13-02-2021 WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden has no plans to call the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), the White House said. Biden said he intends to make human right a key issue in US-Saudi relations, which he pledged during the 2020 election campaign. …
Read More »Dozens killed in blasts & clashes across Afghanistan
13-02-2021 Bureau Report + Agencies KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: Dozens more Afghan security force members, including a commander, have been killed and seven critically injured in blasts in eastern and southern provinces, officials say, adding that three civilians were injured in the east. No armed group immediately claimed responsibility for the three …
Read More »Biden administration aims at shutting down Guantanamo prison
13-02-2021 WASHINGTON/ GUANTANAMO BAY: The Biden administration has launched a formal review of the future of the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba with the goal of reviving efforts to close the controversial facility, a White House official said on Friday. Aides involved in internal discussions are considering …
Read More »Australia introducing legislation asking Google to pay for news
13-02-2021 Bureau Report CANBERRA/ MELBOURNE: Australia will next week introduce landmark legislation to force Alphabet’s Google and Facebook to pay publishers and broadcasters for content, a senior government official said on Friday. The legislation, which Google says will be “unworkable”, will make Australia the first country to require Facebook and …
Read More »European powers warn Iran over uranium metal production
12-02-2021 PARIS/ LONDON/ BERLIN/ TEHRAN: The United Kingdom (UK), France and Germany have condemned Iran’s decision to produce uranium metal, which they said was in breach of commitments made by Iran to the international community. The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog said earlier this week that Iran had followed through on …
Read More »Trump lawyers set for speedy Senate defence
12-02-2021 WASHINGTON: Donald Trump’s defence lawyers are set to present evidence in the US Senate, denying charges he incited insurrection in the Capitol riots of 6 January. The team has indicated it may take up only four of its 16 hours, and so move the impeachment trial to a speedy …
Read More »BBC World News prohibited from airing in China
12-02-2021 BEIJING/ LONDON: British television channel BBC World News has been barred from airing in China, the National Radio and Television Administration said Thursday. The development came a week after Britain’s media regulator revoked Chinese state television’s broadcast licence. In a statement issued on the stroke of the Lunar New Year, …
Read More »5 Afghan soldiers killed in attack on UN convoy
12-02-2021 Bureau Report KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: A United Nations convoy has been attacked on the outskirts of Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, with unidentified gunmen killing five Afghan security force members who were escorting the international agency’s vehicles. An Afghan interior ministry official said the Taliban was believed to be behind the attack …
Read More »‘French Muslims will suffer under separatism rules’
11-02-2021 By SJA Jafri + Agencies + Bureau Report PARIS/ LONDON/ KARACHI: Riots are expected in France while the anger has increased across the world against anti-Muslim and anti-Islam legislation by alleged so-called human and civil rights champions known as ‘French Parliamentarians’ under the direct supervision of their President, sources …
Read More »India, China to pull back troops from Himalayan Border
11-02-2021 Bureau Report NEW DELHI/ BEIJING: India and China have agreed to disengage troops from a bitterly contested lake area in the western Himalayas, the Indian Defence Minister said, in a breakthrough after a months-long standoff on the disputed border. Rajnath Singh told Parliament on Thursday the accord had been …
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