International

SEOUL: North Korea on Friday confirmed it had tested a new guided missile, as US President Joe Biden warned of consequences if Pyongyang escalates tensions amid stalled nuclear negotiations. The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said the two new-type tactical guided projectiles accurately hit the target off the eastern coast on Thursday. Photos on the website of the Norths main Rodong Sinmun …

CAIRO:  The Japanese company owning the vessel, that has blocked the all important shipping lane Suez Canal, says  that the megaship could be refloated as early as Saturday. The MV Ever Given, which is longer than four football fields, has been wedged diagonally across the span of the canal since Tuesday, blocking the waterway in both directions. At a press …

Voting began in Assam and West Bengal on Saturday in state elections that will show how support for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is holding up following a coronavirus-stricken year, and months of protests by farmers against his agricultural reforms. Re-elected for a second five-year term in 2019, Modi’s grip on power is under no threat, but the elections in the two eastern …

WASHINGTON: A 66-year-old Pakistani American, Mohammed Anwar, was killed after two teenage girls assaulted him with a Taser while trying to snatch his car, police said. A 13-year-old from Southeast Washington and a 15-year-old from Fort Washington, Maryland, have been charged with felony, murder and armed carjacking. Anwar, an UberEats driver from Springfield, Virginia, was buried in a Muslim graveyard …

YANGON: The US and Britain announced sanctions against a huge military-owned conglomerate in Myanmar on Thursday, as security forces continued to launch brutal crackdowns against anti-coup protesters. The military junta has unleashed a deadly wave of violence as it struggles to quell nationwide protests against the Feb 1 ouster and arrest of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. International condemnation …

KOLKATA: The populous Indian state of West Bengal has emerged as a key battleground for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party, which is looking to extend its national domination and dislodge one of Modi’s sharpest critics. To win power in the eastern state, where a month-long election begins on Saturday, Modi’s right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has deployed its formidable election …

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies do not have the necessary parliamentary seats to form a majority coalition, results from this week’s election showed on Thursday, as vote counting drew to a close. The central election committee said it had counted nearly 100 percent of the ballots from Tuesday’s vote, with the results indicating a 59-seat bloc …

BRUSSELS: Gavi Alliance  says vaccine supply to poor countries could face a setback as India was delaying exports of much-needed jabs. The widening gap for vaccine access complicates the world’s eventual exit from the pandemic through a global immunisation drive, as third waves sweep several countries and force governments to reimpose tough anti-virus restrictions. At the centre of much of …

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday extended felicitations to his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina Wajed on the 50th anniversary of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. In his letter to Ms Wajed, Prime Minister Khan said: “Let us renew our resolve to jointly work for a better future for our peoples and even closer ties between our two countries.” The …

CAIRO: The owners of a giant container vessel blocking the Suez Canal said on Thursday they faced “extreme difficulty” refloating it as Egypt temporarily closed one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. Salvage experts warned the shut-down could last days or even weeks, potentially forcing businesses to re-route cargo ships around the southern tip of Africa in a blow to …