29-07-2021 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies KABUL/ KANDAHAR/ ISLAMABAD: Last week, Kawsar Sama and her family packed up their belongings and got on a flight to the capital city of Kabul. For the 21-year-old and her family, life in the southern city of Kandahar had become dangerous …
Read More »Khamenei reiterates ‘untrustworthy nature’ of West
29-07-2021 TEHRAN: The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said one of the realities that the outgoing Iranian administration experienced during two terms was that putting trust in the West is futile, since the Westerners do not offer any help and seize every opportunity to harm Iran. Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei …
Read More »Saudi Arabia threatens 3-year ban for citizens of ‘red list’ countries
28-07-2021 RIYADH/ LONDON: Saudi Arabia will impose a three-year travel ban on citizens travelling to countries on the kingdom’s ‘red list’ under efforts to curb the spread of coronavirus and its new variants, state news agency SPA said on Tuesday. It cited an unnamed interior ministry official as saying some …
Read More »Watchdogs, reporters seek release of Kandahar journalists
28-07-2021 KANDAHAR/ KABUL: The arrest of four journalists in Kandahar by the National Directorate of Security, NDS, the country’s intelligence agency, has sparked reactions from watchdog organizations who say the four must be released and the reason for their detention should be made clear. Three of the journalists–Bismillah Watandost, Qudrat …
Read More »Concerns as India builds rail network in remote state near China
28-07-2021 KOLKATA/ NEW DELHI: India’s ambitious railway project to connect a small northeastern Indian state along its border with China to the rest of the country is raising concerns among local forest dwellers and environmentalists. The 45km (28-mile) project, work on which began in 2009, connects Sevoke in eastern state …
Read More »14,000 scientists warn climate tipping points ‘imminent’
28-07-2021 NEW YORK: Thousands of scientists have repeated calls for urgent action to tackle the climate emergency, warning that several tipping points are now imminent. The researchers, part of a group of more than 14,000 scientists who have signed on to an initiative declaring a worldwide climate emergency, said in …
Read More »Deadly protests over water shortage in Iran
27-07-2021 TEHRAN: People in Iran’s southwestern Khuzestan province are desperate. Suffering from drought and water shortages since March, they’ve taken to the streets in the last couple of weeks to express their anger with the government and its poor management of water resources. According to official sources, at least four …
Read More »US combat forces to leave Iraq by end of year
27-07-2021 WASHINGTON/ BAGHDAD: President Joe Biden has said US combat forces will leave Iraq by the end of this year, though troops will continue to train and advise the Iraqi military. The announcement came after Biden held talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi at the White House. There are …
Read More »Afghan civilian deaths up by 47 percent: UN
26-07-2021 UNITED NATIONS/ KABUL: Nearly 2,400 Afghan civilians have been killed or injured in May and June as fighting between the Taliban and Afghan security forces escalated, the highest number for those two months since records started in 2009, the United Nations said on Monday. The UN’s Assistance Mission to …
Read More »Saudi Arabia allows ‘immunized’ overseas pilgrims for Umrah
26-07-2021 RIYADH: The Saudi Arabia’s authorities have decided to allow only immunized overseas pilgrims against COVID-19 to perform Umrah form 9th of August (Muharram 1). According to Hani Ali Al-Amiri, member of the National Committee for Hajj and Umrah, the aspiring pilgrims can book Umrah packages and make all the …
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