International

BEIRUT: Several tonnes of highly explosive material found at Beirut’s port, just weeks after the same chemical was blamed for causing a massive detonation there, had been in storage for 15 years, the Lebanese president said on Friday. The army said on Sept 2 it had discovered a stockpile close to the port of 4.35 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, the …

SYDNEY: Rio Tinto announced the resignation of its CEO and two top lieutenants on Friday over the mining giant’s destruction of a 46,000-year-old Aboriginal site to expand an iron ore mine in Australia. The Anglo-Australian firm faced a growing investor revolt over the destruction of the sacred site in the Juukan Gorge in Western Australia’s remote Pilbara region — one …

LONDON: Britain’s government on Friday vowed to press on with troubled EU talks, despite rejecting an ultimatum to withdraw Brexit legislation that has sparked a rebellion from outraged Conservatives in its own ranks. Prime Minister Boris Johnson trumpeted a win by announcing a free-trade agreement with Japan — its first such pact since Brexit took effect in January. But the …

SALEM: Around half a million people in Oregon were ordered to evacuate as dozens of extreme, wind-driven wildfires scorched US West Coast states on Friday, destroying thousands of homes and killing at least 24 people, state and local authorities said. In southern Oregon, an apocalyptic scene of burned residential subdivisions and trailer parks stretched for miles along Highway 99 south …

MOSCOW: Russia said on Friday it would stage massive military drills in the Caucasus later this month with troops from several countries, including Pakistan, China and Iran, invited to participate. More than 12,000 troops will take part in the “Caucasus-2020” war games, which will take place in southern Russia from Sept 21 to 26 and include land and naval exercises, …

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump announced on Friday a “peace deal” between Israel and Bahrain, which becomes the second Arab country to settle with its former foe in less than a month. “Another HISTORIC breakthrough today! Our two GREAT friends Israel and the Kingdom of Bahrain agree to a Peace Deal — the second Arab country to make peace with …

Afghanistan’s warring sides started negotiations in Doha on Saturday for the first time aimed at ending decades of war, bringing together delegates appointed by the Afghan government and the Taliban. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attended the opening ceremony, which was held in Qatar where the meetings will take place. It’s the latest in a flurry of diplomatic activity by the …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday vowed to defeat ‘spoilers’ attempting to sabotage upcoming intra-Afghan dialogue, through cooperation with Afghanistan. “Unfortunate rise in violent incidents on both sides of Pak-Afghan border is meant to derail Afghanistan Peace Pro­cess. Pakistan earnestly belie­ves that both countries deserve peace and progress. Together we will defeat all spoilers,” military spokesman Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar tweeted. The …

A huge fire broke out on Thursday at the Port of Beirut, the site of last month’s catastrophic explosion that killed nearly 200 people and devastated parts of the capital. The new fire — nearly 40 days after the blast — triggered widespread panic among traumatised residents of the area. It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the fire at the facility, which …

BRUSSELS: The Euro­pean Parliament on Thurs­day removed Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi from the “Sakharov Prize community” because of her “acceptance” of state crimes against the Rohingya community. The EU assembly awar­d­ed the former democracy campaigner its top human rights prize in 1990, a year before she received the Nobel Peace Prize, but she will no longer take …