International

BEIJING: State-owned Saudi Arabian Airlines has launched new direct flights connecting Riyadh and Jeddah with the Chinese capital Beijing, Saudi state news agency SPA said on Sunday. The inaugural flight from Jeddah to Beijing took off on Friday, with the Riyadh-Beijing flight scheduled to commence on Sunday, SPA said.   PIA resumes passenger flights to and from Chinese capital Also, Pakistan Inter­national Airlines (PIA) …

KABUL: Afghanistan’s supreme leader has warned Taliban members against carrying out attacks abroad, the defence minister said, days after Islamabad hinted at involvement of “Afghan citizens” in suicide attacks inside Pakistan. Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid said in a speech to members of Afghanistan’s security forces, broadcast by state television on Saturday, that fighting outside Afghan­istan is not religiously sanctioned jihad but rather war, …

NIAMEY: Niger’s capital was calm on Sunday, with citizens appearing undaunted by the threat of military intervention by West Africa’s regional bloc, as its ultimatum for the country’s coup leaders to reinstate the president expires. On Niamey’s streets there were sporadic displays of support for but no signs of opposition to the junta, which has said it will not cave …

KYIV: Russia carried out several waves of attacks on Ukraine overnight, while Kyiv hit bridges in occupied territories on Sunday. The Ukrainian air force said on Sunday that it shot down 30 out of the 40 cruise missiles and all Shahed drones launched by Russia. “In total, the enemy used 70 air attack weapons in several waves” in the night …

TUNIS: The bodies of 10 migrants have been found on a beach in Tunisia, near the city of Sfax which has seen a spike this year in Europe-bound sea crossings, authorities said on Sunday. Tunisia has become a major gateway for irregular migrants and asylum seekers primarily from other parts of Africa, attempting perilous voyages in often rickety boats in …

JERUSALEM: Israeli security forces shot dead three Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, Israeli police said in a statement. The statement claimed special forces “thwarted a squad from the Jenin refugee camp that was on its way to carry out an attack”. Hazem Qassem, a Hamas Gaza spokesman, said the deaths would not go unpunished. “The enemy, which …

PINGYUAN: At least 23 people were injured and dozens of buildings collapsed, state media reported, after a shallow 5.4-magnitude earthquake struck eastern China in the early hours of Sunday. The US Geological Survey said the quake struck at 2:33am, 26 kilometres south of the city of Dezhou in Shandong province, at a depth of 10 kilometres. It was the strongest …

India’s main opposition leader Rahul Gandhi was restored to parliament on Monday after the supreme court last week suspended his defamation conviction over political comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Gandhi’s disqualification “has ceased to operate subject to further judicial pronouncements,” Utpal Kumar Singh, secretary general of the lower parliament house said in a statement. The 53-year-old Congress party leader was sentenced to two …

Manila summoned Beijing’s envoy on Monday after the China Coast Guard blocked and water cannoned Philippine vessels in the disputed South China Sea, President Ferdinand Marcos said. The incident happened on Saturday as the Philippine Coast Guard escorted charter boats carrying food, water, fuel and other supplies for Filipino military personnel stationed at Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands. Beijing claims …

WASHINGTON: Prosecutors flagged a threatening social media post from Donald Trump in a late-night court filing on Friday, arguing that it suggests the former US president might intimidate witnesses by improperly disclosing confidential evidence received from the government. On his Truth Social site, Trump wrote: “If you go after me, I’m coming after you!” on Friday afternoon, a day after …