International

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that if the alleged contents of a diplomatic cipher — which ex-premier Imran Khan cited as proof of a conspiracy to remove his government — published in a US-based news organisation were true, it was tantamount to a “massive crime”. The purported cipher — sent to Islamabad last year by Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US …

OSLO: Norway’s data protection agency said on Tuesday it would start fining Facebook and Instagram owner Meta nearly $100,000 per day for defying a ban on using users’ personal information to target ads. The Norwegian watchdog, Datatilsynet, said Meta would be fined one million kro­ner ($97,000) per day, starting August 14. Tobias Judin, head of Datatilsynet’s international department, said the …

India’s parliament debated a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on Tuesday, a day after opposition leader Rahul Gandhi returned to the house. The opposition Congress party launched the debate in a bid to force comment from Modi on months of deadly ethnic conflict in northeastern Manipur state, with a vote potentially to be held on Thursday. Government minister Kiren Rijiju said …

JERUSALEM: Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has frozen funds for Arab towns and Palestinian education programmes in East Jerusalem, citing crime and safety fears and prompting accusations of racism. Smotrich, a key member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s nationalist-religious government, said on Monday some of the budget funds meant for Arab local councils were a political pay-off by the previous …

TEHRAN: Iranian authorities have questioned or arrested over 90 journalists since nationwide protests rocked the Islamic republic last year, local media reported on Tuesday. Mass demonstrations erupted in September 2022 following the death in custody of 22-year-old Iranian-Kurd Mahsa Amini. Hundreds of people inclu­ding security forces were killed and thousands arres­ted over their participation in what the authorities have described as “riots” fomented …

FORBACH: A German man, arrested in France after his wife said he had been holding her captive for 12 years, was released on Tuesday without charges, the lead prosecutor in the case said. Police arrested the 55-year-old on Monday after his wife was found naked in a poor state following what she said was captivity at the couple’s home since …

WASHINGTON: PTI supporters in the US, disappointed with Washington’s reluctance to take a strong position on Imran Khan’s arrest, now want a congressional delegation to visit the country and share their experience with the Biden administration. “We have approached members of the House Foreign Affairs Com­mittee, urging them to visit Pakis­tan,” said Atif Khan, a California Democrat and the PTI chairman’s adviser for …

BUAN: Tens of thousands of scouts were being evacuated on Tuesday from their problem-plagued South Korean campsite to safer areas ahead of a looming typhoon, as Seoul scrambled to accommodate and entertain them. The mass exodus is the latest blow to the jamboree, which has already seen hundreds of scouts fall ill during a sweltering heatwave, prompting the early withdrawal …

CAIRO: The Saudi government has set up a new council, under the direct control of the king, to supervise the affairs of the two holiest mosques of Islam, Saudi state media said on Thursday. The new body will “preside over the religious affairs” of the two holy mosques in Makkah and Medina, according to a government statement on state news …

ISLAMABAD: Briefing a parliamentary panel about the Greek boat tragedy on Tuesday, officials from the Ministry of Fore­ign Affairs said that the res­ponse from Greek auth­o­rities on human rights vio­la­tions had been ‘limited’. The officials told the Standing Committee on Human Rights that 291 Pakistanis were on board when the boat capsized off the coast of Greece. Only 12 Pakistanis survived; 11 …