International

Australia and Britain said on Friday that a landmark deal to develop AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines would go ahead, despite mounting fears about costs, capabilities and the possible return of Donald Trump. Under the fledgling AUKUS deal, the two countries along with the United States have pledged to beef up their military muscle in a bid to counter China’s rise. Defence chiefs this …

A top Indian opposition politician appeared in court on Friday to fight his arrest in a case supporters say is aimed at sidelining challengers to Prime Minister Narendra Modi before next month’s election. Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister of the capital Delhi and a key leader in an opposition alliance formed to compete against Modi in the polls, was detained on Thursday in …

BRUSSELS: Highlighting the importance of nuclear energy in combating climate change, Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Thursday called for the international financial institutions and banks to support nuclear energy projects in developing countries to enable them to meet their energy needs and achieve zero emissions goals. Mr Dar stated this during his meeting with Intern­ational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) …

By: Raja Zahid A Khanzada Houston, Texas: A mammoth gathering on Sunday, March 17, 2024, at the Bayou City Center in Houston of over 2,000 persons made it again the largest Iftar Dinner event in the United States of America. Silver Jubilee of America’s largest Annual Houston Iftar Dinner was organized for the past many years by the Muslim Sister …

GAZA STRIP: US top diplomat Antony Blinken touched down on Wednesday in the Middle East to bolster international efforts to secure a truce in the war, as the threat of famine looms in besieged Gaza. Global concern has mounted over the military conflict now in its sixth month. The latest flare-ups included an Israeli assault on Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital complex, an …

PARIS: The world threw away a record amount of smartphones, televisions and other electrical devices in 2022, the UN said on Wednesday, warning this avalanche of dumped gadgets was polluting the planet. Less than one quarter of the 62 million tonnes of e-waste produced in 2022 was recycled, resulting in heavy metals, plastics and toxic chemicals leaking from junked devices. …

MOSCOW: Russia launched a furious tirade at the International Olym­pic Committee (IOC) on Wednesday, arguing the IOC’s restrictions on Rus­sian athletes and its criticism of the Moscow-orga­nised Friendship Games amo­unted to “neo-Nazism”. The IOC on Tuesday both barred Russian athletes from taking part in the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics on July 26 and criticised the Kremlin for …

NEW YORK: Democrats and Republicans dominate the US two-party political system, but independent candidates like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other third-party challengers could have a major impact in this year’s presidential election. This news agency spoke to a dozen strategists who are gaming out how a third-party candidate could land in the unusual US electoral college system. Early scenarios …

HELSINKI: Finland remained the world’s happiest country for a seventh straight year in an annual UN sponsored World Happiness Report published on Wednesday. And Nordic countries kept their places among the 10 most cheerful, with Denmark, Iceland and Sweden trailing Finland. Afghanistan, plagued by a humanitarian catastrophe since the Taliban regained control in 2020, stayed at the bottom of the 143 countries surveyed. For …

DUBLIN: Leo Varadkar on Wednesday announced that he was stepping down as Ireland’s prime minister and leader of the Fine Gael party in the governing coalition, citing “personal and political” reasons. Pundits called the surprise move, just 10 weeks before Ireland holds European Parliament and local elections, a “political earthquake”. A general election also has to be held within a …