19-01-2022 TEHRAN/ MOSCOW: Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has said his visit to Moscow could mark a “turning point” in bilateral relations between the two countries ahead of a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Before departing for the Russian capital on Wednesday for a two-day trip, the Iranian president described …

19-01-2022 Bureau Report KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: In the early hours of each morning, Muhajira rushes in freezing temperatures to a modest bakery in the Afghan capital to wait for warm naan to be distributed. On some days, it is all her family, and the others who have joined the queue will …

19-01-2022 ANKARA: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday he is open to mending Turkey’s frayed ties with Israel following a reported drop in US support for a controversial Mediterranean gas pipeline. Erdogan’s comments follow a year in which Turkey battered by an economic crisis at home has taken steps …

19-01-2022 BENGALURU/ NEW DELHI: When A H Almas, 18, and two of her friends stepped into their classroom on a December morning, the teacher immediately yelled at them: “Get out.” The Muslim girls were not allowed to sit in the classroom because they were wearing Hijab, or headscarf. “When we …

19-01-2022 SANA’A/ DUBAI: A deadly drone attack by Yemen’s Houthis on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has exposed the country’s vulnerability, analysts say, while also jeopardising its reputation as a tourism and business hub and pushing it towards rapprochement with Iran. The attack on Monday targeted a key oil facility …

19-01-2022 BAGHDAD: The threat of worsening violence looms over Baghdad again this week, underscoring the challenges faced by influential Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr, the leader of parliament’s biggest bloc, in his stated efforts to form a majority government following October’s contested election. In the latest in a number of attacks …

18-01-2022 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is famous for making scripted speeches, but a recent teleprompter malfunction exposed his inability to make an impromptu speech at an international platform. It happened when Modi went dumbstruck all of a sudden while speaking with sheer confidence and fluency …

18-01-2022 TOKYO/ AUCKLAND: The huge volcanic eruption in the Pacific island nation of Tonga could cause long-lasting damage to coral reefs, erode coastlines and disrupt fisheries, scientists studying satellite images have warned. Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai, an undersea volcano that erupted on Saturday triggering tsunami warnings across the Pacific, has been …

18-01-2022 ADEN/ DUBAI/ RIYADH/ SANA’A: An air strike killed about 14 people in a building in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, residents said on Tuesday, during strikes across the city launched by the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthi group. The alliance strikes on Houthi-held Sanaa followed an attack claimed by …

18-01-2022 BAGHDAD: Two explosions rocked the commercial district of Karrada in the center of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. The explosive attacks happened at around 10:00 p.m. local time on Sunday, according to local media that said at least two people were injured in the attacks. Two Kurdish-owned banks were reportedly …