing …

08 March, 2020 TEHRAN: Iran will temporarily release 54,000 people from prisons and deploy hundreds of thousands of health workers as officials announced a slew of measures to contain the world’s deadliest coronavirus outbreak outside China. Pressure has been mounting on Iranian officials to take action against the virus as the death …

08 March, 2020 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: Gunmen have killed at least 32 people during a ceremony attended by top Afghan politicians in Kabul. The country’s Chief Executive, Abdullah Abdullah, escaped unharmed, but dozens of others were wounded. The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) …

07 March, 2020 By SJA Jafri + Agencies RIYADH/ MELBOURNE:  Three senior members of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) royal family, including the king’s brother, have been arrested for unexplained reasons, sources report. Two of the men were among the kingdom’s most influential figures. The detentions have been linked to …

06 March, 2020 NEW YORK/ MELBOURNE: More than a billion Android devices are at risk of being hacked because they are no longer protected by security updates, watchdog Which? has suggested. The vulnerability could leave users around the world exposed to the danger of data theft, ransom demands and other …