International

Iraq’s most senior Shia cleric on Wednesday joined a chorus of Iraqi politicians and clerics criticising recent statements by President Donald Trump in which he said United States troops should stay in Iraq to keep an eye on neighbouring Iran. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani said Iraq aspires to have “good and balanced relations” with all of its neighbours “based on mutual interests …

The Taliban claimed on Wednesday that the United States agreed in Doha to withdraw half its ground troops by the end of April — and the process had begun. “The Americans agreed to withdraw half of their troops immediately. The withdrawal will start from February 1 and continue until end of April,” Abdul Salam Hanefi, deputy head of the Taliban’s …

NEW DELHI: A rightwing Indian woman who shot an effigy of independence leader Mahatma Gandhi with an air pistol to mark his assassination some seven decades ago has been arrested, police said on Wednesday. Pooja Shakun Pandey was filmed shooting the effigy at an event by a far-right Hindu group on Friday — the 71st anniversary of Gandhi’s death. The …

ISLAMABAD: As more than 75 member countries of the Geneva-based World Trade Organisation (WTO) sit down to design a framework to govern e-commerce, Pakistan has decided to not be a part of these negotiations, sources familiar with the matter informed Dawn on Wednesday. On Jan 25, 2019, around 75 WTO member states, who make up for the 90 per cent …

ABOARD PLANE: Pope Francis has admitted that Catholic priests and bishops have sexually abused nuns, the latest scandal to rock the church. “There are some priests and also bishops who have done it,” the pontiff said in response to a journalist’s question on the abuse of nuns, speaking on the return flight from his trip to the United Arab Emirates …

Football player Hakeem al-Araibi, who has refugee status in Australia, told a Thai court on Monday that he refuses to be voluntarily extradited to Bahrain, which has asked for his return to serve a prison sentence for a crime he denies committing. Al-Araibi’s rejection of extradition means a trial will be held to determine whether Thai authorities will send him …

Pope Francis landed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sunday for the first ever visit by a pontiff to the Arabian Peninsula — the birthplace of Islam. The pope touched down in Abu Dhabi for the 48-hour trip during which he will meet leading Muslim clericsand hold an open-air mass for some 135,000 Catholics. Pope Francis is welcomed by Abu …

Internet giants have more than doubled the rate at which they fight hate speech online than when they joined the European Union’s (EU) voluntary approach in 2016, EU officials said on Monday. Firms like YouTube, Microsoft, Twitter, and Facebook are now assessing 89 per cent of flagged content within 24 hours and removing 72 per cent of content deemed illegal, …

Britain on Monday will seek to reassure foreign investors worried about Britain leaving the European Union (EU) after Japanese automaker Nissan said it was scrapping a major planned investment less than two months before Brexit. Prime Minister Theresa May was due to hold a conference call with around 55 chairmen and chief executives of European multinationals with operations in Britain. “She’ll be …

Australia’s military has been deployed to tackle devastating “once-in-a-century” floods that have inundated homes, schools and airports in the country’s northeast, forcing hundreds to flee and bringing crocodiles onto the streets. The Australian Defence Forces delivered 70,000 sandbags, deployed amphibious cargo vehicles and helped pluck flashlight-wielding residents from their rooftops Monday, as monsoon rains drenched the northern state of Queensland. …