News

WASHINGTON: The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group earlier arrived for patrols in the Arabian Sea, with the US reportedly ready to deploy as many as 120,000 troops to the Middle East to counter alleged threats from Tehran. British Special Forces have flown to the Middle East in the framework of a ...

BEIJING: Chinese authorities have formally arrested on state secrets charges two Canadians detained last year, the government said, drawing condemnation from Canada in a case that is likely to further increase tension between Ottawa and Beijing. Businessman Michael Spavor, who worked with North Korea, and former diplomat Michael Kovrig were ...

TAIPEI: Taiwan’s parliament on Friday discussed measures to legalize same-sex marriage ahead of a landmark vote that could make the self-ruled island the first in Asia to adopt such legislation, despite deep divisions over marriage equality. In Taipei, the capital, thousands of supporters of same-sex marriage gathered outside parliament, which ...

WASHINGTON: President Trump has reportedly informed acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan that he does not want to see the US go to war with Iran amid rising tensions in the Middle East region. On Wednesday Trump raised the issue of war with the Islamic Republic during a briefing on the status of US forces in the ...

KARACHI: The British Backpacker Society’s, 7-member team latest visit to Pakistan has come to an end on Tuesday, after a memorable few days in Islamabad and Karachi. In a statement British Backpacker Society, said that Pakistan visit has been a fantastic opportunity for a 7-member team to learn more about ...

BAGHDAD: The US ordered all non-emergency staff to leave its embassy in Baghdad and consulate in Arbil, citing intelligence on a “imminent” threat from Iraqi militias with close links to Iran. The evacuation order came 10 days after President Donald Trump ordered the movement of an aircraft carrier task force ...

LONDON: An Iranian woman has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in Iran for spying for the UK, officials say. Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said the woman had been “in charge of the Iran desk” of the British Council, a cultural organisation. She confessed to “co-operating” with British intelligence, ...

PARIS: Less than two weeks before voting begins, French President Emmanuel Macron’s the Republic on the Move (LREM) party consolidated its lead over its far-right rival Marine Le Pen for the due European elections, a poll released on Wednesday showed. The centrist ruling party list for the European contest, headed ...

UNITED NATIONS: Escalating religious-based violence in the North Western Province of Sri Lanka have prompted two senior United Nations officials  to call for an end to “hateful attacks” directed towards the country’s Muslim minority. “It is in the interest of all ethnic and religious groups in Sri Lanka , as ...

LATVIA: A second Albanian soldier has died of his injuries from a World War II landmine blast last week during a NATO exercise in Latvia, the Baltic state’s defence minister said Wednesday. Klodian Tanushi, who held the rank of major, died following surgery at a Riga hospital over the weekend, ...