International

05-01-2026 SANA’A/ RIYADH: Yemen’s southern separatists welcomed on Saturday a call for dialogue by Saudi Arabia to end a recent military escalation, a potential sign that an unusually public confrontation between the kingdom and the United Arab Emirates may be easing. The fast-moving crisis in Yemen has opened a major …

05-01-2026 PARIS/ DAMASCUS: Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have joined French aircraft in a joint strike on an underground arms cache in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), the UK Ministry of Defence says. The facility, identified by intelligence, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the …

05-01-2026 WASHINGTON: Since coming down the escalator in 2015 to announce his first presidential run, Donald Trump has presented himself as a break from the traditional hawkish foreign policy in the United States. The US president has even criticized some of his political rivals as “warmongers” and “war hawks” but …

05-01-2026 RIYAZ: Saudi Arabia has called for Yemen’s southern factions to attend a “dialogue” in Riyadh, after deadly air strikes and a surprise independence bid by UAE-backed separatist militia. In a statement posted to social media early on Saturday, the Saudi foreign ministry urged “a comprehensive conference in Riyadh to …

05-01-2026 MOSCOW: Russia finished 2025 with what Ukraine described as an information operation designed to avoid engaging in peace talks and continue its war, despite suffering staggering casualties for meagre territorial gains this year. On 29 December, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Ukraine of attempting to assassinate Russian President …

04-01-2026 WASHINGTON: After months of threats and pressure tactics, the United States has bombed Venezuela and toppled its president, Nicolas Maduro, who was seized and taken to New York (NY), where he will be put on trial. Maduro arrived on Saturday evening at an American military base after his “capture” …

04-01-2026 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI/ VANCOUVER: Canada’s transport regulator has asked Air India to investigate an incident of a pilot who was removed from a plane before it was due to take off and found to be under the influence of alcohol, a person familiar with the matter …

04-01-2026 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report ISLAMABAD/ KARACHI/ LAHORE: A court in Pakistan has sentenced several journalists and social media commentators to life imprisonment after convicting them of inciting violence during riots in 2023 linked to the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. An anti-terrorism court judge, Tahir …

04-01-2026 UNITED NATIONS/ GAZA STRIP: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on Israel to reverse a pending ban on 37 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. In a statement on Friday, Guterres called the work of the groups “indispensable to life-saving humanitarian work”, according …

04-01-2026 BERN: A fire at a bar in a Swiss ski resort appears to have been caused by sparklers placed on bottles of champagne that came “too close to the ceiling”, authorities said. Forty people died after the blaze in the early hours of New Year’s Day in Crans-Montana, while …