International

23-10-2023 BEIJING: China’s leading intelligence agency announced on Sunday that a Chinese national employed by a defence institute in the country has been accused of spying for the United States. The case has been transferred to a court in Chengdu for trial, highlighting China’s growing focus on national security, the …

23-10-2023 TEHRAN: An Iranian teenage girl who lapsed into a coma earlier this month following an alleged encounter with authorities regarding her violation of the country’s hijab law is reportedly in a “brain-dead” state, as reported by Iranian state media on Sunday. The situation was initially made public by human …

23-10-2023 VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis has called for an end to the Hamas-Israel conflict, expressing concerns about its potential escalation. During his customary Angelus prayer in Saint Peter’s Square, Rome, he emphasized the destructive nature of war and pleaded, “Stop, Stop! Brothers, stop.” The conflict began when Hamas attacked Israel …

23-10-2023 CAIRO: Arab leaders attending the Cairo Summit for Peace on Saturday condemned the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, while European nations emphasized the need to protect civilians amid relentless Israeli bombing. Notably, Israel and high-ranking US officials were absent from the meeting, and as a result, there was no consensus …

23-10-2023 LONDON/ JERUSALEM: As Israeli forces continue to intensify their cataclysmic assault on the occupied Gaza Strip, Amnesty International has documented unlawful Israeli attacks, including indiscriminate attacks, which caused mass civilian casualties and must be investigated as war crimes. The organization spoke to survivors and eyewitnesses, analyzed satellite imagery, and …

23-10-2023 KYIV: Dozens people hurt in a missile attack late Saturday night at distribution centre in Eastern Ukraine. Defence officials confirmed that six postal workers have been killed and a further 19 injured after a missile hit a centre late night. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram the Nova …

23-10-2023 JERUSALEM/ GAZA CITY: Israel carried out an air strike in Jenin in the northern West Bank early on Sunday, saying Hamas was using a mosque as a “terrorist compound”. Palestinian Authority officials said two people died when the Al-Ansar mosque was hit. Although the Israeli military regularly raids targets …

23-10-2023 MANILA: The Philippines has accused China’s coast guard of colliding with a Filipino supply boats in the South China Sea. The Filipino vessel was on its way Sunday to a Philippine outpost in the Second Thomas Shoal, where tensions have escalated in recent weeks. Manila said Beijing’s “dangerous blocking …

By SJA Jafri 22-10-2023 ISLAMABAD/ LAHORE: Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan’s thrice-elected former prime minister, has returned home after four years of self-exile in the United Kingdom to stand in next year’s elections against his biggest rival, former premier Imran Khan. The 73-year-old veteran politician arrived by chartered flight to Pakistan’s capital …

22-10-2023 OCCUPIED WEST BANK: Israeli forces targeted the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank after announcing intensifying airstrikes on Gaza ahead of a planned ground invasion. The airstrike targeted a mosque associated with the Jenin Brigade, labeled an “underground terrorist group” by Israel, reported media on Sunday. According …