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Daily Archives: February 17, 2021

Snowfall blankets Acropolis, halts vaccinations


February 17, 2021

ATHENS: Heavy snowfall blanketed the Acropolis and other ancient monuments in Athens and halted Covid-19 vaccinations in the Greek capital on Tuesday as the weather brought many services across the country to a standstill. The snow, an unusual sight in the city of more than three million residents, also stopped most public transport services, while toppled trees caused blackouts in …

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Taliban call on US to honour withdrawal deal


February 17, 2021

KABUL: The Taliban on Tuesday urged the US to honour a landmark withdrawal deal under which all foreign troops would exit Afghanistan in the coming months, even as violence continues to rage in the war-ravaged nation. In an 11-point statement, the insurgent group called for the Americans to stick to the agreement ironed out in Qatar last year that paved …

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Political issues need political solutions, Pakistan tells UN


February 17, 2021

WASHINGTON: Pakistan has urged the UN Security Council to promote political solutions to the problems that have political reasons, such as the Kashmir dispute. Addressing the first meeting of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations of the 2021 session, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative Munir Akram also underlined the shortcomings of the current UN strategy for resolving disputes. “Obviously, politics governs everything. …

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Dutch court orders govt to end virus curfew


February 17, 2021

THE HAGUE: A Dutch court ordered the government on Tuesday to lift a nationwide coronavirus curfew that sparked riots in the Netherlands, as frustration mounts throughout the world against virus measures almost a year into the deadly pandemic. Government’s face pushback from populations tired of measures aimed at slowing the virus’s relentless spread, and countries were scrambling to secure sought-after …

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NZ PM speaks bluntly to Australia over fate of dual national


February 17, 2021

WELLINGTON: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern angrily accused Australia on Tuesday of shirking its responsibility for a dual national arrested in Turkey with alleged links to the militant Islamic State group. Ardern said the woman had been a dual Australian-New Zealand citizen until authorities in Canberra cancelled her passport, leaving her situation to Wellington to deal with. In an …

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FM Qureshi encourages Egyptian businessmen to invest in Pakistan


February 17, 2021

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi urged Egyptian businessmen to invest in Pakistan by highlighting the incentives the government is offering to foreign investors in various sectors including housing, energy and health, Radio Pakistan reported on Wednesday. During a meeting with a delegation of the Egyptian business community in Cairo, the foreign minister said improvement in Pakistan’s ranking for ease of doing business reflected …

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Hamas slams Israel for blocking vaccines to Gaza


February 17, 2021

GAZA CITY: Hamas on Tuesday blasted Israel’s refusal to allow some 2,000 coronavirus vaccine doses destined for Gaza health workers through its blockade of the territory and termed the move a “violation” of international law. The Palestinian Authority, based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, had planned to send the Russian Sputnik V doses through Israel to Gaza, a separate territory …

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Vote cannot be secret forever, Justice Ahsan tells ECP during hearing on Senate polls reference


February 17, 2021

A day after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) received flak from the apex court during the hearing of a presidential reference on the use of open ballots in the upcoming Senate elections, Justice Ijazul Ahsan on Wednesday told the body that the vote in Senate polls “cannot remain secret forever”. During the hearing on Tuesday, the five-judge Supreme Court bench, headed …

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Britain says UAE should show that Dubai’s Sheikha Latifa is alive


February 17, 2021

Britain said on Wednesday it wants to see proof that Sheikha Latifa, one of the ruler of Dubai’s daughters, is still alive after the BBC published a “deeply troubling” video in which she said she was being held against her will in a barricaded villa. “Given what we’ve just seen, I think people would just at a human level want to see that …

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Satellite images show China emptying military camps at Ladakh border flashpoint with India


February 17, 2021

China has dismantled dozens of structures and moved vehicles to empty out entire camps along a disputed Himalayan border, where Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in a face-off since last summer, satellite images released on Wednesday show. The nuclear-armed neighbours last week announced a plan to pull back troops, tanks and other equipment from the banks of Pangong Tso, a …

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