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09-03-2026 BAGHDAD: The leader of an Iranian Kurdish nationalist group based in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region has told media that it is “highly likely” that Iranian Kurds will stage a cross-border ground operation into Iran. Babasheikh Hosseini, the secretary-general of the Khabat Organization of Iranian Kurdistan, said on Friday …

08-03-2026 LONDON/ CANBERRA: This week, several countries in Europe announced that they are sending military assistance to the Middle East and the Mediterranean amid the ongoing US-Israel-Iran war, which has seen a strike on a British military base on Cyprus. On Thursday, Australia also announced it will send “assets” to …

08-03-2026 NEW YORK: The number of jobs in the US economy fell last month, an unexpected contraction that has renewed questions about whether the labor market in the US might be starting to crack. Payrolls in the US dropped by 92,000 and the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4%, according …

08-03-2026 BEIRUT/ JERUSALEM: Israeli airstrikes pounded the southern suburbs of Beirut overnight and on Friday, smashing up city streets in an escalating conflict with Iran-backed Hezbollah that has sent tens of thousands of Lebanese from their homes. Israel ordered everyone in the densely-populated suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, to leave before …

08-03-2026 BAGHDAD/ TEHRAN: Iran has spent decades and billions of dollars preparing foreign proxy fighters like A.J., a commander in a pro-Iranian paramilitary group in Iraq, for a moment just like this. Since the US and Israel went to war on the Islamic Republic a week ago, A.J. has been …

08-03-2026 UNITED NATIONS/ KABUL: Pakistani and Afghan troops exchanged fire at dozens of points along their border on Friday as the UN said their week-old conflict has forced the displacement of more than 100,000 people. The South Asian nations show no signs of rapprochement ‌in their worst fighting in years, …

08-03-2026 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: The southern Indian state of Karnataka, home to the tech hub of Bengaluru, ‌banned the use of social media by those under the age of 16 on Friday, becoming the first in India to join global calls for more scrutiny of minors’ digital usage. Concerns …

08-03-2026 KYIV: The US has asked Ukraine for help defending Gulf allies against Iranian drones, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. He said Ukraine’s partners had been reaching out and there had been “requests from the American side”. Zelensky said he had given instructions “to provide the necessary means and ensure …

07-03-2026 BEIRUT: Hezbollah has deployed elite fighters to confront Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, sending them back into the border region from which they withdrew after a war in 2024, three Lebanese sources familiar with the deployments said, as the ‌Iran-backed group wades deeper into the conflict in the Middle …

07-03-2026 HAVANA: Millions of people were left without power in Cuba on Wednesday, the latest in a string of blackouts to hit the island as it struggles with fuel shortages worsened by pressure from the US. Two-thirds of the island was plunged into darkness following what officials described as an …