SANAA: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed missile and drone strikes that targeted Saudi Arabia on Saturday night and threatened more attacks. Houthi fighters have intensified operations against Riyadh as air strikes by the Saudi-led military alliance pound rebel positions in the north of Yemen, in a bid to stop their offensive to seize the government’s last northern stronghold of Marib. …

WASHINGTON: The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has included journalists among essential workers who need to receive the Covid-19 vaccine on priority. The official US health agency has included journalists and other frontline media workers in its 1c category of those essential workers who have “a high risk” of getting infected by this deadly virus because of …

DHAKA: At least 10 people were injured on Sunday as Bangladeshi police fired rubber bullets and tear gas during a third day of protests sparked by the death of a prominent writer and government critic in jail. Mushtaq Ahmed, 53, collapsed in a high-security prison and died late on Thursday, 10 months after being arrested under a “digital security” law …

DUBAI: Iran on Sunday ruled out holding an informal meeting with the United States and European powers to discuss ways to revive its 2015 nuclear deal with major powers, insisting that Washington must lift all its unilateral sanctions. “Considering the recent actions and statements by the United States and three European powers, Iran does not consider this the time to …

The fiancée of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi called on Monday for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to be punished after a US intelligence report found he had approved the killing. Khashoggi, a US resident who wrote opinion columns for the Washington Post criticising Saudi policies, was killed and dismembered by a team linked to the crown prince in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. A US …

China, under growing global pressure over its treatment of a Muslim minority in its far west, is mounting an unprecedented and aggressive campaign to push back, including explicit attacks on women who have made claims of abuse. As allegations of human rights violations in Xinjiang mount, with a growing number of western lawmakers accusing China of genocide, Beijing is focusing on discrediting …

In October 2020, Miami-based art collector Pablo Rodriguez-Fraile spent almost $67,000 on a 10-second video artwork that he could have watched for free online. Last week, he sold it for $6.6 million. The video by digital artist Beeple, whose real name is Mike Winkelmann, was authenticated by blockchain, which serves as a digital signature to certify who owns it and …

SINGAPORE: Myanmar police fired on protesters around the country on Sunday — the bloodiest day in weeks of demonstrations against a military coup — and at least 18 people were killed, the UN human rights office said. Police were out in force early and opened fire in different parts of the country’s biggest city of Yangon after stun grenades, tear …

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Iran on Monday for an explosion aboard an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of Oman last week, an accusation rejected by Tehran. The vehicle-carrier MV Helios Ray was hit between Thursday night and Friday morning by a blast above the water line that a US official said ripped holes in both sides of its hull. An …

• Bilawal says treasury MNAs not bound to vote for govt candidates • JUI-F chief claims disappointment visible in govt ranks ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Sunday acted timely to repair some cracks that had appeared in the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) by appeasing Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on the issue of distribution …