International

India’s Supreme Court has asked the Narendra Modi-led government if there was a “timeframe” and a “roadmap of progression” to restore the special status of held Kashmir, Indian media outlets reported on Tuesday. The remarks were passed by a five-member bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud during a hearing on a batch of petitions challenging the reading down of …

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not go to the funeral of Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died last week in a plane crash, the Kremlin said on Tuesday. Prigozhin — a Putin confidant turned “traitor” — was killed last Wednesday two months after ordering his troops to topple Russia’s military leadership, in what observers deemed the biggest challenge to Putin’s authority since …

The Miss World beauty contest will be held in the disputed territory of occupied Kashmir as part of a month-long series of events across India, organisers have said. India has been promoting tourism in the disputed region — home to spectacular mountain scenery — and more than a million Indian citizens visited it last year. Miss World Organisation chair Julia …

OTTAWA: Canada is concerned about the overall integrity of the system that educates hundreds of thousands of international students and not just the added pressure they put on housing, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Canada is on track to bring in 900,000 international students this year, Miller said in the interview aired late …

LONDON: UK member of parliament Nadine Dorries has delivered a scathing attack on her Conservative Party’s leader Rishi Sunak in her formal resignation letter, accusing the prime minister of running a “zombie parliament” and lacking any political vision. Dorries, a close ally of former leader Boris Johnson, had announced in June she would quit and then faced mounting criticism for …

TEHRAN: Authorities in Iran have begun legal proceedings against a prominent pop singer over his latest song urging women to take off their mandatory headscarves, the judiciary said on Sunday. The action against Mehdi Yarrahi comes almost a year after the death in custody of Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini, 22, triggered months of protests around the country. Yarrahi, 41, on …

LAHORE / LONDON: In the wake of the mysterious death of 10-year-old Sara Sharif in England earlier this month, the Jhelum police teams are intensively searching for her family, including prime suspect Malik Urfan Sharif, the girl’s father, officials said. Police teams have carried out frequent raids at all the possible hideouts, including in Mr Sharif’s hometown, Dena in Jhelum; in Sara’s …

BEIJING: US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo arrived in Beijing on Sunday for a four-day visit aimed at boosting business ties between the world’s two largest economies while declaring American national security trade measures off-limits for debate. “If you wanted to put a tagline to the trip and the mission, it’s protect what we must and promote where we can,” Raimondo …

PARIS: French authorities are to ban the wearing in school of abaya dresses worn by some Muslim women, the education minister said Sunday, arguing the garment violated France’s strict secular laws in education. “It will no longer be possible to wear an abaya at school,” Education Minister Gabriel Attal told TF1 television, saying he would give “clear rules at the national level” …