International

Former US president Barack Obama returned to the campaign trail on Wednesday, launching a blistering attack on Donald Trump with less than two weeks to go before the Republican president’s Election Day face-off with Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Speaking at a drive-in rally in Philadelphia on behalf of Biden, his former vice president, Obama offered his fiercest critique yet of …

India is closing in on an agreement with the United States that will give it access to satellite data for better accuracy of missiles and drones, government and industry officials said, as it tries to narrow the gap with the powerful Chinese military. The two sides are expected to announce the pact during the visit next week of US State …

The final debate between US President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden will feature a mute button to allow each candidate to speak uninterrupted, organisers said on Monday, looking to avoid the disruptions that marred the first matchup. The Trump campaign voiced objections to the change — made after the president repeatedly talked over both Biden and the moderator at last …

STOCKHOLM: Sweden has banned telecoms equipment from Huawei and ZTE in its 5G network, joining other European nations that have restricted the role of Chinese suppliers on security grounds. Telecoms regulator PTS said Tuesday’s decision, ahead of a spectrum auction due next month, followed advice from the country’s armed forces and security service, which described China as “one of the …

PARIS: Scientists called for urgent action to improve public trust in immunisation as research suggested sizeable minorities in some nations may be reluctant to be vaccinated against Covid-19. With few effective treatments and no cure for the coronavirus, companies and governments are racing to develop vaccines in a bid to arrest the pandemic. But there is increasing concern that “vaccine …

WASHINGTON: The fiancee of journalist Jamal Khashoggi sued Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and other officials on Tuesday in a US court, seeking damages for his brutal murder in Istanbul two years ago. Turkish citizen Hatice Cengiz and the human rights group Khashoggi formed before his death, Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), is pursuing Mohammed bin Salman and 28 …

YEREVAN: Armenia and Azerbaijan said on Tuesday their foreign ministers would meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington on Friday in efforts to end the heaviest fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh since the 1990s. The State Department did not immediately comment. But the planned meetings suggest that, just before the US presidential election, Washington is stepping up involvement in moves …

PARIS: French authorities said on Tuesday they would close a Paris mosque in a clampdown on “radical Islamists” that has yielded over a dozen arrests following the beheading of a teacher who had shown his pupils sketches of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The move came as the investigation revealed the killer had been in contact with a disgruntled parent at Samuel …

GENEVA: UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet voiced her dismay on Tuesday at the arrest of activists in India and restrictions to the work of non-governmental organisations. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights appealed to New Delhi to safeguard the rights of human rights defenders and NGOs. Bachelet regretted what she called the application of vaguely worded laws that …

At least 15 people were killed in stampede among thousands of Afghans gathered outside Pakistan’s consulate on Tuesday as jostling broke out between people applying for visas, officials in the eastern city of Jalalabad said. An estimated 3,000 Afghans had congregated on the open ground outside the consulate, waiting to collect tokens needed to apply for a visa, two provincial …