International

05-04-2023 BRUSSELS: The Finnish flag is due to be raised at North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters in Brussels, as Russia’s western neighbor becomes the 31st member of the Western alliance. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and the US Secretary of State will join NATO ministers for a joining ceremony. Finland’s …

05-04-2023 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report KABUL/ BALKH/ ISLAMABAD: Taliban forces have killed six members of the ISIL armed group (ISIS) in Afghanistan’s northern Balkh province during an overnight raid, a Taliban spokesman said on Tuesday. The raid comes as the Taliban rulers crack down on the regional affiliate …

05-04-2023 LONDON: UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman has been accused of peddling extremist far-right lies about Pakistanis after she singled out British Pakistani men over concerns about grooming gangs as she accused authorities of turning a “blind eye” to signs of abuse involving young people. Braverman’s comments, tantamount to racist …

04-04-2023 By SJA Jafri ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Supreme Court has declared the country’s poll panel’s decision to delay the assembly elections in two provinces as “unconstitutional”. The top court on Tuesday ordered the government to hold snap polls in the most populous province of Punjab on May 14. The court’s verdict …

04-04-2023 HAGUE: On March 17, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and its Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova for the war crimes of illegal deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation. The crimes …

04-04-2023 Bureau Report KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: The Taliban have shut down a women-run radio station in Afghanistan after accusing it of playing music during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Associated Press reported on Saturday. The station called Sadai Banowan, which means ‘women’s voice’ in Dari, was the only women-run radio …

04-04-2023 CARACAS: At least 44 people have been arrested in Venezuela in an anti-corruption sweep of the state oil company PDVSA and other related government bodies. The crackdown began on March 17 after a communique was issued by the anti-corruption police, who called for the prosecution of officials who “could …

04-04-2023 Bureau Report NEW DELHI/ GUJARAT: Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has lodged an appeal against his conviction for defamation, hoping to overturn a judgment that resulted in his expulsion from parliament a year before general election is due. A court in Gujarat state’s Surat city on Monday accepted his …

04-04-2023 Bureau Report MELBOURNE: The former principal of an Australian ultra-Orthodox Jewish School, Malka Leifer, was found guilty of sexually abusing two former students by a Melbourne court on Monday, local media reported. Leifer, who also holds Israeli citizenship, was extradited to Australia from Israel in 2021 after fleeing the …

04-04-2023 ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan encouraged his supporters to “teach the US a lesson” in forthcoming parliamentary and presidential elections at a rally in Bagcilar district in Istanbul on Sunday. The longtime Turkish leader criticised US Ambassador to Ankara Jeff Flake for meeting with his chief election rival, …