International

09 October, 2019 By SJA Jafri + Agencies ISTANBUL/ DAMASCUS: Turkey has boosted its forces on the Syrian border ahead of a long-threatened incursion that could target Kurdish-led forces allied to the US. Troops would cross into Syria “shortly”, a presidential aide said. Turkey wants to create a “safe zone” …

08 October, 2019 By SJA Jafri RIYADH/ MELBOURNE: Last month, the Saudi Kingdom announced the launch of a new tourist visa program, opening up the country to mass tourism for the first time and now, Saudi Arabia has gone one step further in its bid to encourage international tourists. Unmarried …

06 October, 2019 By SJA Jafri RIYADH/ TEHRAN/ ISLAMABAD/ MELBOURNE: The US President Donald Trump has not only surprisingly refused the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman (MBS) for any military action against Iran but also advised to seek its own solution to the conflict while …

‘No magic solution’ to problems: Mahdi 04 October, 2019 By SJA Jafri BAGHDAD/ WASHINGTON/ MELBOURNE: The entire world has not only condemned the violent protests in Iraq but also rejected the ‘Jewish Agenda’ to sabotage billions of people’s traditional annual Arbaeen Walk from Najaf to Karbala around 82 kilometers in …

03 October, 2019 By SJA Jafri + Agencies PARIS/ MELBOURNE: ‘A very Wuss, untrained, inexperienced, unarmed and oppressed-looking knife-wielding assailant’ has slaughtered at least four ‘well-equipped and armed commandos’ during an attack at the central police headquarters in the French capital, Paris, while the worst performance, incompetency, immaturity, inexperience  and …

03 October, 2019 By SJA Jafri + BBC LONDON/ MELBOURNE: A London court has ruled that £35m ($42m) held in a UK bank account must go to the descendants of an Indian royal, and not to Pakistan. The dispute began in 1948 when the last Nizam (king) of Hyderabad Deccan …

01 October, 2019 By SJA Jafri RABAT/ MELBOURNE: A Moroccan journalist has been sentenced to a year in prison for premarital sex and having an abortion, in a case activists say is part of a crackdown on critical reporters. Hajar Raissouni was arrested with her fiancé as they left a …

28 September, 2019 By SJA Jafri + Agencies NEW YORK/ MELBOURNE: While Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi avoided any mention of Kashmir in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, Pakistan’s Imran Khan launched an extraordinary attack on his Indian counterpart, warning of a “bloodbath” in the disputed region. Khan on Friday said …

UN commits to fighting ‘fake news’ 27 September, 2019 By SJA Jafri + AJ NEW YORK/ MELBOURNE: World leaders have gathered in New York City for the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The meeting comes amid simmering tension in the Middle East over recent attacks on Saudi Arabian …

25 September, 2019 By SJA Jafri + AJ NEW YORK/ BEIJING/ MELBOURNE: A senior counsel with an independent tribunal has urged the top United Nations human rights body to investigate evidence that China is murdering members of the Falun Gong spiritual group and harvesting their organs for transplant. Hamid Sabi on …