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16-07-2021 By SJA Jafri SPIN BOLDAK/ ISLAMABAD/ KABUL: Indian journalist Danish Siddiqui was killed on Friday while covering a clash between Afghan security forces and Taliban fighters in Kandahar, an Afghan commander said. Afghan Special Forces had been fighting to retake the main market area of Spin Boldak when Siddiqui …

16-07-2021 BEIRUT: Lebanon Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri stepped down on Thursday after failing to form a government for over the past eight months. Hariri resigned following a brief meeting with President Michel Aoun at Baabda Palace. “I withdrew from forming the government,” he told reporters. “Aoun demanded some amendments, which …

16-07-2021 JOHANNESBURG: The South African government plans to deploy 25,000 troops after days of widespread looting and violence. The military deployment – to counter riots sparked by the jailing of former President Jacob Zuma – would be the biggest since the end of apartheid. At least 117 people have died …

16-07-2021 SCHULD: At least 42 people have died in Germany and dozens were missing on Thursday as swollen rivers caused by record rainfall across western Europe swept through towns and villages, leaving cars upended, houses destroyed and people stranded on rooftops. Eighteen people died and dozens were unaccounted for around …

15-07-2021 WASHINGTON/ BEIJING: The US Senate has passed a bill to ban imports from China’s Xinjiang region, in response to alleged abuses of the mostly Muslim Uyghur minority group. The legislation would create an assumption that goods manufactured in Xinjiang are made with forced labour, unless proven otherwise. The Uyghur …

15-07-2021 Bureau Report KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: The Taliban have demanded the release of 7,000 prisoners as a condition for a three-month ceasefire, revealed a member of the Afghan government negotiator Thursday. “It is a big demand,” Nader Nadery said, adding that the Taliban have also demanded the removal of the Taliban’s …

15-07-2021 BAGHDAD: Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr has announced he will not take part in Iraq’s upcoming election in October, saying he is withdrawing his support from the current government and the one that will be elected to replace it. One of the most influential figures in Iraq, al-Sadr led a …

15-07-2021 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies KABUL/ WASHINGTON/ ISLAMABAD: The United States is set to begin evacuations of Afghan interpreters who assisted US-led forces during the conflict and are deemed to be at risk of Taliban. Operation Allies Refuge is set to start during the last week …

15-07-2021 DUBAI/ RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have reached a compromise deal in a standoff over OPEC+ crude output quotas, according to media reports citing sources within OPEC+. Earlier this month talks between OPEC and its allies led by Russia, a grouping known as OPEC+, fell apart …

15-07-2021 ISTANBUL/ JERUSALEM/ GAZA: Turkey and Israel agreed to work towards improving their strained relations after a rare phone call between their presidents; a spokesman for Turkey’s ruling AK Party said on Wednesday. The two countries expelled ambassadors in 2018 after a bitter falling-out. Ankara has condemned Israel’s occupation of …