International

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s placard at the opening of the G20 summit on Saturday referred to India as “Bharat”, raising speculation of a change of name for the South Asian nation. India is also called Bharat, Bharata, Hindustan — its pre-colonial names — in Indian languages and these are used interchangeably by the public and officially. While the country has …

The death toll from Morocco’s deadliest earthquake in decades has risen to 1,037, it was reported on Saturday, causing widespread damage and sending terrified residents and tourists scrambling to safety in the middle of the night. The state television further quoted the interior ministry as saying that more than 1,200 people were injured in the quake in Morocco’s High Atlas …

LONDON: UK police descended on a yoga class in central England after a member of the public spotted people lying on the floor and reported a “mass killing”. Officers rushed to the spot with car sirens blaring only to find members of the class quietly meditating. The Seaside Cafe inside the North Sea Observatory in Chapel St Leonards said a …

LONDON: Britain has no plans to change its approach to reducing net migration in order to help secure a free trade deal with India, the spokesperson for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Thursday. There is growing optimism that a free trade deal between the countries could be concluded this year, as both sides agree on the broad contours of …

TOKYO: Japan’s “Moon Sniper” mission blasted off on Thursday as the country’s space programme looks to bounce back from a string of recent mishaps, weeks after India’s historic lunar triumph. Only the United States, Russia, China and as of last month India have successfully landed a probe on the Moon, with two failed Japanese missions — one public and one private. Watched by 35,000 …

WASHINGTON: Former US President Donald Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro was found guilty of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the House of Representatives committee that investigated the 2021 attack on the Capitol. Separately, a lawyer for Mr Trump said in a court filing that he may seek to move the Georgia criminal case – in which he …

KYIV: Russia carried out its fourth drone attack in five days on Ukrainian port facilities on the Danube River on Thursday, damaging grain silos and other infrastructure on a vital export route for Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said. The attack on Izmail district in southern Odesa region lasted three hours, governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram messenger. Two truck drivers were …

PARIS: France’s top administrative court on Thursday upheld a government ban on traditional over-garments worn by some Muslim women in schools and rejected complaints it was discriminatory and could incite hatred. President Emmanuel Macron’s government announced last month it was banning the abaya in schools as it broke the rules on secularism in education. Muslim headscarves have already banned on the ground …

WASHINGTON: A senior White House official has assured Islamabad that US President Joe Biden understands the threats Pakistan faces and is committed to working with the country to remove those threats. At a Wednesday afternoon news briefing in Washington, White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communication John Kirby also highlighted US efforts to reshape and scale up multilateral …

SHANGHAI: Microsoft researchers said on Thursday they found what they believe is a network of fake, Chinese-controlled social media accounts seeking to influence US voters by using artificial intelligence. A Chinese embassy spokesperson in Washington said that accusations of China using AI to create fake social media accounts were “full of prejudice and malicious speculation” and that China advocates for …