International

WASHINGTON: The Pentagon is considering a Boeing proposal to supply Ukraine with cheap, small precision bombs fitted onto abundantly available rockets, allowing Kyiv to strike far behind Russian lines as the West struggles to meet demand for more arms. US and allied military inventories are shrinking, and Ukraine faces an increasing need for more sophisticated weapons as the war drags …

ANKARA: After years of tension, a handshake between Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi last week opened the door to a flurry of back-door diplomacy between intelligence officials, two sources said. Intelligence delegations from the two sides met in Egypt at the weekend, said a regional source with knowledge of the matter who spoke on condition …

PARIS: A group of Iranian actors have staged a silent protest without their headscarves in a gesture of solidarity with demonstrations sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a video posted on social media showed. The death of Amini, 22, who had been arrested by the Tehran morality police, has triggered more than two months of protests which pose the …

ONCUPINAR: Turkey’s army needs just a few days to be ready for a ground incursion into northern Syria and such a decision may come at a cabinet meeting on Monday, Turkish officials said, as Turkish forces bombarded a Kurdish militia across the border. Howitzers fired daily from Turkey have struck Kurdish YPG targets for a week, while warplanes have carried …

WASHINGTON: Foreign Affairs Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has urged the international community to set up a fund for helping the victims of climate change before the next UN climate change conference, known as COP28, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) next year. The UAE hosts the next UN-sponsored Conference of the Parties (COP) in November 2023 while COP27 was held in Egypt earlier …

Police in southern India on Tuesday ramped up security around Vizhinjam port being built by billionaire Gautam Adani’s group after scores of people were injured during clashes with protesters from a fishing community over the weekend. Construction at the mega $900-million port project on the southern tip of India has been halted for more than three months after protesters — mostly Christian …

Chinese authorities have begun inquiries into some of the people who gathered at weekend protests against Covid-19 curbs, three people who were at the Beijing demonstrations told Reuters, as police remained out in numbers on the city’s streets. In one case, a caller identifying as a police officer in the Chinese capital asked the protester to show up at a police station …

MEXICO CITY: The government of Nicolas Maduro and the Venezuelan opposition broke a political stalemate on Saturday with a broad social accord, and the US government responded by allowing a major US oil company to resume operations in Venezuela. The accord heralded a potential easing of a grinding economic and political crisis in Venezuela. It paves the way for the …

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country aimed to have the world’s most powerful nuclear force as he celebrated the launch of its newest intercontinental ballistic missile at a ceremony with his young daughter, state media reported on Sunday. Kim also handed promotions to more than 100 officials and scientists for their work on the Hwasong-17 — …

WASHINGTON: There has been a 17 percent year-on-year increase in the number of Pakistani students in the United States during 2021-22, says an official US report. The report, released in Washington this week, notes that the United States remains the top destination for international students and the number of students from Bangladesh, Nepal, India, and Pakistan is on the rise! In …