International

GENEVA: Friba Rezayee, the first woman to represent Afghanistan at the Olympics, has been appalled by the treatment of women since the resurgence of the Taliban and is now campaigning for the country to be kept out of the Paris Games. Rezayee, a judoka who competed at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, has called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) …

SYDNEY: An Australian judge ruled on Monday that a conservative political staffer likely committed rape in parliament, a dramatic twist in a case that sparked national protests. The judge threw out a defamation suit brought by the former staffer, Bruce Lehrmann, against Network 10 television after it broadcast an interview with his alleged victim, Brittany Higgins. Federal Court Justice Michael Lee made …

SINGAPORE: Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will step down next month and his deputy Lawrence Wong will take over, the second non-member of the Lee family to lead the wealthy nation. “I will relinquish my role as Prime Minister on 15 May 2024 and DPM (Deputy Prime Minister) Lawrence Wong will be sworn in as the next Prime Minister …

PALESTINIAN TERRIT­ORIES: Israel on Monday released around 150 detainees taken from the Palestinian territory, Gaza’s crossing authority said, alleging that they were mistreated in detention. Israel continued its assault on Gaza and launched dozens of air strikes overnight as tensions in the region remain high over fear of a wider escalation of the conflict. World powers have urged restraint after …

ISLAMABAD / DUBAI: A Portuguese-flagged container ship, the MSC Aries, was seized by Iran on April 13 for “violating maritime laws”, Iran’s foreign ministry said on Monday, while its mission in Pakistan said it was working to confirm if there were indeed any Pakistani nationals on board the vessel. The Revolutionary Guards had seized the cargo vessel in the Strait of …

Australia’s prime minister on Tuesday suggested a visiting Frenchman who heroically fended off a knife-wielding Sydney mall attacker using only a bollard could be offered citizenship. Damien Guerot has been dubbed “bollard man” and a “hero” of Saturday’s attack that killed six people, including a Pakistani, and wounded a dozen more. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese singled Guerot out for praise on Tuesday, thanking …

Four people died and at least 19 more were missing after a boat ferrying them across a swollen river capsized in India-held Kashmir on Tuesday, officials said. Rescuers in rubber boats joined by marine commandos were scrambling to find survivors as hundreds of worried and mourning family members gathered at the riverbanks after the accident. The missing included several children …

WASHINGTON: The spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are due to open on Tuesday, with two clear objectives: help countries combat climate change and assist the most indebted nations. The meetings — which will bring central bankers, finance and development ministers, academics, and representatives from the private sector and civil society together to discuss the state of …

WASHINGTON: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Monday that Pakistan doesn’t need too many policy prescriptions, it just needs to implement those policies. Speaking at the Atlantic Council think tank on his first working day in Washington, the minister also urged institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help countries like Pakistan deal with the …

For the better part of the last 15 years, Pakistan has faced serious economic troubles. Even during the supposedly good times, the alarm bells were quite clear. Lately, we have truly learned the meaning of rock bottom through a series of ‘firsts’. Be it the highest inflation in our history, interest payments exceeding federal revenues or another indicator of your …