International

20-07-2026 Bureau Report NEW DELHI/ MUMBAI: India’s Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group has completed its planned fundraising after accepting bids worth 215 billion rupees ($2.25 billion) for a three-year rupee bond issue, three sources said on Friday. The long-delayed fundraising, ‌aimed at refinancing existing debt, was completed through an investment by …

20-07-2026 BEIJING: China’s economy slowed sharply in the quarter ending June, revealing vulnerabilities in the country’s growth model, which is predominantly propelled by exports with little appetite for domestic consumption, experts say. Gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter clocked in at 4.3 percent, the country’s slowest rate of …

20-07-2026 JERUSALEM: Israel’s parliament has officially dissolved, kicking off a high-stakes campaign for national elections on October 27. The dissolution of the 25th Knesset (parliament) on Friday paves the way for a vote that is seen as a critical referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political survival and his wars …

20-07-2026 TEHRAN/ DOHA. MANAMA: Tehran launched strikes against several countries across the Gulf and wider region overnight as the United States military raised its attacks on Iran. Reports on Friday morning said that Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, as well as Jordan and Syria, had been forced to take …

20-07-2026 WASHINGTON: United States Vice President JD Vance has accused some members of Israel’s government of trying to influence US public opinion ⁠to oppose a deal to end the war with Iran. In remarks made during an interview with US podcaster Joe Rogan that aired on Wednesday, Vance offered unusually …

19-07-2026 MOSCOW: Eight people have been killed across Ukraine in overnight and early morning Russian attacks, local officials say. In the Black Sea port of Odesa, three people were killed and another three injured in a “massive” drone and missile strike, regional head Oleh Kiper said. It was the fifth …

19-07-2026 TEHRAN: Iran has threatened to block further trading routes in the region, as the US launched a fresh wave of strikes on military targets. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the Strait of Hormuz would remain shut until the US ended its “acts of aggression”. They also threatened to close off …

19-07-2026 PARIS: French lawmakers will vote on Wednesday on a bill that would create a legal right to assisted dying for adults with incurable illnesses, capping an intense ethical and political debate. The proposed legislation would, under strict conditions, allow a person ‌who requests it to receive a lethal substance. …

19-07-2026 Bureau Report NEW DELHI/ BENGALURU: Ransomware group World Leaks has posted on the dark web a huge cache of files related to India’s largest nuclear plant, including purported blueprints of parts of its facilities and supplier details information it labelled as coming from Reliance Group. The Kudankulam Nuclear Power …

19-07-2026 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report Islamabad/ MUZAFFARABAD: At least nine people were killed in clashes in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Tuesday, as a planned protest march to the region’s capital, Muzaffarabad, temporarily stalled amid rising tensions. Security personnel raided a house on the outskirts of Rawalakot town in the …