International

LONDON: More than 45,000 migrants crossed the Channel to the UK from mainland Europe in 2022, surpassing the previous year’s record by more than 17,000, according to government figures released on Sunday. The issue has become a huge political problem for the Conservative government, which has promised to bring down illegal immigration and break the smuggling gangs that carry out …

RABAT: A group of Moroccans entered Spain’s Melilla enclave overnight Saturday-Sunday, a rights group said, out of dozens who attempted the crossing at one of two EU land borders with Africa. “Dozens of young Moroccans attempted to cross” into Melilla from the border town of Nador on New Year’s Eve, the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) said on Twitter. …

WASHINGTON: The US budget for 2023 has two small but significant provisions for Pakistan, including $15 million for improving security along the Afghan border and an unspecified amount of funds to promote gender equality in the country. The first pledge underlines Washington’s desire to help Islamabad curb terrorist attacks from Afghanistan that have become a major threat for Pakistan. The …

Menlo Park (Califo­rnia, US): Facebook owner Meta Inc is preparing to announce whether it will allow former US President Donald Trump back on to Facebook and Instagram, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. The social media giant had previously said it will decide by Jan 7 whether to allow the former president to return. However, that decision is now expected …

WASHINGTON: For much of the global economy, 2023 is going to be a tough year as the main engines of global growth — the United States, Europe and China — all experience weakening activity, the head of the International Monetary Fund said on Sunday. The new year is going to be “tougher than the year we leave behind,” IMF Managing …

KYIV: Russia’s New Year assaults on Ukraine left four people dead and wounded dozens this weekend as Moscow on Sunday claimed to have thwarted Kyiv’s “terror attacks” on the homeland. The Ukrainian capital and other cities came under fire from missiles and Iranian-made drones on Saturday, killing three people. At least one drone had the Russian words “Happy New Year” …

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis hailed the “beloved” Benedict XVI in New Year’s Day services on Sunday as the Vatican released the first pictures of the former pontiff following his death at the age of 95. Official photos showed the German theologian’s body on a catafalque in the chapel of the monastery in the Vatican grounds where he spent the last …

BEIJING: Travellers from China now face restrictions when entering more than a dozen countries as concern grows over its surge in Covid-19 cases, with Australia the latest to demand a negative test before arrival. Last month, Beijing abruptly began dismantling its “zero-Covid” containment policy of lockdowns and mass testing, three years after the coronavirus first emerged in the city of …

The Taliban administration will encourage “self-sufficiency” and wants international trade and investment, the acting Commerce Minister Haji Nooruddin Azizi said, as Afghanistan faces isolation and suspension of some humanitarian operations over restrictions on women. “We will start a national self-sufficiency programme, we will encourage all government administrations to use domestic products, we will also try to encourage people through mosques to support …

The Afghan Taliban administration on Sunday rejected Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah’s remarks pertaining to the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP) hideouts in Afghanistan, calling them “provocative” and “baseless”. In an interview with Express TV last week, Sanaullah had said that Pakistan may target TTP militants in Afghanistan if authorities in Kabul did not take any action against them. “Afghanistan is our brotherly country and we …