International

02-12-2021 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report ISLAMABAD/ LAHORE/ KARACHI: Last month, Pakistan lifted a ban on the hardline Islamist party, Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), which has been the face of anti-France protests over the reprinting of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The TLP’s jailed leader, as well as hundreds …

02-12-2021 MUNICH: Four people were hurt, one seriously, when a World War Two bomb blew up on a railway construction site in the German city of Munich. The fire brigade says it happened during drilling work near Donnersberger Bridge, close to the main station. As a result rail traffic in …

02-12-2021 The EU has revealed details of a €300bn (£255bn; $340bn) global investment plan, described as a “true alternative” to China’s Belt and Road strategy. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the Global Gateway scheme should become a trusted brand. China has funded rail, roads and ports but …

02-12-2021 MOSCOW/ WASHINGTON: Tensions between Russia and the United States have further soured a day before top officials from both countries are set to meet, with Moscow moving to expel US diplomats. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that US embassy staff who have been in Moscow …

01-12-2021 BAGHDAD: The political bloc led by Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr was confirmed the winner of the October parliamentary election. Iraq’s independent election commission announced the final results on Tuesday following weeks of recounting and intensified rejection from the losing parties. Five seats changed as a result of the appeals …

01-12-2021 GENEVA/ LONDON/ NEW YORK: The World Health Organization called Tuesday for countries to keep calm and take “rational” measures in response to the new coronavirus strain Omicron. “We call on all member states to take rational, proportional risk-reduction measures,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a briefing to …

01-12-2021 KHARTOUM: Sudanese security forces fired tear gas to disperse pro-democracy protesters near the presidential palace in the capital, Khartoum, as tens of thousands marched against military rule following last month’s coup. The rally on Tuesday was the latest show of opposition to military rule since last month’s coup that …

30-11-2021 WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden on Monday told Americans not to “panic” over the newly identified COVID variant Omicron and said he does not foresee new lockdowns or extending travel restrictions for now. The virus variant, first detected in South Africa but already appearing in multiple countries, “is a cause …

30-11-2021 STOCKHOLM: Sweden’s first female prime minister has been reappointed to the top job after political turmoil forced her to resign within hours of taking the post last week. MPs backed Social Democratic Party leader Magdalena Andersson by a narrow margin in a new vote on Monday. She will attempt …

30-11-2021 Roadblocks were set up by demonstrators across much of cash-strapped Lebanon after the currency plummeted to a historic low. Protesters across Beirut, Tripoli, Saida, and other cities closed highways and intersections on Monday morning with their vehicles, and put tyres and rubbish dumpsters on fire. They called on the …