Kabul: U.S. President Joe Biden s announced pullout of troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11 has jeopardised Washington s push for peace with Taliban Islamists and increased the chances of an upsurge in violence, sources say. Biden announced the withdrawal, pushed back from a May 1

Moscow: Russia banned top officials from US President Joe Biden s administration from entering the country and announced a wave of tit-for-tat sanctions and expulsions of diplomats, as tensions soar between the rivals. The Russian action comes a day after Washington announced sanctions against Moscow and

Yangon: A “parliament” working in hiding to oust Myanmar’s junta from power announced a new shadow government with deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi at its helm alongside ethnic minority politicians. The country has been in turmoil since the military detained Suu Kyi and seized power,

Paris: The global Covid-19 death toll passed three million on Saturday as the pandemic continues to speed up despite vaccination campaigns, leading countries like India to impose new lockdowns to fight spiralling infection numbers. It is the latest grim milestone after the novel coronavirus surfaced in

Paphos: Cyprus hosted a meeting on Friday of top diplomats from Israel and the UAE, as well as Greece, for talks they said reflected the “changing face” of the Middle East. “This new strategic membership stretches from the shores of the Arabian Gulf” to the Mediterranean

Madrid: Crowds will return to Madrid’s Las Ventas bullring for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic next month for a charity bullfight to raise money for matadors left jobless by COVID-19, officials said on Saturday. Almost all of Spain’s bullrings, or plazas,

Saint Petersburg:  Russia’s FSB security service said on Saturday it had detained a Ukrainian diplomat, accusing him of receiving sensitive information from a Russian national. In recent years Russia has detained a number of Ukrainian nationals on suspicion of spying but the detention of a diplomat

Kuwait City: The Kuwait government has extended the grace period for illegal expatriates by an additional month that was due to expire on Thursday. The Kuwaiti Interior Minister Thamer Al Ali issued a decree for the extension of a grace period for illegal foreign residents till

Sao Paulo: Brazilian health regulator Anvisa rejected a request from the government to import doses of Covaxin, the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Indian laboratory Bharat Biotech, citing a lack of safety data and documentation. “The importer did not present all the documents required by law,” said

Islamabad: Pakistan has said that Kashmir remains central to any meaningful engagement with India. “We believe durable peace, security and development in the region hinge on peaceful resolution of the long-standing Jammu and Kashmir dispute,” Foreign Office spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhry told a press briefing here. “We,