International

DUBAI: Iran on Thursday welcomed a “change of tone” from Saudi Arabia and said it hoped the two countries could work together to secure peace, amid moves to ease tensions between the regional rivals. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman made the statement days after Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said his country wanted better relations with Tehran. “With …

At least 44 people were crushed to death overnight on Friday at an overcrowded ultra-Orthodox religious festival in Israel with attendees describing scenes of chaos in which others died in front of their eyes. More than 100 people were injured in the chaos where tens of thousands thronged to the Galilee tomb of second century sage Rabbi Shim Bar Yochai …

(WASHINGTON) President Joe Biden spoke to the nation in his first speech to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday — just one day shy of his 100th day as president — where he discussed the challenges the nation faced before he was sworn in as well as the early breakthroughs of his young administration. “A hundred days since I took …

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan and Bill Gates, co-chair of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, on Wednesday discussed matters relating to Covid-19 response, polio eradication and climate change, and agreed to continue working together on the shared objectives. In their telephonic conversation, they ag­­reed on the importance of urgently stopping the spread of coronavirus, polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases in …

WASHINGTON: Amer­ican astronaut Michael Collins, who stayed behind in the command module of Apollo 11 on July 20, 1969, while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin traveled to the lunar surface to become the first humans to walk on the moon, died on Wednesday at age 90, his family said. A statement released by his family said Collins died of cancer. …

NEW YORK: Federal investigators raided the New York apartment of president Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani early on Wednesday as part of a probe into his dealings in Ukraine, US media reported. Investigators with search warrants combed Giuliani’s residence and a separate office, seizing electronic devices, The New York Times said, citing unnamed sources familiar with the investigation. …

WASHINGTON: The top US general said on Wednesday that it was not possible to predict Afghanistan’s fate after the US troop withdrawal, warning of the “worst-case” outcome of a collapse of the government to the Taliban. “Tough situation, no good answers to any of it,” Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley told the Sedona Forum when asked about the future …

UNITED NATIONS: China has assured Pakistan and other South Asian nations of its continued cooperation in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic by providing both medical supplies and economic assistance, says a joint statement issued at the UN headquarters in New York. China gave this assurance at a video conference on the joint response to Covid-19 on Tuesday, attended by the foreign …

Zimbabwe won the toss and chose to bat in the first Test against Pakistan at the Harare Sports Club on Thursday. The home team gave three players their Test debuts for the series opener: batsmen Milton Shumba and Roy Kaia and left-arm seamer Richard Ngarava. Zimbabwe captain Sean Williams is sidelined with injury, as is fellow batsman Craig Ervine. Former captain Brendan …

PARIS: Nearly all of the world’s glaciers are losing mass at an ever increasing pace, contributing to more than a fifth of global sea level rise this century, according to unprecedented research released on Wednesday. Glaciers — vast bodies of frozen water that sit above ground — have been melting fast since the middle of the 20th century, but until …