News

HONG KONG banned a political party which promotes independence, a first since the city was handed back to China by Britain 21 years ago as Beijing ups pressure on any challenges to its sovereignty. Semi-autonomous Hong Kong enjoys freedoms unseen on the mainland including freedom of expression but the space ...

BERLIN: The German government said it was relieving controversial spy chief Hans-Georg Maassen of his duties and moving him to a different post, defusing a row that had rocked Chancellor Angela Merkel’s fragile coalition. “Mr Maassen will become state secretary in the interior ministry,” Merkel and the leaders of her ...

KABUL: About 16,633 Afghan refugees had returned or been deported from neighboring Pakistan and Iran to Afghanistan during the period of Sept. 9-14, the UN migration agency IOM reported Wednesday. A total of 969 undocumented Afghans returned from Pakistan, making an increase of 8 percent compared to the previous week ...

LOKOJA: Nigeria has declared a national disaster after severe flooding left about 100 people dead across 10 states, the country’s main relief agency said. Heavy seasonal rains have caused the Niger and Benue rivers to burst their banks, inundating communities, farms and trapping tens of thousands of people in their ...

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and the North’s leader Kim Jong Un opened a new round of talks at a summit in Pyongyang with the North Korean nuclear arsenal high on the agenda, but Seoul warned they may not reach an agreement. Moon is on a three-day trip to the ...

ISLAMABAD: The United Kingdom and Pakistan on Monday launched a partnership to track corruption and restart the bilateral transfer of prisoners. During a joint news conference here, Law Minister Barrister Farogh Naseem and British Home Secretary Sajid Javid announced that the ‘UK-Pakistan Justice and Accountability Partnership’ would work towards repatriation ...

LONDON: A charity announced Britain’s first safe house for trafficked children, aiming to tackle the high number of victims who go missing while in the care of authorities, who campaigners say lack a clear strategy to tackle the crime. As many as two-thirds of all trafficked children rescued and placed in ...

NEW YORK: The United States accused Russia of “cheating” on UN sanctions against North Korea with plans for a railway project, oil transfers and ongoing business dealings with Pyongyang. Russia shot back and charged that Washington was blocking steps to foster cooperation between North and South Korea and using a ...

BRUSSELS:- A Belgian police officer received a knife wound to the head and his alleged attacker was shot and left in a “serious condition” on Monday, Brussels police said. “There is no definitive answer about the identity of the suspect. The suspect’s motives are not known. We have no indication ...

US President Donald Trump stood firmly by his Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh Monday after allegations that the conservative judge sexually assaulted a woman when they were teenagers threatened to derail the nomination process. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley canceled a vote on Kavanaugh planned for Thursday and said ...