International

05-03-2026 HOUSTON: Authorities have identified the two people fatally shot outside a bar in Austin, Texas when a gunman opened fire in the early hours of Sunday. Ryder Harrington, 19, and Savitha Shan, 21, died in the shooting outside a beer garden popular with University of Texas students, police said. …

05-03-2026 BEIRUT: Lebanon’s government on Monday banned military activities by Hezbollah after it opened fire on Israel to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, a move ‌likely to fuel tension with the Tehran-backed group as it faces a new Israeli offensive. The government’s decision, which was rejected by a …

05-03-2026 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: India, a fast-growing oil consumer, is the country most vulnerable to crude supply shocks if the Middle East conflict leads to a prolonged disruption in shipments from the region, mainly because of its thin reserves, analysts said. Both China and India, Asia’s top energy consumers, …

05-03-2026 TEHRAN: A commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said the Strait of Hormuz is closed and warned that any vessel attempting to pass through will be attacked, according to Iranian state media. “The strait is closed. If anyone tries to pass, the heroes of the Revolutionary Guard …

05-03-2026 WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has suggested that a planned Israeli attack on Iran determined the timing of Washington’s assault on the government in Tehran. The top diplomat told reporters on Monday that Washington was aware Israel was going to attack Iran, and that Tehran would retaliate …

04-03-2026 By SJA Jafri + Agencies ISLAMABAD/ KABUL: Residents of Kabul’s District 6 were awakened abruptly on Thursday night by the sound of an explosion that shook their homes. They rushed out in the street and heard jets flying overhead. It was a night that saw a serious escalation in …

04-03-2026 TEHRAN: The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, has refuted media reports in the United States claiming he had made a new push to resume nuclear talks with Washington, as Israel and the US have continued attacks on Tehran. “We will not negotiate with the United …

04-03-2026 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI/ PTTAWA: India and Canada will aim to conclude a free trade ⁠pact by ⁠the end of this year, says Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, as the ⁠two countries seek to boost economic ties after two years of a strained relationship. Speaking after talks …

04-03-2026 DUBAI/ DOHA/ MANAMA: Loud explosions were heard in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and the Qatari capital ‌of Doha for a third consecutive day of ⁠Iranian retaliatory strikes on neighboring Gulf states in response to ongoing attacks by the United States and ⁠Israel on Iran. Loud bangs and …

04-03-2026 NICOSIA/ LONDON: The United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force base ⁠of Akrotiri in Cyprus has witnessed a suspected Iranian drone attack overnight, the island’s president and the British Ministry of Defence said, after Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK would allow the United States to use its bases to …