07-07-2020 BAGHDAD: An Iraqi analyst who was a leading expert on the Islamic State and other armed groups was shot dead in Baghdad on Monday after receiving threats from Iran-backed militias. Gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on Hisham al-Hashimi, 47, outside his home in the Zeyouneh area of Baghdad, …
Read More »UK imposes sanctions on 49 people, organizations
07-07-2020 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies LONDON/ RIYADH, MOSCOW: The UK is imposing sanctions on 49 people and organizations behind the most “notorious” human rights abuses of recent years. Individuals implicated in the death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in 2009 will have their UK assets frozen …
Read More »India becomes 3rd worst coronavirus-hit country
06-07-2020 NEW DELHI: India has overtaken Russia with the world’s third-highest number of novel coronavirus cases, at nearly 700,000, according to the latest data, as the outbreak shows no sign of slowing. India registered 24,248 positive cases in the last 24 hours taking the tally to 697,413, according to the …
Read More »China ‘pulling back troops’ after deadly border clash: India
06-07-2020 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI/ BEIJING/ ISLAMABAD: China has begun pulling back troops from along its contested border with India, Indian government sources have said, following the worst clash between the two nuclear-armed neighbors in nearly 50 years, which left 20 Indian soldiers dead. …
Read More »‘Iran has Underground Missile Cities along Southern Coasts’
06-07-2020 TEHRAN: The commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Navy said Iran has established onshore and offshore missile cities all along the coasts of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman that would be a “nightmare” for the enemy. In an interview with Sobh-e Sadeq weekly, Rear Admiral …
Read More »Latest round of Black Lives Matter protests in Australia
05-07-2020 Bureau Report SYDNEY: Thousands of people have gathered in New South Wales for peaceful Black Lives Matter rallies, calling for racial equality and action against Indigenous deaths in custody. Thousands rallied in Sydney on Sunday and hundreds more demonstrated in Newcastle. The Newcastle protest proceeded with authorization by the …
Read More »PEMRA suspends “pro-Shia” TV channel 24NewsHD’s licence
05-07-2020 By Syed Jaffer Abbas Jafri + Agencies KARACHI/ ISLAMABAD/ LAHORE: The Pakistan Electronic Media Authority Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on Friday suspended with “immediate effect” allegedly “pro-Shia” television channel 24NewsHD’s licence for “illegal transmission of news and current affairs content”. According to a press release issued by the regulatory authority, …
Read More »WHO reports over 212,000 new coronavirus cases in one day
05-07-2020 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies GENEVA/ LONDON/ HOUSTON: Over 212,000 new coronavirus cases were reported globally by the World Health Organization (WHO) – the highest single-day increase since the start of the pandemic. WHO said that it was discontinuing its trials of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine …
Read More »Trump at White House’s Independence Day event
05-07-2020 WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump has vowed to defeat the “radical left” in a July Fourth Independence Day speech at the White House, condemning recent efforts to remove or rethink monuments to historical figures as attempts to destroy the US. Trump claimed without evidence that 99 percent of …
Read More »UK offers home to 3 million Hong Kong citizens
04-07-2020 LONDON/ CITY OF VICTORIA/ BEIJING: Boris Johnson’s government will allow almost 3 million Hong Kong citizens to move to the U.K., risking a further escalation of tensions with China after it enforced a sweeping security law on the former British colony. Speaking in the House of Commons on Wednesday, …
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