International

TEHRAN: The Iranian president said on Monday that reviving a 2015 atomic deal with world powers would be pointless unless the UN nuclear watchdog put an end to its probe of undeclared sites in the country. Ebrahim Raisi’s comments came as Tehran reviews the US response to its suggestions on a “final” text put forward by the EU to salvage …

BAGHDAD: Twelve protesters were killed on Monday after powerful cleric Moqtada al Sadr said he would quit politics, prompting his loyalists to storm a palatial government complex in Baghdad and leading to clashes with rival Shia groups. Young men loyal to Sadr charged the government headquarters in Baghdad’s Green Zone, once a palace of Saddam Hussein, and took to the …

ISLAMABAD: Chinese President Xi Jinping, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Indian Prime Minister Nar­en­dra Modi, and Britain’s Queen Elizabeth on Monday expressed solidarity with Pakistan over the loss of lives in devastating floods. President Xi and Prime Minister Li Keqiang in their messages to President Arif Alvi and PM Shehbaz Sharif hoped that the government and people of Pakistan will overcome …

The Foreign Office (FO) on Sunday rejected the Afghan Taliban’s claims about Pakistani airspace being used for the US strike that killed Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. The FO’s response came after, earlier in the day, Afghan Defence Minister Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid accused Pakistan of providing airspace for US drones to enter his country, saying the incursions were a continuation of Washington’s …

JERUSALEM: The head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency will visit the United States in early September for talks on the possible revival of the Iran nuclear deal, an official said on Sunday. The announced visit is the latest in the Jewish state’s push to sway Western powers from a deal to return to the landmark 2015 deal with Tehran. Israel …

ISLAMABAD: Humanitarian assistance and solidarity messages from different parts of the world continued to pour in, with Canada, France, Qatar, the UAE, Turkiye and Azerbaijan among the leading countries to pledge support in response to Pakistan’s call for help in the wake of devastation caused by flood. Also, Pope Francis during his visit to the city of L’Aquila in central …

KYIV: Russian artillery fired at Ukrainian towns across the river from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant overnight, local officials said on Sunday, adding to residents’ anguish as reports of shelling around the plant fuelled fears of a radiation disaster. Russia’s defence ministry said there was more Ukrainian shelling of the plant over the past 24 hours, just a day after …

WASHINGTON: The United States on Sunday denounced Russia’s “cynical obstructionism” after Moscow blocked adoption of a joint declaration on nuclear non-proliferation following lengthy international negotiations at the United Nations. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which 191 signatories review every five years, aims to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, promote complete disarmament and promote cooperation in the peaceful use of …

WASHINGTON: A US judge on Saturday said it was her “preliminary intent” to grant former president Donald Trump’s request to appoint a special master to oversee a review of materials seized on Aug 8 from his Florida home during an FBI raid. US District Judge Aileen M. Cannon, who was nominated by Trump in 2020, on Saturday also directed the …

NIEUW BEIJERLAND: Dutch police on Sunday said six people were killed and seven others hurt after a truck ran off the top of a dike road and ploughed into revellers at a neighbourhood barbecue. The accident happened around 6pm on Saturday when the Spanish-registered lorry went off the road in the village of Nieuw-Beijerland, 30 kilometres (18 miles) south of …