International

Sri Lanka’s ousted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was provided on Saturday with an official residence and security by the government after he returned to the country he had fled in July during economic unrest, two senior officials said. Rajapaksa fled in the early hours of July 13 after massive protests engulfed Colombo and demonstrators enraged with the economic devastation stormed his official residence and office. …

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recovered more than 11,000 government documents and photographs during its August 8 search at former president Donald Trump’s Florida estate, as well as 48 empty folders labelled as “classified,” according to court records that were unsealed on Friday. The unsealing by US District Judge Aileen Cannon in West Palm Beach came one day after she heard …

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden will host leaders of Pacific Island nations at a Sept 28-29 gathering in Washington, the White House said on Friday, the latest US effort to step up ties with a region increasingly courted by China. The summit will reflect the United States “broadening and deepening cooperation on key issues such as climate change, pandemic response, …

WASHINGTON: “The scenes coming out of Pakistan are heartbreaking,” said the head of a US Senate panel on South Asia as US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan assured Islamabad that Washington “will continue to stand by Pakistan during this tragic time”. The statements, issued by their offices on Thursday, followed media warnings that Pakistan was facing a flood of “Biblical …

ISLAMABAD: As floods continue to devastate the southern part of the country, Pakistan on Thursday received 15 million pounds (1 pound=$1.15) from the United Kingdom and 10 million Danish Krone (1 Krone=$0.13) from Denmark as the global community stepped up efforts to provide relief to over 30 million flood-hit people. France also pledged an “extraordinary operation” to provide emergency relief …

Anchorage: Mary Peltola, a Democratic former state lawmaker, won a special election to fill Alaska’s sole US House of Representatives seat, becoming the first Alaska Native to represent the state in Congress, the Alaska Division of Elections announced on Wednesday. She defeated Republican former Governor Sarah Palin by 51.47pc to 48.53pc. Palin is widely known for her unsuccessful vice presidential …

PARIS: A new hormone treatment improved the cognitive function of six men with Down Syndrome by 10-30 percent, scientists said on Thursday, adding the “promising” results may raise hopes of improving patients’ quality of life. However the scientists emphasised the small study did not point towards a cure for the cognitive disorders of people with Down Syndrome and that far …

TAIPEI: A colourful Taiwanese tycoon unveiled plans on Thursday to train more than three million “civilian warriors” to help defend the democratic island in the event of a Chinese invasion, donating $33 million of his own money. Robert Tsao, 75, is one of Taiwan’s most successful businessmen and founded major microchip maker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC). He has been increasingly …

BAGHDAD: Clashes among rival Shia militants in the Iraqi city of Basra have killed at least four people, security officials said on Thursday, as violence from a worsening political crisis hit the south of the country. The unrest began with two days of intense street fighting in Baghdad earlier in the week, the worst the Iraqi capital has seen for …

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin is to miss the funeral of the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, denying the man who failed to prevent the collapse of the Soviet empire the full state honours granted to Boris Yeltsin. Gorbachev, idolised in the West for allowing eastern Europe to escape Soviet communist control but unloved at home for the chaos that …