International

14-04-2023 DOHA: Qatar and Bahrain are resolving a years-long dispute and restoring diplomatic ties. Delegates from the two countries met on Wednesday at the headquarters of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) General Secretariat in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, the countries’ foreign ministries said in separate statements. Both sides met to …

14-04-2023 OTTAWA/ BEIJING: When Member of Parliament Kenny Chiu was contacted by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) ahead of Canada’s federal election in 2021, he was puzzled. He had never expected to be part of a CSIS investigation, let alone one that required an in-person talk at the height …

14-04-2023 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW YORK/ ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund has slashed the growth outlook for cash-strapped Pakistan, forecasting the South Asian country’s fragile economy will grow just 0.5 percent this year, down from 6 percent in 2022. The latest data on Pakistan’s ailing economy was released by …

14-04-2023 UNITED NATIONS/ LUANDA/ KINSHASA: Women and children have been raped and subjected to other abuses during a mass expulsion of migrant workers from Angola to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a doctor, officials and the United Nations say. Angola has deported thousands of workers in recent months, according …

14-04-2023 PYONGYANG: Amid heightened tension in the Asia Pacific region, South Korea has said that North Korea has fired a new kind of long-range ballistic missile, sparking fear among the masses in Japan to take cover. However, it later turned out to be not dangerous. A military official from South …

14-04-2023 KHARTOUM: The Sudanese army says a paramilitary group headed by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo has mobilized its forces in the capital, Khartoum, and other cities, a move that raises the prospect of confrontation with the armed forces. The army said in a statement on Thursday that members of the …

13-04-2023 WASHINGTON/ SANA’A: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has spoken with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in a phone call that mostly discussed the continuing peace talks in Yemen that have raised hopes of finally ending the years-long conflict there. The call, in which Sullivan highlighted …

13-04-2023 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW YORK/ ISLAMABAD: A prominent rights body has slammed Pakistani authorities for “forcibly evicting” thousands of farmers for an infrastructure project near Lahore city, the capital of the eastern Punjab province. In a report published on Tuesday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the authorities should …

13-04-2023 SINGAPORE CITY/ YAMOUSSOUKRO: A Singapore-registered oil tanker has been boarded by “unidentified persons” about 300 nautical miles (555km) off Ivory Coast in the Gulf of Guinea, the city-state’s port authority said. The Gulf of Guinea was long known as a hotspot for global piracy, with insurance firm Beazley offering …

13-04-2023 JERUSALEM: Israel has halted visits by Jews and tourists to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound after a wave of unrest in the holy city of Jerusalem. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement on Tuesday that visits by non-Muslims to the sacred compound which is known to Muslims as …