International

01-01-2022 SHANGHAI: According to recent McKinsey research, 2021 was a year of transformation: people, corporations and society began to look ahead to influencing their futures rather than just surviving the present. It was the year that premature hopes for herd immunity, an end to pandemic lockdowns, and a return to …

01-01-2022 COLORADO: Hundreds of homes have been destroyed and tens of thousands evacuated in Colorado, United States, after wildfires driven by high winds engulfed two towns near the state capital, Denver. At least one first responder and six others were injured on Thursday, though Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle acknowledged …

01-01-2022 BERLIN: Germany on Friday is shutting down half of the six nuclear plants it still has in operation, a year before the country draws the final curtain on its decades-long use of atomic power. The decision to phase out nuclear power and shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy …

31-12-2021 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report WELLINGTON/ CANBERRA: The year 2022 is here in some countries, with the inhabitants of the South Pacific islands of Samoa and Kiribati the first to start the New Year at 10:00 GMT, and New Zealand following an hour later. In Australia, Sydney kicked …

31-12-2021 Bureau Report NEW DELHI/ ISLAMABAD: Naseeruddin Shah, one of the most highly regarded Bollywood actors, has warned of a civil war in Modi-led India as calls for a genocide against Muslims and ethnic cleansing in India continue to create headlines. “If it comes to the crunch, we will fight …

31-12-2021 Bureau Report KABUL/ BUBAI/ ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan’s former president has defended his decision to flee the country as the Taliban closed in earlier this year, saying he did it to prevent the destruction of Kabul. The Taliban seized power in August after taking control of the capital. Ashraf Ghani revealed …

31-12-2021 TEHRAN/ VIENNA: Iran has launched a satellite carrier rocket bearing three research devices into space, according to state media, as difficult negotiations over its tattered nuclear deal with world powers continue in Vienna. The reports on Thursday did not say when the launch was conducted, nor what devices the …

31-12-2021 WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden’s first year in office was a rollercoaster, marked by legislative victories and major political setbacks and with midterm elections set for November, next year promises to be even tougher. When Biden was inaugurated this past January, outgoing President Donald Trump’s supporters were still angling …

30-12-2021 Bureau Report MELBOURNE: A motor neurone disease patient, Philip O’Keefe, has become the first person to send a tweet to the world using only direct thought, with the help of a microchip implant that picked up his brain signals. O’Keefe is a 62-year-old man from Australia with amyotrophic lateral …

30-12-2021 RIYADH: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will re-implement social distancing as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus surges across the globe. On Wednesday, the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque decided that worshippers and Umrah performers would have to maintain social distance …