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27-05-2021 TEHRAN: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has urged Iranians to ignore calls to boycott next month’s presidential election after a decision to exclude several prominent figures from running. “Do not pay attention to those who promote that voting is useless,” Khamenei said during a speech to legislators via …

27-05-2021 KIGALI/ PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron, in a visit to Rwanda, has said France recognized its “responsibility” in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, asking for forgiveness for his country’s role but without offering an official apology. His comments on Thursday came during a solemn speech at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, …

26-05-2021 Bureau Report WASHINGTON/ KARACHI: The first lunar eclipse of 2021 will take place today (Wednesday. However, the spectacle will not be visible in Pakistan due to daylight. The Super Flower Blood Moon had already taken place at 11:39am in the day while the total lunar eclipse is supposed to …

26-05-2021 DAMASCUS: A war-battered Syria headed to the polls on Wednesday, with analysts predicting Syrian President Assad to extend his term in the country by winning a fourth term. The controversial vote is the second election since the start of a decade-long conflict that has killed more than 388,000 people …

26-05-2021 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: Doctors fighting a ferocious second wave of the coronavirus in India are furious over “insulting and insensitive” remarks made by a yoga guru and businessman, with their union serving a defamation notice and demanding an “apology within 15 days”. “Allopathy is a stupid and bankrupt …

26-05-2021 WASHINGTON: The U.S. passed another major milestone Tuesday in its race to vaccinate the population against COVID-19. Half of U.S. adults’ more than 129 million people over 18 are now fully vaccinated against the virus, according to data from the US Centre for disease Control and Prevention. The CDC …

26-05-2021 GAZA CITY: Suzan Matar watched the building that housed her eight-year-old business crumble live on television. It was one of the several landmark structures targeted by Israeli fighter jets during its 11-day assault on the besieged Gaza Strip. The nine-floor al-Johara Tower in the heart of Gaza City was …

26-05-2021 BAGHDAD: A protester died Tuesday after being shot as clashes erupted between demonstrators and Iraqi security forces in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square, Iraqi security officials and a rights monitor said. Security forces used live ammunition to disperse crowds after protesters began throwing stones, witnesses and Iraqi officials said. The officials …

25-05-2021 Bureau Report BIRMINGHAM/ LONDON/ ISLAMABAD: Councillor Muhammad Afzal has become Birmingham’s new Lord Mayor and was sworn in to be the “first citizen” of the city where he’s lived for more than 50 years now. Afzal, who was first elected as a councillor way back in 1982 from the …

25-05-2021 Bureau Report CANBERRA/ KABUL: Australia has said it will shut its embassy in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul on Friday, as the withdrawal of international troop’s proceeds. In a statement, Canberra talked of “an increasingly uncertain security environment” in the country. It said Australian diplomats would visit Afghanistan regularly – but …