International

The head of the United Nations mission in Yemen launched talks between the government and Houthi rebels aboard a boat in the Red Sea on Sunday aimed at shoring up a ceasefire, a government official said. Retired Dutch General Patrick Cammaert chaired the meeting aboard a UN vessel docked off the coast of the flashpoint city of Hodeida after the …

India’s prime minster Narendra Modi is in occupied Kashmir for a daylong visit on Sunday to review development work as Kashmiris fighting Indian rule called for a shutdown in the Himalayan region. Shops and businesses were shut while thousands of armed Indian forces and commandos in flak jackets spread out across the area and closed off roads with coiled razor …

Pope Francis made an urgent appeal for an end to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen on Sunday as he embarked on the first-ever papal trip to the Arabian Peninsula, where he is seeking to turn a page in Christian-Muslim relations while also ministering to a unique, thriving island of Catholicism. Francis called for the urgent observation of a limited ceasefire …

The dangerous cold and heavy snow that hobbled the northern United States this week has retreated, but not before exacting a human toll: more than two dozen weather-related deaths in eight states and hundreds of injuries, including frostbite, broken bones, heart attacks and carbon monoxide poisoning. In Illinois alone, hospitals reported more than 220 cases of frostbite and hypothermia since …

US President Donald Trump is serious about getting out of Afghanistan, the Taliban told AFP on 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 AFPvia WhatsApp a day after the US said talks with the militants are “on the right path”, fuelling speculation of a breakthrough …

The biting cold in the United States Midwest has claimed at least 15 lives, The Associated Press reported on Friday, as the mercury began to rise again in most states. Although many places remained painfully cold on Thursday, the deep freeze eased somewhat, and the system marched east. Frigid weather descended on an area spanning from Buffalo to Brooklyn. In western New …

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, which along with rising joblessness has hit Modi’s popularity. The …

BRUSSELS: Britain complained about the European Union calling Gibraltar a “colony” in a piece of draft legislation on Friday, highlighting how the EU is lining up behind Spain in its territorial dispute as Britain quits the bloc. The 27 remaining member states agreed to offer Britons visa-free travel to the EU after Brexit in March, even if talks on a …

CANBERRA: Australia sweltered through its hottest month on record in January and the summer of extremes continued with wildfires razing the drought-parched south and flooding in expanses of the tropical north. Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology confirmed the January record on Friday as parts of the northern hemisphere had record cold. Australia’s scorching start to 2019 in which the mean temperature …

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration said on Friday it is freeing itself from the constraints of a nuclear arms control treaty with Russia and will begin withdrawing from the pact on Saturday. President Donald Trump blamed the Russians for the demise of the Cold War-era pact, known as the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty. “For too long,” Trump said in a written …