International

15-07-2021 DUBAI/ RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have reached a compromise deal in a standoff over OPEC+ crude output quotas, according to media reports citing sources within OPEC+. Earlier this month talks between OPEC and its allies led by Russia, a grouping known as OPEC+, fell apart …

15-07-2021 ISTANBUL/ JERUSALEM/ GAZA: Turkey and Israel agreed to work towards improving their strained relations after a rare phone call between their presidents; a spokesman for Turkey’s ruling AK Party said on Wednesday. The two countries expelled ambassadors in 2018 after a bitter falling-out. Ankara has condemned Israel’s occupation of …

14-07-2021 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report ISLAMABAD/ KABUL: The Taliban continued with their onslaught against the Afghanistan government Wednesday, as a spokesperson of the group said they had captured the important Spin Boldak border crossing with Pakistan. “The (Taliban) Mujahideen have captured an important border town called Wesh in …

14-07-2021 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies BEIJING/ ISLAMABAD: At least 17 people, including at least nine Chinese nationals and two Pakistani soldiers, have died after the bus they were travelling in plunged into a ravine in a remote region of northern Pakistan, officials said. In a statement …

14-07-2021 JOHANNESBURG: Crowds clashed with police and ransacked or burned shopping malls in South Africa on Tuesday with dozens reported killed as grievances unleashed by the jailing of former President Jacob Zuma boiled over into the worst violence in decades. Protests that followed Zuma’s arrest last week have widened into …

14-07-2021 GENEVA: The World Health Organization’s (WHO) chief scientist Tuesday warned against mixing and matching coronavirus vaccines, referring to it as a “dangerous trend”. “It’s a little bit of a dangerous trend here. We are in a data-free, evidence-free zone as far as mix and match,” Soumya Swaminathan told an …

14-07-2021 ILLINOIS: Illinois has become the first US state to require teaching Asian American history in government-run schools. Attacks on Asian Americans have been rising since the start of the pandemic, and state officials say the law will combat false stereotypes and bigotry. Schools will be required to teach about …

13-07-2021 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: An organization of top Indian doctors has warned that a third wave of COVID is inevitable as travel restrictions ease across the country. Photos and videos of tourists flocking to popular destinations have gone viral in recent days. Videos show that most of them are …

13-07-2021 DUBAI: The world’s deepest swimming pool for underwater diving has opened in Dubai, where people can descend 60 metres (197 ft) to a sunken city-themed landscape and play arcade games. Dubai, a tourism and business hub with desert terrain and months of scorching summer temperatures has a reputation for …

13-07-2021 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies KABUL/ ISLAMABAD/ WASHINGTON:  The US general leading the war in Afghanistan, Austin Miller, relinquished command on Monday at a ceremony in Kabul, in what was a symbolic end to America’s longest conflict ever as Taliban gain momentum across the country. Miller, …