International

23-05-2026 UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations has said 15,850 people, including 791 children, have been killed in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion of the neighboring country in February 2022. The “actual figures are likely significantly higher”, Kayoko Gotoh, Europe and Central Asia director of the UN’s Department of Political and …

23-05-2026 TEHRAN: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Tehran has gained military knowledge from previous hostilities and warned that “a return to war will feature many more surprises”. His comments come after US President Donald Trump gave Iran “two to three days” to reach a deal, and as his deputy, …

23-05-2026 WASHINGTON/ BRUSSELS: The Trump administration is planning to tell NATO allies this week that it will shrink the pool of military capabilities that the US would have available ‌to assist the alliance’s European nations in a major crisis, three sources familiar with the matter said. Under a framework known …

23-05-2026 WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Sweden for a meeting of NATO foreign ‌ministers this week where he will discuss the need for “greater burden sharing” by the alliance, and then visit India, the State Department said on Tuesday. Under President Donald Trump, US ties …

23-05-2026 TALLINN: Estonia has said a NATO fighter jet shot down a drone, which it suspects was a Ukrainian projectile knocked off course by Russian electronic jamming, over its territory. Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur said a Romanian F-16 fired a missile and drone debris fell in a marshy area in …

23-05-2026 KINSHASA: Fear has gripped Ebola-hit areas in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as the suspected number of deaths continues to rise, as officials say they are struggling to catch up to an outbreak that may have previously been spreading undetected. “Ebola has tortured us,” says a taxi rider in …

22-05-2026 WASHINGTON/ TEHRAN: United States President Donald Trump says he has decided to pause an attack on Iran at the behest of Gulf leaders after Tehran sent a new peace proposal to Washington through Pakistan. On Monday, Trump said there is now a “very good chance” the US could reach …

22-05-2026 By SJA Jafri + Agencies ISLAMABAD/ BANGKOK: Thailand’s cabinet has approved a drastic reduction to its visa-free entry scheme for tourists from more than 90 countries. The decision, issued yesterday, shifts the country away from a sweeping 60-day visa exemption introduced in July 2024 to stimulate its post-pandemic recovery. …

22-05-2026 WASHINGTON: The United States has announced another 30-day extension of a sanctions waiver for countries buying Russian oil and petroleum products currently already loaded on tankers at sea, as global energy markets have been roiled by the US-Israel war on Iran. In a post on social media on Monday, …

22-05-2026 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: India state-fuel retailers raised petrol and diesel prices by less than a rupee per liter on Tuesday, the second increase in a week to recover some losses from ‌high crude prices resulting from the Iran war. After the rise of roughly 0.9 rupees ($0.0093), consumers …