International

01-10-2023 RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is determined to secure a military pact requiring the United States to defend the kingdom in return for opening ties with Israel and will not hold up a deal even if Israel does not offer major concessions to Palestinians in their bid for statehood, three regional …

01-10-2023 ALBERT, GLASGOW: Amid ongoing diplomatic tensions between Canada and India over the murder of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, an Indian envoy was denied entry to Gurdwara Albert in Glasgow on Friday. There has been a ban on Indian officials from visiting Gurdwaras in their official capacity after Canadian …

01-10-2023 KAZAN/ KABUL/ AFGHANISTAN: A consultative meeting of Afghanistan’s neighbors and other regional states, including China and India, has asked the Taliban government to prevent the country from being “a terrorism and instability hotspot” an endorsement of concerns Pakistan has been raising. The demand came in the declaration issued after …

01-10-2023 NEW YORK: New York City experienced significant disruption on Friday as torrential downpours triggered flash flooding after a week of non-stop rainfall, and New Yorkers were not impressed by their mayor at all. New York Mayor Eric Adams was seriously criticized for his tardy response to Friday’s devastating floods …

30-09-2023 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI/ OTTAWA: The deadly bombing of an Air India flight in 1985 is back in the news after relations between India and Canada hit a new low. Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country was investigating “credible allegations” that could link …

30-09-2023 Bureau Report + Agencies SYDNEY/ MELBOURNE: Don’t run. Travel in groups. Carry an umbrella and wear sunglasses on the back of your head. These are some of the ominous warnings issued in Australia each spring, as magpies and humans begin their annual turf war. Streets and parks become a …

30-09-2023 JERUSALEM/ GAZA: In the dark after midnight, it was like rush hour in the northern Gaza Strip. Thousands of Palestinian workers had heard that Israel was to open its side of the Erez crossing at dawn after 12 days of closure in response to renewed violent protests by the …

30-09-2023 STOCKHOLM: Sweden’s prime minister has summoned the head of the armed forces to help curb a surge in gang killings. The two men and the country’s police chief will meet on Friday to discuss what role the military could play. It comes after a bloody 12 hours that saw …

30-09-2023 WASHINGTON: The US has offered a $5m (£4.1m) reward for details leading to the arrest of the “masterminds” who orchestrated the assassination of an Ecuadorean presidential candidate. Fernando Villavicencio, who campaigned against corruption, was shot dead at a rally in August. Organized crime was behind the killing, Ecuador’s president …

30-09-2023 PARIS: Four of six women rescued from the back of a lorry in France on Wednesday must leave the country within 30 days, a French public prosecutor said. The four Vietnamese and two Iraqi women were found by police after getting into the lorry, which they believed was heading …