International

NEW YORK – The United States and Russia both failed on Thursday in rival bids to get the United Nations Security Council to take action on Venezuela, cementing a global split over how to deal with a political and humanitarian crisis in the South American country. Russia and the US have been at loggerheads over a US-led campaign for international …

Kandahar, Afghanistan: At least 23 Afghan security forces were killed in a Taliban attack on a joint US-Afghan base in southwestern Afghanistan, officials said Friday, as fighting continues amid a pause in peace talks between the insurgents and American negotiators. “The operation is over — 23 security forces killed, 15 injured and 20 insurgents killed,” said Ghafoor Ahmad Jawed, a …

CAPE CANAVERAL: Eight years after the last manned US space flight, NASA and SpaceX are preparing to test a new space capsule for astronauts on Saturday — although for now the only occupant will be a dummy named Ripley. The new capsule will blast off on board a rocket built by SpaceX — the space company of billionaire Elon Musk …

WASHINGTON: The Pentagon has submitted a proposal to Congress that, if approved, would see the creation of a new “Space Force,” officials said Friday. The move comes at the request of President Donald Trump, who has insisted that a separate branch of military is needed to focus on protecting satellites and tackling vulnerabilities in space. “Our approach follows President Trump´s …

Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan — who was captured by Pakistan after his MiG 21 Bison aircraft was shot down by a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) jet — was handed over in a gesture of peace to India at the Wagah border late Friday. Read: Live updates of Indian pilot’s release He was filmed walking across the Wagah pavilion at around …

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday said India wants to use the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) platform to further its own agenda which it will do by way of first becoming an observer and then gradually forcing its way in to exert more influence on member nations. The foreign minister said this while responding to a question put …

King Abdullah II of Jordan made a telephone call to Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday and conveyed his concern over the escalating situation between Pakistan and India, according to a Twitter post by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf. The Jordanian king praised the premier’s “statesman-like approach” in tackling the situation and “offered Jordan’s mediation to help de-escalate the crisis”, PTI said …

Hamza Bin Laden, a son of late Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden seen as a rising leader, has been stripped of his Saudi citizenship, state newspaper Umm al-Qura said on Friday. Bin Laden had his citizenship removed on February 22 by royal decree, the Saudi newspaper said, quoting the kingdom’s interior ministry. It did not give a reason for the decision. …

WASHINGTON: The United States on Thursday offered a $1 million reward for information on a son of late al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, seeing him as an emerging leader of the  network. The location of Hamza bin Laden has been the subject of speculation for years with reports of him in Afghanistan or under house arrest in Iran

PARIS: Just 10 countries were responsible for three-quarters of a global surge in measles cases last year, the UN children´s agency said Friday, including one of the world´s richest nations, France. Ninety-eight countries reported more cases of measles in 2018 compared with 2017, and the world body warned that conflict, complacency and the growing anti-vaccine movement threatened to undo decades …