Top News

24-11-2020 BEIJING/ VATICAN CITY: China has criticised Pope Francis over a passage in his new book in which he mentions the suffering of China’s Uighur Muslim minority group, saying his remarks have “no factual basis at all”. “People of all ethnic groups enjoy the full rights of survival, development, and …

24-11-2020 RIYADH/ JERUSALEM: Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister has denied reports that a meeting took place between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday. “I have seen press reports about a purported meeting between HRH the Crown Prince and Israeli officials during the recent visit …

24-11-2020 WASHINGTON: United States President-elect Joe Biden has been formally given the go-ahead by a federal agency to begin his transition to the presidency, shortly after the battleground state of Michigan certified him as the winner there. With the rapid-fire developments on Monday, President Donald Trump’s already languishing efforts to …

23-11-2020 KABUL/ ISLAMABAD/ KARACHI: An average of five children have been killed or wounded every day for the past 14 years in war-torn Afghanistan, a charity has found. Data from the UN showed at least 26,025 children were killed or maimed from 2005 to 2019, said Save the Children. The …

23-11-2020 ABUJA: Gunmen killed five worshippers and kidnapped at least 18 in an attack on a mosque in northwestern Nigeria’s Zamfara state, police said. Speaking to AFP news agency on Sunday, state police spokesman Mohammed Shehu said: “The bandits killed five worshippers and kidnapped 18 others, including the imam.” According …

23-11-2020 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report JERUSALEM/ RIYADH/ WASHINGTON/ ISLAMABAD: American Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have secretly visited Riyadh and met with Mohammad Bin Salman (MBS), the Crown Prince of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) on Sunday and finalized a clandestine plan …

23-11-2020 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report CANBERRA/ MELBOURNE/ SYDNEY: The omnipresent pandemic has wreaked havoc on the Australian airline industry, causing massive job cuts and career devastation. In this article, we will explore creative and innovative ways that Qantas and Virgin Australia pilots have adapted to their wings being …

22-11-2020 By SJA Jafri + Agencies + Bureau Report DOHA/ DUBAI/ RIYADH/ ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister says Riyadh is seeking a way to resolve the three-year rift with its Gulf neighbour Qatar. Commenting on the dispute on Saturday, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said Saudi Arabia is continuing …

22-11-2020 ALGIERS: The al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) group has chosen a new leader to replace Abdelmalek Droukdel, who was killed in June by French forces, the SITE monitoring group reported. Algerian Abu Obaida Yusuf al-Annabi, head of AQIM’s “Council of Dignitaries”, was named as Droukdel’s successor, SITE said. …

22-11-2020 ISTANBUL/ RIYADH: In a rare phone call since the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed ways of enhancing ties with King Salman of Saudi Arabia, his office said. The phone call came on the eve of the G20 leaders’ summit hosted by Riyadh on …