International

UNITED NATIONS: Six Pakistanis were among 117 UN peacekeepers who were awarded UN medals of courage on Thursday for sacrificing their lives for the cause of peace. Five of the six — Tahir Ikram, Tahir Mehmood, Mohammed Naeem, Adil Jan and Mohammed Shafiq — were from the armed forces, while the sixth, Ibrar Syed, was a civilian. At the UN …

MUMBAI: India has imposed restrictions on sugar exports for the first time in six years by capping this season’s exports at 10 million tonnes, a government order said on Wednesday, to prevent a surge in domestic prices after mills sold a record volume on the world market. The government also asked exporters to seek its permission for any overseas shipments …

WASHINGTON: A top Abbott official apologised on Wednesday to US families affected by the baby formula shortage, telling them the manufacturer of the essential supply “let you down”. “We are deeply sorry and are committed to making sure that a shortage like this never happens again,” said Christopher Calamari, the senior vice president of nutrition, in prepared testimony for a …

WASHINGTON: The US point man on Iran warned on Wednesday of uncertain prospects for reviving a nuclear deal and said Tehran would face a new pressure campaign if it clung to its demands. Rob Malley, who has led more than a year of indirect talks with Iran in Vienna, nonetheless told Congress that President Joe Biden’s administration still supported the …

JERUSALEM: Turkish and Israeli foreign ministers said on Wednesday their countries were hoping to expand economic ties as they seek an end to more than a decade of strained relations. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is on the second-day of a two-day trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories, the first such visit by a senior Turkish official in 15 …

WASHINGTON: “When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?” US President Joe Biden asked his nation on Wednesday, hours after a teenage gunman killed at least 19 children and two teachers in an elementary school in Texas. The powerful gun lobby in America has so far prevented all administrations from making strict gun control …

ISLAMABAD: UK Minister for Armed Forces James Heappey on Wed­nesday said Pakistan’s political uphea­val was because of domestic factors rather than some sinister foreign plot and looked relieved that there was now a convergence of views on international order. The British minister, while talking to journalists at a virtual session during his visit to Islamabad, said: “What is happening in …

The Taliban government’s restrictions on women are aimed at making them “invisible” in Afghan society, a UN human rights observer said on Thursday during a visit to the nation. Since the Taliban stormed back to power last year, they have imposed harsh restrictions on women and girls. Teenage girls have been shut out from secondary schools, while women have been forced from …

KABUL: Four bombs ripped through minibuses and a mosque in Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing 12 people, officials said. The number of bomb attacks has dropped across the country since the Taliban seized power last year in August, but several deadly bombings had rocked the country during Ramazan. On Wednesday, 10 people were killed when three bombs placed on board separate …

Israel has told the United States it was responsible for the killing of an Iranian Revolutionary Guards colonel last week, The New York Times reported on Wednesday. Colonel Sayyad Khodai was shot dead on Sunday by a gunman on the back of a motorcycle as he sat in a car outside his home in Tehran. Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has vowed to avenge the …