China slams reported plan for US B-52 bombers in Australia

Canberra: The United States is preparing to deploy up to six nuclear-capable B-52 bombers in northern Australia, a news report said Monday, prompting China to accuse the U.S. of undermining regional peace and stability. The United States is preparing to build dedicated facilities for the long-range bombers at Royal Australian Air Force Base Tindal in […]

US partnering with India to enable it play ‘broader stabilising role’ in Indo-Pacific: senior Pentagon official

US partnering with India to enable it play ‘broader stabilising role’ in Indo-Pacific: senior Pentagon official

Washington: The US wants to make sure that it is partnering with India in its defence modernisation plans and to better enable it to play a “broader stabilising role” in the strategic Indo-Pacific region, according to a senior Pentagon official. The Biden administration has taken several steps to strengthen the India-US defence relationship since it […]

Secretary of State Blinken speaks to EAM Jaishankar; discuss Ukraine war

Secretary of State Blinken speaks to EAM Jaishankar; discuss Ukraine war

Washington: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a telephonic conversation with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and discussed the ongoing Ukraine war, counterterrorism and other regional and global issues. Jaishankar thanked Blinken for his “strong and clear message” on counter-terrorism as well as his call for holding those responsible for the 26/11 Mumbai attacks […]

US midterms: Democracy at stake, says Obama in election campaign rally

US midterms: Democracy at stake, says Obama in election campaign rally

WASHINGTON: Former US president Barack Obama said Friday that democracy is at stake in next month’s midterm elections in the United States, as he hit his first stop on the campaign trail. The Democratic power player, who remains a hugely popular figure in his party, told a boisterous rally in Georgia that everyone had to […]

2022 likely deadliest for Palestinians in West Bank: UN

2022 likely deadliest for Palestinians in West Bank: UN

WEST BANK: The U.N. Mideast envoy said 2022 is on course to be the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank since the U.N. started tracking fatalities in 2005, and he called for immediate action to calm “an explosive situation” and move toward renewing Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. Tor Wennesland told the U.N. Security Council that […]

Twitter in sane hands, no longer run by radical left lunatics: Former US president Trump

Twitter in sane hands, no longer run by radical left lunatics: Former US president Trump

WASHINGTON: Former US president Donald Trump on Friday hailed the sale of Twitter to tech billionaire Elon Musk, but declined to commit to rejoining the platform. Musk, the world’s richest man, saw his $44 billion bid to buy the company concluded late Thursday after months of uncertainty and speculation. “I am very happy that Twitter […]

Pak govt denies reports that FM Bilawal told UAE to expel journalist Arshad Sharif

Islamabad: Pakistan’s foreign ministry on Friday described as “baseless and fabricated” the reports that Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari wrote a letter to the UAE authorities to expel journalist Arshad Sharif who was killed in Kenya. Sharif, 49, fled Pakistan in August for the UAE and later went to Kenya where he was killed on […]

Kenyan police charged with crimes against humanity

NAIROBI: In a landmark decision, Kenyan prosecutors said on Friday they would charge police officers with crimes against humanity over a deadly crackdown on post-election protests in 2017. The charges cover rape, murder and torture and include the case of a six-month-old baby girl whose death became a symbol of police brutality during the bloody […]

Islamabad police bars hotels from accommodating participants of Imran Khan’s long march

Islamabad: In an unusual move, Islamabad police on Saturday barred hotels and guest houses in the federal capital from providing accommodation to the participants of the long march led by former Pakistan premier Imran Khan to force the government to announce a date for early general elections. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has […]

Russia says US lowering ‘nuclear threshold’ with newer bombs in Europe

LONDON: Russia said on Saturday that the accelerated deployment of modernised US B61 tactical nuclear weapons at NATO bases in Europe would lower the “nuclear threshold” and that Russia would take the move into account in its military planning. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has triggered the gravest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the […]