International

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden warned Americans on Monday that the 2022 mid-term contest was between democratic and non-democratic forces as his predecessor Donald Trump indicated that he would not accept the results if his candidates lost. “An overwhelming majority of Americans believe that our democracy is under threat,” said Mr Biden in one of his speeches on the last …

LAHORE: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday appealed to the international financial institutions and to the G20 nations to create mechanisms of debt relief for middle-income countries impacted by natural disasters, including Pakistan, while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif highlighted how some countries will be more exposed and vulnerable to climate change than those in cooler regions. Addressing a joint …

MOGADISHU: At least 10 soldiers were killed when Somalia’s Al Shabaab militants assaulted a military base in the central Galgaduud region on Monday, a military officer said, days after government forces said they had regained control of the area. The army eventually pushed the militants out of the base in Qayib, a village captured from Al Shabaab last week, defence …

BEIJING: China reported its highest daily Covid caseload in six months on Monday, despite grinding lockdowns that have heavily disrupted manufacturing, education and day-to-day life. Beijing over the weekend quas­hed hopes that its strict zero-Covid policy — in which spot lockdowns, quarantines and mass testing are employed to quash outbreaks — might be relaxed anytime soon. But a torrent of …

WASHINGTON: Just days after taking control of powerful social media giant Twitter Inc, billionaire Elon Musk on Monday recommended that voters pick Republican candidates for Congress in Tuesday’s US midterm election. Musk, who is also Tesla CEO, has faced criticism from some groups over his absolutist stance on free speech. They expect his position to increase the volume of misinformation …

ISLAMABAD: The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) says the past eight years are on track to be the warmest on record, fuelled by ever-rising greenhouse gas concentrations and accumulated heat. Provisional estimates of ‘State of the Global Climate in 2022” report, released on Monday in Sharm El-Sheikh during COP27, says extreme heatwaves, drought and devastating flooding have affected millions and cost billions …

MOSCOW: Influential Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is linked to President Vladimir Putin and sanctioned by Washington and European countries, admitted on Monday to interfering in US elections. “Gentlemen, we interfered, we are interfering and we will interfere,” Prigozhin, who has been accused of running a “troll factory” to influence the outcome of votes in several Western countries, said in …

LONDON: A pro-Imran slogan was spray painted on the wall of Stanhope House, the building where former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s son Hussain has an office, on Monday, in an act that constitutes ‘criminal vandalism’ under UK law. On Monday evening, a ‘die-hard’ supporter of PTI Chairman Imran Khan, British Pakistani Shayan Ali posted a photo on social media where …

SHARM EL-SHEIKH: During talks on curbing global warming, UN chief Antonio Guterres warned world leaders here on Monday that humanity was in “the fight of our lives” as climate change intensifies droughts, floods and heatwaves. In the midst of a barrage of international crises battering economies and shaking international relations, Guterres said the international community faced a stark choice. “Cooperate …

WASHINGTON: As Russia became India’s top oil supplier last month, the US State Department said on Monday that the United States “does not currently have” sanctions on Russian energy exports to other countries. The Indian media reported earlier in the day that Russia had surpassed traditional sellers Saudi Arabia and Iraq in exporting oil to India. The report noted that India remained …