International

23-04-2026 LONDON/ DUBAI: Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained broadly halted on Tuesday with only three ships passing the waterway in the past 24 hours, shipping data showed. A US blockade ‌of Iranian ports has infuriated Tehran, prompting it to maintain its own restrictions on the strait, which …

23-04-2026 BRUSSELS: NATO criticized Russian and Chinese nuclear arms policies on Tuesday and urged both countries to work with the United States to establish greater ‌stability and transparency at an upcoming international conference. In a statement, NATO’s 32 members underlined their “strong commitment to the full implementation” of the Treaty …

23-04-2026 TOKYO: Japan has relaxed decades-old restrictions on its arms exports, clearing the way for it to sell weapons to more than a dozen countries. The announcement on Tuesday marks a milestone in Tokyo’s shift away from the pacifism that has characterized its post-war defence policy. It also comes at …

23-04-2026 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: In the heart of India’s capital city New Delhi, a few men are practicing the ancient Mughal tradition of pigeon-rearing, training the birds to navigate long ‌distances, as they preserve a skill passed on for generations. Every day, among the packed lanes near the Jama …

23-04-2026 TEHRAN/ WASHINGTON: Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said Iran is “prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield” after United States President Donald Trump threatened Tehran with “problems like they’ve never seen before” if the two-week ceasefire expires on Wednesday without a deal. The war of words comes …

23-04-2026 LUXEMBOURG: Spain, Slovenia and Ireland have urged the European Union to debate suspending its association agreement with Israel, saying the bloc can no longer remain “on the sidelines” as conditions worsen in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and Lebanon. Speaking before a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg …

22-04-2026 By SJA Jafri + Agencies WASHINGTON/ TEHRAN/ ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would indefinitely ​extend the ceasefire with Iran, hours before it was set to expire, to allow the two countries to continue peace talks ‌to end a war that has killed thousands of people …

22-04-2026 LONDON: Scientists believe footballs could be designed to reduce the impact of heading after new research discovered the action caused a previously unreported pressure wave energy transfer to the brain. The Football Association-backed study by Loughborough University found this was up to 55 times greater in some footballs than …

22-04-2026 WASHINGTON: The Trump administration has begun processing refunds for billions of dollars in tariffs that the US Supreme Court struck down in February. In what is to be the biggest repayment program in history, companies can apply online for money they were charged under the so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs …

22-04-2026 WELLINGTON: New Zealand has declared a state of emergency in its capital city Wellington as torrential rain and flash flooding drenched the country’s North Island. Footage online shows vehicles submerged, trees uprooted and houses hit by landslides. Wellington received a record 77mm (3in) of rain in less than an …