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Bureau Report MELBOURNE: Australian authorities say they will extend a lockdown of the country’s second-biggest city, Melbourne, as they struggle to quell a coronavirus outbreak driven by the highly infectious Delta variant. The announcement on Sunday came as the number of COVID-19 infections in Victoria State, of which Melbourne is …

29-08-2021 WASHINGTON/ TAXES: Thousands of people are demonstrating in the United States capital and in several cities across the country to demand voting rights protection amid a barrage of state-level legislation that would impose ballot restrictions. Held on the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s historic 1963 March on Washington, organizers …

28-08-2021 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies WASHINGTON/ KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: The United States forces helping to evacuate Afghans desperate to flee Taliban rule were on alert on Saturday for more attacks after an ISIL-affiliated suicide bombing killed at least 175 people. Thirteen US service members and 162 Afghans …

28-08-2021 COPENHAGEN: A group of scientists say they have discovered by luck what they believe is the world’s northernmost island off Greenland’s coast. In July, the scientists flew to collect samples to what they thought was Oodaaq Island, that has been known since 1978 but when they checked their position …

28-08-2021 JERUSALEM/ KABUL: As Western troops race to evacuate as many people as possible and get out of Afghanistan by August 31, the US pull-out deadline, an Israel-based organization said it is working to evacuate Afghans on private flights from Kabul airport. The organization is chartering private flights to Kabul …

28-08-2021 WUHAN/ BEIJING: Arriving at the gate to the Hubei Wildlife Rescue Centre on the east side of the Chinese city of Wuhan near its famous lakes, you can hear the continuous squawking of birds and a cacophony of noises from the other animals inside. On the building to the …

27-08-2021 WASHINGTON/ KABUL: President Joe Biden has promised to hunt down the jihadists behind an attack in Kabul which killed at least 90 people – including 13 US troops. Biden warned the US would “not forgive” the perpetrators. The twin blasts, claimed by a local branch of Islamic State (IS), …

27-08-2021 BEIJING/WASHINGTON: China has criticized the United States of “politicizing” efforts to trace the origin of the coronavirus, demanding without any evidence that American labs be investigated, ahead of the release of a U.S. intelligence report on the virus. The U.S. report is intended to resolve disputes among intelligence agencies …

27-08-2021 BERLIN: Angela Merkel, the leader of the free world, is wrapping up a historic 16 years in power with an uncertain legacy at home and abroad. In office so long she was dubbed Germany’s “eternal chancellor”, Merkel, 67, leaves with her popularity so resilient she would likely have won …

27-08-2021 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies KABUL/ ISLAMABAD/ WASHINGTON: Suicide bombers struck the crowded gates of Kabul airport with at least two explosions on Thursday, causing a bloodbath among civilians, killing four US marines among 73 and effectively shutting down the Western airlift of Afghans desperate to …