International

BERLIN: Germany said on Wednesday it will drastically reduce Moscow’s diplomatic presence on its soil in response to a similar move from Russia, in the latest escalation of tensions over the war in Ukraine. Berlin has ordered four of Moscow’s five consulates in Germany to close, a foreign ministry spokesman told a regular government press conference. “This was communicated to …

BEIRUT: Five members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command fighter group were killed in a blast overnight near Lebanon’s border with Syria, sources said on Wednesday, with the group blaming Israel but security sources disputing the account. An Israeli source said the Israeli military was not involved in the Syria-Lebanon border blast and Lebanon’s army declined …

NEW YORK: If New York is the city that never sleeps then how’s this for keeping you up at night? It is also sinking. The Big Apple is gradually going down partly because of the weight of the skyscrapers that make the concrete jungle famous, a new study has found. The descent makes the metropolis more vulnerable to rising sea …

COPENHAGEN: Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Wednesday delivered a speech to parliament partly written using artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT to highlight the revolutionary aspects and risks of AI. The head of the Danish government was giving a traditional speech as parliament gets ready to close for the summer. “What I have just read here is not from me. Or …

WASHINGTON: The Qatari prime minister held secret talks with the supreme leader of the Taliban this month on resolving tension with the international community, a source briefed on the meeting said, signaling a new willingness by Afghanistan’s rulers to discuss ways to end their isolation. The May 12 meeting in Afghan city of Kandahar between Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin …

Tensions between the United States and China are expected to loom over Asia’s top security meeting this week, as China has declined a bilateral meeting between the superpowers’ defence chiefs. The Shangri-La Dialogue, which attracts top defence officials, senior military officers, diplomats, weapons makers and security analysts from around the globe, will take place from June 2-4 in Singapore. More …

GENEVA: The United Nations’ weather agency announced on Tuesday it was making the cryosphere a new top priority, saying the melting of sea ice, glaciers and permafrost posed a global threat. Member states at the UN’s World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) are concerned about the impacts of melting ice on sea levels, natural disasters, ecosystems and economies. “The cryosphere issue is …

NEW DELHI: India’s top wrestlers were talked out of their plans to toss their medals into the river Ganges on Tuesday as part of their ongoing demand to arrest their federation chief over sexual harassment allegations. The athletes had been camping in New Delhi since April 23 demanding action against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, …

UNITED NATIONS: More than 220,000 Pakistani troops have served in 46 UN missions in 29 countries around the globe, recalls a statement issued on the 75th anniversary of UN Peacekeeping operations, observed on this week. Overall, more than two million uniformed and civilian personnel have served in UN peace missions since 1948. The first two peacekeeping operations were the UN …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Belarus on Tuesday signed a landmark visa waiver agreement for red and blue passport holders. Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, while speaking at a joint press conference with Foreign Minister of Belarus Sergei Aleinik, said one key outcome of the visit was the signing of an agreement between the two countries on abolition of visas for holders of …