International

06-01-2021 LONDON: Julian Assange has been refused bail by a judge who ruled in his favour days ago, by blocking the United States’ attempt to extradite him. Wednesday’s ruling by District Judge Vanessa Baraitser at London’s Westminster Magistrates Court means the WikiLeaks founder will continue to be held at the …

06-01-2021 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report ISLAMABAD/ PESHAWAR: Pakistan’s Supreme Court has ordered the rebuilding of a Hindu temple that was badly damaged by an angry mob near the northwestern town of Karak last week. During a hearing in the capital Islamabad on Tuesday, Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed ordered …

06-01-2021 DOHA/ KUWAIT/ AL-ULA (SAUDI ARABIA): The Emir of Qatar on Tuesday arrived in Saudi Arabia to attend the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit where he was greeted at the airport by the kingdom’s Crown Prince (CP) Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) with a tight embrace. Gulf leaders also signed a …

05-01-2021 Bureau Report LAHORE: Human rights campaigners have welcomed a decision by a Pakistani regional court outlawing so-called “virginity tests” in rape examinations. The ruling, which applies in Punjab province, will end the practice of physical checks for an intact hymen and the invasive “two-finger test”. The Lahore High Court …

05-01-2021 Bureau Report + Agencies CANBERRA/ LONDON/ WASHINGTON: Julian Assange is “free to return home” to Australia if a US extradition bid fails in the British courts, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Tuesday, as Australian legislators urged Washington to drop its espionage case against the WikiLeaks founder. Morrison’s comments …

05-01-2021 TEHRAN/ LYON/ WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has had a “red notice” request for his arrest issued through Interpol by Iran. Iranian judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili announced during a press conference on Tuesday that Iran has requested the international police organisation to arrest Trump and 47 other American officials identified …

05-01-2021 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report MACH/ QUETTA/ ISLAMABAD/ KARACHI/ MELBOURNE: An Islamic State (IS) group, a terrorist wing of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for an attack Sunday that killed 11 miners from Pakistan’s minority Shiite Hazaras in Balochistan province. The attack took place early on Sunday morning …

04-01-2021 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report MACH/ QUETTA/ ISLAMABAD/ KARACHI: Hundreds of members of Pakistan’s ethnic Shia Hazara community have held a protest against the killing of 10 coal miners in a targeted attack in the southwestern province of Balochistan, refusing to bury their dead until the government meets …

04-01-2021 LONDON/ WASHINGTON/ MELBOURNE: A British judge is set to reveal whether she has approved Julian Assange’s extradition to the United States, where the WikiLeaks founder would face espionage charges for publishing secret US military documents. District Judge Vanessa Baraitser is expected to deliver the decision at 10:00 GMT on …

04-01-2021 BAGHDAD: Thousands of Iraqi mourners have condemned the “American occupiers”, a year after a United States drone strike killed Iran’s revered general Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia commander, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. The anniversary of their deaths in Baghdad which brought arch enemies the US and Iran to the brink …