International

AL-NASSR captain Cristiano Ronaldo received a warm reception in Iran on Monday, in the first visit of a Saudi team to Iran since 2016 ahead of the beginning of the group stage of the Asian Champions League. Al-Nassr face Iranian side Persepolis in Group E on Tuesday, while Qatari side Al-Duhail play Istiklol Dushanbe of Tajikistan. The streets were crowded …

UNITED NATIONS: World leaders met on Monday at the United Nations in a bid to salvage ambitious promises to lift the planet’s poorest, at a time when vulnerable nations are facing a volley of crises. But the development summit, on the eve of the annual UN General Assembly that opens on Tuesday, threatens to be eclipsed by growing geopolitical tensions …

India said on Tuesday it had expelled a Canadian diplomat with five days’ notice to leave the country, just hours after Ottawa expelled the South Asian nation’s top intelligence agent and accused it of a role in the murder of a Sikh separatist leader. The development was the latest in an escalating row between the two nations, with Canada saying on Monday it was …

A plane carrying five Americans freed by Iran landed in the United States on Tuesday, a day after they were swapped for the release of five Iranians held in the US and the unfreezing of $6 billion in Iranian funds, in a deal between the arch enemies. CNN reported the plane had landed. The report did not provide further details. It followed …

Online platform X could introduce a monthly fee for all users, its owner Elon Musk said on Monday, citing the need to cut down on bots. The tech tycoon has made multiple changes since taking over the site for $44 billion in October last year when it was known as Twitter. He has fired thousands of employees, introduced a paid premium option, cut content moderation, and reinstated formerly …

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Republic of Somalia has launched a national identification system with the support of Nadra, a milestone for the ‘ID4Africa’ movement, which aims to provide all Africans with a digital identity by 2030. Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre inaugurated Somalia’s national identity system during a conference held by NIRA Somalia in Mogadishu. The launch was attended by Somalia’s …

SAO PAULO: Fourteen people on a small jet died when the plane crashed in Brazil’s northern Ama­zonas state on Saturday, the state’s governor said. The accident took place in the Barcelos province, some 400km from the state capital, Manaus. “I deeply regret the death of the 12 passengers and two crew members who were victims of the plane crash in …

MOSCOW: Russia said it had thwarted a coordinated Ukrainian attack on Crimea early on Sunday, while drones also targeted Moscow, disrupting air traffic in the capital, and caused a fire at an oil depot in the southwest of the country. Attacks deep inside Russia, far from the front lines, have also increased, with Moscow’s mayor saying at least two drones …

WARTIME Pope Pius XII knew details about the Nazi attempt to exterminate Jews in the Holocaust as early as 1942, according to a letter found in the Vatican archives that conflicts with the Holy See’s official position at the time that the information it had was vague and unverified. The yellowed, typewritten letter, reproduced in Italy’s Corriere della Sera on Sunday, is …

LAMPEDUSA: The European Union presented on Sunday an emergency plan for Italy to help it handle migrant arrivals after a record number of people landed on its island of Lampedusa over the past week. The surge in asylum seekers on the Italian island of Lampedusa has rekindled a fierce debate in Europe on how to share responsibility for the tens …