International

16-04-2026 LAHORE/ KARACHI: Mohammed Amin was eight when he died shortly after testing positive for HIV. His fevers were so bad that he insisted on sleeping in the rain, and he writhed in pain “like he’d been thrown in hot oil”, says his mother, Sughra. “He used to fight with …

16-04-2026 WASHINGTON/ BEIRUT: With Lebanon, again, engulfed by war, I remember a meeting I had with President Joseph Aoun at the Baabda Palace, a modernist building at the top of a hill overlooking Beirut last August. Aoun, a former army chief, took office after a devastating war between Israel and …

16-04-2026 TEHRAN/ WASHINGTON/ DUBAI: The US military began a blockade of Iran’s ports on Monday, President Donald Trump said, and Tehran threatened to ​retaliate against its Gulf neighbors’ ports after weekend talks in Islamabad on ending the war broke down. A US official said there was continued engagement with Iran, …

06-04-2026 Bureau Report NEW DELHI/ MUMBAI: retail inflation rose modestly to 3.4% in March, government data showed on Monday, amid worries ‌that a prolonged Middle East war and deficient monsoon showers could raise the cost of living over the coming months. Annual inflation rose to the highest since January, but …

16-04-2026 PORTO-NOVO: Benin’s Minister of Finance Romuald Wadagni has secured a landslide victory in the country’s presidential election with more than 94 percent of the votes, according to provisional results. Sacca Lafia, head of the country’s independent electoral commission, ⁠announced on national television ⁠late on Monday night that the result …

16-04-2026 WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump is facing growing backlash after posting an AI-generated image of himself as a Jesus-like figure and launching a series of social media attacks on Pope Leo XIV, drawing criticism from across the Christian political spectrum. The image, shared on Trump’s Truth Social platform on …

15-04-2026 SINGAPORE: Oil prices jumped above $100 a barrel ​on Monday as the US Navy prepared a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz that could ‌restrict Iranian oil shipments after the US and Iran failed to reach a deal to end the war. Brent crude futures rose $7.60, or 7.98%, …

15-04-2026 WASHINGTON: After a diplomatic team led by Vice-President JD Vance tried, and failed, to reach a negotiated agreement to end the US war with Iran on Saturday, President Donald Trump had to decide his next move. That came on Sunday morning, in a series of Truth Social posts. The …

15-04-2026 VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo XIV wants to “turn the world’s attention to Africa”, according to a senior Vatican official, as he embarks on a significant tour of the continent addressing themes of peace, migration and dialogue between religions. The 11-day trip, which starts on Monday, is Pope Leo’s second …

15-04-2026 TEHRAN: Iranian authorities say the United States needs to do more if an agreement is to be made to end the war as they urge their supporters to maintain control of the streets. The US delegation at Saturday’s marathon talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, “ultimately failed to gain the trust …