International

ISLAMABAD: Eight top United Nations human rights experts have called on the countries of the world to step up their assistance to monsoon flood victims in Pakistan and ensure that international recovery efforts are guided by human rights law and standards. “We add our voices to those calling for international solidarity with the victims of the floods in Pakistan,” the …

PARIS: At least 17 people have been killed as popular unrest has flared across Iran over the death in custody of Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini, while a rights group said Thursday the death toll was almost twice as high. Amini, 22, died last week after her arrest by the Islamic republic’s feared morality police for allegedly wearing a hijab headscarf …

TBILISI: Some Russian men headed swiftly to the borders on Thursday after President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilisation, with traffic at frontier crossings with Finland and Georgia surging and prices for air tickets from Moscow rocketing. Putin on Wednesday ordered Russia’s first mobilisation since World War Two and backed a plan to annex swathes of Ukraine, warning the West …

Iran’s army warned on Friday that it would “confront the enemies” to ensure security and peace in the country, according to a statement, as protests rage over the death of a woman in the morality police’s custody. Iranians have staged nationwide demonstrations over the case of Mahsa Amini, 22, who died last week after being arrested for wearing “unsuitable attire”. The army said “these …

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday that the world’s response to the flood devastation in Pakistan was “commendable” but added that it was far from meeting the country’s needs. In an interview with Bloomberg TV, the premier outlined the challenges the country is facing due to catastrophic flood which have displaced more than 33 million people. “We are among the …

SYDNEY: A pod of 230 pilot whales was found stranded on the rugged west coast of Tasmania on Wednesday, with Australian officials saying only half appeared to be alive. Aerial images showed a devastating scene of dozens of black glossy mammals strewn across a long beach, stuck on the waterline where the frigid southern ocean meets the sand. Locals covered …

TOKYO: A man set himself on fire near the Japanese prime minister’s office on Wednesday after expressing opposition to a state funeral for assassinated ex-premier Shinzo Abe, local media reported. Police declined to confirm the incident, but the government said an individual with burns had been found near government property. “We are aware that a man with burns was found …

Minneapolis: A former Minneapolis police officer who pleaded guilty to a state charge of aiding and abetting in the killing of George Floyd, a Black man whose death outraged people around the world, was sentenced to three years in prison on Wednesday. Thomas Lane appeared via video link at his brief sentencing hearing in Hennepin County District Court from a …

NEW DELHI: Elections are not due for Madhya Pradesh state assembly until November 2023. But this is the state the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party wrested from Congress not by winning the elections but by engineering defections. And therefore it has an iffy power projection. Also, reports from local polls recently showed the BJP struggling in several mayoral contests. Result: periodic …

MOSCOW: More than 400 people have been arrested at demonstrations across Russia against President Vladimir Putin’s announcement earlier of a partial mobilisation of civilians to fight in Ukraine, a police monitoring group said on Wednesday. The OVD-Info monitoring group said at least 425 people were detained at rallies in 24 different cities across the country after Putin’s announcement in an …