International

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will depart for Turkiye on Thursday (today) on a two-day visit to “personally convey heartfelt condolences” over the loss of precious lives caused by the massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Turkiye and neighbouring Syria on Feb 6, the Foreign Office said. In a press release, the FO said the premier — during his stay in the capital Ankara …

PARIS: An Israeli firm sought to influence more than 30 elections around the world for clients by hacking, sabotage and spreading disinformation, according to an undercover media investigation published on Wednesday. It adds to a growing body of evidence that shadowy private firms across the world are profiting from invasive hacking tools and the power of social media platforms to …

TRIPOLI: Dozens of migrants are thought to have died after their boat sunk off the coast of Libya, the United Nations said on Wednesday, the latest tragedy on the world’s deadliest migration route. The boat carrying 80 people had departed from Qasr al-Akhyar, east of the capital Tripoli, and was heading to Europe when it ran into trouble on Tuesday, …

PARIS: An Israeli firm sought to influence more than 30 elections around the world for clients by hacking, sabotage and spreading disinformation, according to an undercover media investigation published on Wednesday. It adds to a growing body of evidence that shadowy private firms across the world are profiting from invasive hacking tools and the power of social media platforms to …

LONDON: With the cause of Scottish independence stalled by a Westminster government veto on a new referendum, nationalist leader Nicola Sturgeon on Wednesday offered a new approach to break the deadlock — her resignation as first minister of Scotland. But Sturgeon’s departure also poses a huge risk to the cause. Her success over eight years of leading the Scottish National …

JAKARTA: Separatists in Indonesia’s restive Papua region have released images that they say show a New Zealand pilot taken hostage last week is in good health, but pledged he would not be freed until authorities acknowledge the independence of the area. The pilot, Philip Mehrtens, who flew a plane operated by airline Susi Air, was abducted by fighters from the …

WASHINGTON: Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers are unlikely to discontinue supporting militants in Pakistan as they feel that economic troubles prevent Islamabad from launching a major operation against the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), according to a new report from a leading US think tank. “Amid Pakistan’s economic crisis and the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan, the Pakistani Taliban have reemerged as an increasingly …

ANTAKYA: A 77-year-old woman was rescued during recovery efforts after 212 hours a powerful quake ripped through Turkiye and neighbouring Syria, media reports said on Wednesday. The woman named Fatma Gungor was pulled alive from the rubble of a seven-storey apartment block in the city of Adiyaman. Wearing an oxygen mask, covered in a gold foil blanket and strapped onto …

NEW DELHI: Indian tax authorities raided the BBC‘s offices in New Delhi and Mumbai on Tuesday, weeks after the broadcaster aired a documentary critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s actions in the Gujarat riots. Police sealed off the New Delhi office, which occupies two floors, and half a dozen officers were stationed outside to prevent people from entering or leaving. Press …

MARGATE: British graffiti artist Banksy on Tuesday unveiled his latest UK street artwork, which appears to take aim at domestic violence against women as the world celebrates Valentine’s Day. The mural, which appeared in Margate in southeast England, depicts a 1950s-style housewife with a swollen eye and a missing tooth seemingly shoving her male partner into a real chest freezer. …