International

VATICAN CITY: The Vatican’s women’s magazine is denouncing the sexual abuse of nuns by priests and the resulting “scandal” of religious sisters having abortions or giving birth to children who are then not recognised by their fathers. The February issue of “Women Church World”, a monthly magazine distributed alongside the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, was published on Friday. It cited Pope Francis’ …

LAHORE: A three-member delegation of Pakistani experts returned home on Friday after inspecting various hydropower projects at Chenab basin in India. The delegation during its six-day visit inspected the projects under the Indus Water Treaty on the invitation of New Delhi-based office of the Indian commissioner for Indus waters. “Our visit remained successful, as we inspected four hydropower projects at Chenab basin …

A powerful storm descending on California on Saturday threatened flooding in the entire San Francisco Bay Area and areas stripped bare by devastating wildfires. The storm that began moving in on Friday night was expected to bring up to four inches of rain in some areas, winds gusting to 80 mph in the mountains, 10-foot waves and several feet of …

NEW DELHI: India’s government unveiled on Friday a raft of budget sweeteners for farmers, the middle class and also cows, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to shore up support with elections looming. Thousands of farmers hit by low produce prices, crippling debt and volatile weather have killed themselves in recent years. This and rising joblessness have hit Modi’s popularity. …

Uzbekistan on Friday granted visa-free entry to citizens of 45 countries to boost tourism, which the government views as vital for economic growth. The countries benefiting from a 30-day visa waiver that went into force on Friday include the majority of European countries including Britain as well as Australia, Canada, Argentina and Chile. The United States is a notable exception. …

Emmanuel Macron continues on Friday the big debate to try to solve the crisis of “yellow vests”, meeting at the Elysee about sixty ultramarine mayors, determined to assert the particularities and needs of their territories. This is the fourth time that the President of the Republic lends itself to the game of a discussion with mayors, after the meetings of …

Kabul: US President Donald Trump is serious about getting out of Afghanistan, the Taliban told AFP Friday, outlining the “Islamic system” comprising “all Afghans” that the group says it hopes to establish under any peace deal. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid spoke to AFP via WhatsApp a day after the US said talks with the militants are “on the right path”, …

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump´s frustration over his campaign to fence off the US-Mexican border spilled into linguistic territory Thursday when the president declared himself fed up with people dancing around what to call his dreamed-of barrier. “Lets just call them WALLS from now on and stop playing political games! A WALL is a WALL!” Trump tweeted. In other tweets, he signaled …

WASHINGTON: The number of sexual assaults at America´s military academies rose by almost 50 percent over the past two years, despite extensive efforts to combat the problem, a Pentagon report said Thursday. About 12,900 cadets attend the Army, Navy and Air Force academies that train future officers to lead America´s vast military. Every other year, they are given the chance …

WASHINGTON: The United States and China said their trade war negotiations resulted in major progress as the clock ticks on a March deadline to avert a massive escalation of tariffs that could bruise the global economy. US President Donald Trump hailed “tremendous progress” and welcomed a “beautiful” letter from his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, who said he hoped for further …