International

ISLAMABAD: Russian troops arrived here on Thursday to participate in the joint Russian-Pakistani military exercise codenamed Druzhba (Friend­ship) 5. “Russian Federation Special Forces’ contingent arrived in Pakistan for two weeks long joint exercise Druzhba 5. The exercise is aimed at sharing both armies’ experiences in counterterrorism domain,” the ISPR said in a statement. Russian defence ministry, meanwhile, said the exercise …

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis has blunted the powers of the Vatican department involved in a controversial London property deal and ordered all ties cut with a suspect investment fund, his spokesman said on Thursday. The pope has ordered that the funds of the Secretariat of State, the nerve centre of the bureaucracy of the 1.3 billion-member Church, be controlled by …

TEGUCIGALPA: Storm Eta unleashed torrential rains and catastrophic flooding in Central America, killing eight in the region, turning city streets into waist-high water channels and stranding scores of people. Families waded through flooded streets of the northern Honduran city of San Pedro Sula, while cars sat almost submerged in parts of the central Guatemalan city of San Pedro Carcha, television …

COPENHAGEN: The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Thursday said it was observing an “explosion” of coronavirus cases in Europe and warned of a “tough time” ahead as mortality rates rose. “We do see an explosion…. in the sense it only takes a couple of days to have over the European region an increase of one million cases,” WHO’s regional …

Several United States TV networks late Thursday halted live coverage of Donald Trump’s first public appearance since election night after concluding that the president was spreading disinformation. Trump unleashed a flood of incendiary and unsubstantiated claims in a 17-minute address, insisting that Democrats were using “illegal votes” to “steal the election from us.” The president spoke as late vote counting …

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was sworn in for a second term Friday, as final election results showed her landslide victory was even bigger than previously thought. The charismatic leader and her ministers made their oaths of office in English and Maori during a ceremony at Wellington’s Government House. “I would say simply that sitting at this table is …

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Thursday stressed the need for expeditious progress on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects. Talking to the newly-appointed Chinese Ambassador Nong Rong, Mr Qureshi hoped that he would use his experience in trade and infrastructure development to “fast-track CPEC projects and promote industrialisation in Pakistan”. Pakistan and China had launched the second phase of …

For four years, the world’s nations have watched as a very different American president engages with the international community — or doesn’t. Longtime alliances have been strained, agreements wiped away, tariffs erected, funding withdrawn. Some nations have been the objects of presidential derision. Others, like North Korea, have been on the receiving end of diplomatic overtures once considered unthinkable. For …

The result of the US presidential election is hanging on the vote count in a handful of key states, with the race too close to call so far. By 11pm PST on Wednesday, Democrat Joe Biden currently holds 238 electoral votes — including Arizona, which the Donald Trump team says could change — compared to 213 for the Republican president. In order …

The United States was on knife’s edge Wednesday waiting for electoral results, but the fate of one candidate was clear — entertainer Kanye West will not win the 2020 presidential race — but still has future aspirations. The mercurial rapper, who decided to run for the nation’s highest office late in the game as an independent candidate under the Birthday …