International

THE HAGUE: The EU hit Iran’s intelligence services with sanctions on Tuesday after accusing Tehran of being behind plots to assassinate regime opponents on Dutch, Danish, and French soil. The move by the 28-nation bloc was anno­unced as the Dutch government said it believed Iran was behind the murders of two dissidents in 2015 and 2017. “Very encouraging that [the] …

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump is likely to tell Americans in a prime-time speech on Tuesday (Wednesday morning in Pakistan) that the US-Mexico border is in “crisis” and Congress must approve construction of a wall to end a government shutdown. After weeks of lashing out at Democratic opponents, mostly via Twitter and impromptu press conferences, Trump will deploy the presidency’s biggest …

LONDON: British MPs will vote on Prime Minister Theresa May’s EU withdrawal deal on Jan 15, the government said on Tuesday, while denying growing speculation it might seek to delay Brexit if the agreement is rejected. May postponed an initial vote last month in the face of opposition from all sides of the House of Commons, but has now set …

Australian police are investigating the delivery of suspicious packages sent to foreign embassies and consulates in Melbourne and Canberra, police and embassy sources told AFP on Wednesday. The packages — which are still being examined but are not believed to be harmful — were delivered to facilities in the capital and several addresses across the southern Australian city, police confirmed. “The packages …

ISLAMABAD: The number of human trafficking victims around the world is on the rise while armed groups and terrorists are trafficking women and children to generate funds and recruit, according to the latest Global Report on ‘Trafficking in Persons’. The 2018 report, released by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on Monday, reveals that more victims of human …

US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad on Tuesday embarked on a two-week tour of Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and China for talks with each country’s leadership on the Afghan peace process. The US Secretary of State’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Ambassador Khalilzad, is leading an intra-agency delegation and will meet officials in each country in order to “facilitate an inclusive peace …

BEIJING: China said on Monday it would welcome UN officials to its far western region of Xinjiang if they follow the `proper procedures’, amid global concern over Beijing’s de-radicalisation programme there. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kangm asked at a regular briefing about reports that China had invited UN experts to Xinjiang, said that all parties, including the United Nations, were …

China said on Monday it would welcome UN officials to the restive western region of Xinjiang with the condition that they stay out of the country’s internal affairs. This comes after UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said in December that her office was seeking access to the region to verify reports of re-education camps holding Muslim minorities. Reports of …

The asylum claim of a young Saudi woman who resisted deportation from Thailand in a gripping, live-tweeted ordeal will take “several days” to assess, the United Nation’s refugee agency in Bangkok said Tuesday. Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun arrived at Bangkok’s main airport over the weekend on a flight from Kuwait after running away from her family who she alleges subjected her …

KABUL: Taliban insurgents have stormed security posts in west Afghanistan, killing 21 police and pro-government militia members, officials said on Monday, the latest in a surge of attacks that has cast doubt on tentative steps towards talks. The Taliban attacked the checkpoints in two different parts of Badghis province, which is on the border with Turkmenistan, late on Sunday, provincial …