International

20-06-2021 Bureau Report KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has replaced two top ministers charged with managing the country’s faltering security, as the Taliban presses on with their campaign to capture new territory in fierce battles with government forces. The shake-up of the defence and interior ministry portfolios comes as …

20-06-2021 BRASILIA: Thousands of people have taken to the streets across Brazil to protest against President Jair Bolsonaro’s pandemic response as the country’s COVID-19 death toll surpassed 500,000. Protesters across the country blasted the administration for the high death toll and called for the removal of the president. Brazil has …

19-06-2021 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report TEHRAN/ ISLAMABAD: Hardliner Ebrahim Raisi is set to be Iran’s next president after winning most of the votes counted so far. He beat three other candidates in a poll in which most would-be candidates were barred from standing. Raisi is Iran’s top judge …

19-06-2021 QUORA: People in Hong Kong have queued up to buy copies of the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily a day after its newsroom was raided by police. The front page carried a message of defiance, reading: “We must press on.” The paper typically prints about 80,000 copies but increased that …

19-06-2021 WASHINGTON: US Catholic bishops are on a potential collision course with President Joe Biden after voting to commission a document that may call for him to be barred from Holy Communion. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) clashed online over whether to draw up a teaching document on …

19-06-2021 NAY PYI TAW (BURMA): The United Nations (UN) has issued a rare call to halt to arms sales to Myanmar in response to this year’s violent military coup. The General Assembly adopted a resolution condemning the military junta, which overthrew the country’s elected government in February. The UN also …

18-06-2021 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report WASHINGTON KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: After 30 years’ continuous research, evaluation and cross-analysis on reporting, stories, news and views of Press Media of India (PMI) and one of most credible Pakistan-based English dailies known as “Messenger” regarding the Taliban’s existence mainly in Pakistan, “Shia target …

18-06-2021 OTTAWA: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has nominated Justice Mahmud Jamal as the next member of the Supreme Court of Canada, the first Muslim judge to take the seat. He will replace Justice Rosalie Abella, who retires from the top court on Canada Day, according to CBC news. “I know …

18-06-2021 Bureau Report LUCKNOW/ NEW DELHI: Indian villagers have erected a shrine to “goddess corona” and are offering her prayers in the hope that divine intervention can banish the deadly virus. Devotees in Shuklapur village, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, have been offering prayers, holy water, and flowers …

18-06-2021 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies TEHRAN/ ISLAMABAD: When the polls open on Friday for Iran’s presidential election, four men will be on the ballot, but one enjoys a significant lead over the others. Observers predict Iran’s eighth president will be elected with very low turnout amid …