International

Nasa hopes to score a 21st-century Wright Brothers moment and make history on Monday as it attempts to send a miniature helicopter buzzing over the surface of Mars in what would be the first powered, controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet. Landmark achievements in science and technology can seem humble by conventional measurements. The Wright Brothers’ first controlled …

Indianapolis: Half of the eight workers shot to death at an Indianapolis FedEx facility by a former employee before he killed himself belonged to the Sikh religious community, leading an advocacy group to urge a probe of possible racial or ethnic hatred as a factor. Law enforcement officials said they have yet to determine what motivated the gunman, 19-year-old Brandon …

Twitter said late on Friday that it was working on fixing an access issue after thousands of users reported problems with the platform. “Tweets may not be loading for some of you. We’re working on fixing a problem and you’ll be back on the timeline soon,” the company said in a tweet. Twitter grants academics full access to public data, …

WINDSOR: British soldiers, sailors and air force personnel were practicing, polishing and making final preparations on Friday for Prince Philip’s funeral, a martial but personal service that will mark the death of a royal patriarch who was also one of the dwindling number of World War II veterans. More than 700 military personnel are set to take part in Saturday’s …

YANGON: A “parliament” working in hiding to oust Myanmar’s junta from power announced a new shadow government on Friday, with deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi at its helm alongside ethnic minority politicians. The country has been in turmoil since the military detained Suu Kyi and seized power, triggering a massive uprising that the junta has sought to quell with …

PAPHOS: Cyprus hosted a meeting on Friday of top diplomats from Israel and the UAE, as well as Greece, for talks they said reflected the “changing face” of the Middle East. “This new strategic membership stretches from the shores of the Arabian Gulf” to the Mediterranean and Europe, Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi told a news conference in the coastal …

NEW DELHI: A Hindu seer has died from coronavirus and 80 other holy men have tested positive in India after attending a vast religious festival where millions of pilgrims ignored Covid-19 advice despite a national surge in infections. The announcement from authorities in Haridwar, Uttarakhand state, came as India recorded more than 217,000 fresh cases in 24 hours, taking the …

SRINAGAR: Police in occupied Kashmir said on Friday that they arrested one of their own officers and dismissed her for obstructing a counterinsurgency operation in the disputed region. The officer livestreamed a cordon and search operation by Indian forces in southern Frisal village on Wednesday with the intent of disrupting the search operation, police said in a statement. It said …

INDIANAPOLIS: A gunman killed at least eight people at a FedEx facility in the mid-western US city of Indianapolis before turning the gun on himself in the latest in a string of mass shootings in the country, authorities said on Friday. The incident came a week after President Joe Biden branded US gun violence an “epidemic” and an “international embarrassment” …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has said that Kashmir remains central to any meaningful engagement with India. “We believe durable peace, security and development in the region hinge on peaceful resolution of the long-standing Jammu and Kashmir dispute,” Foreign Office spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhry told a press briefing here on Friday. “We, therefore, believe that the two sides need to discuss all outstanding …