BEIJING: After an American fighter jet shot down the Chinese balloon that had floated across the United States, the reaction from Beijing — defensive, angered, yet hedging its options — illustrated the challenges facing China’s leader, Xi Jinping, as he tries to stabilise relations while giving little, if any, ground.Hours …
Read More »Military general who morphed into many roles in a roller-coaster career
ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf’s death in Dubai on Sunday from the ravages of a rare and debilitating disease marks the end of a roller-coaster and often unlikely journey that saw him transition from four-star general to military dictator to wannabe statesman to a pariah standing trial for treason.Musharraf, …
Read More »Iran opposition leader calls for referendum amid protests
DUBAI: A long-detained opposition leader in Iran is calling for a nationwide referendum about whether to write a new constitution for the Islamic Republic amid nationwide protests shaking the country. Mir Hossein Mousavi‘s call, posted late Saturday by the opposition Kaleme website, included him saying he didn’t believe Iran’s current …
Read More »Pope Francis wraps up South Sudan trip, urges end to ‘blind fury’ of violence
JUBA: Pope Francis wound up a peace mission to South Sudan on Sunday urging the people to make themselves immune to the “venom of hatred” to achieve the peace and prosperity that have eluded them through years of bloody ethnic conflicts.Francis presided at an open-air Mass on the grounds of …
Read More »SpaceX may attempt Starship launch in March: Elon Musk
SpaceX may attempt a Starship rocket system launch in March, its billionaire chief Elon Musk said in a tweet on Saturday.“If remaining tests go well, we will attempt a Starship launch next month,” Musk said, in a response to a user’s tweet about Starship.Musk had in January said that there …
Read More »Oil industry in Pakistan on verge of ‘collapse’ amid liquidity crisis
ISLAMABAD: Oil companies in cash-strapped Pakistan have warned that the industry is on the “brink of collapse” as the dollar liquidity crisis persists and their cost of doing business balloons due to the rupee’s devaluation.The government removed the dollar cap to meet the International Monetary Fund‘s (IMF) demand which resulted …
Read More »Firefighters battle dozens of wildfires in Chile, death toll at 22
SANTIAGO: Dozens of wildfires blazing though Chile caused the government to extend an emergency order to another region on Saturday, as a scorching summer heatwave complicates efforts to control fires that have claimed at least 22 lives so far. The emergency order declared by the interior ministry now covers the …
Read More »Pakistan to seek Afghan Taliban leader’s help to control TTP
PESHAWAR: A desperate Pakistan has sought Afghan Taliban chief Haibuttallah Akhundzada‘s help to rein in the outlawed Pakistani Taliban outfit responsible for a wave of terror attacks in the country, including the recent Peshawar mosque carnage that killed over 100 people, according to a media report on Saturday.Pakistan has been …
Read More »Wikipedia blocked in Pakistan on account of ‘blasphemous content’
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has blocked Wikipedia due to the website’s refusal to remove allegedly offensive or blasphemy material.Earlier, the telecom regulator had degraded the portal’s services in the country, The News reported Saturday.When a PTA spokesperson was contacted late Friday night and inquired about the blocking of …
Read More »I became UK PM as I felt it was my dharma: Rishi Sunak
LONDON: UK PM Rishi Sunak says that despite all the difficulties he knew he would face as PM, he took the role up because he felt it was his “dharma” to help the country.In an interview with “Piers Morgan Uncensored” on Thursday night to mark the 100th day of his …
Read More »