International

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz will stay in hospital for some time to rest on doctors’ advice after undergoing colonoscopy on Sunday, the Saudi Press Agency said, citing the royal court. It said the results of the colonoscopy were fine, and did did not say exactly how long the king would be in hospital. The king was admitted …

WASHINGTON: “Focus on the light. Try to take it in,” said Karachi artist Riaz Rafi as a guest asked him to explain one of his works. The guest, who only gave her first name Nancy, turned and faced the painting, a piece of calligraphy. “Illuminating, soothing,” she said with a pause. “These lines, do they mean something?” she asked. “This …

Sri Lankan police imposed a curfew on Monday after clashes between rival political camps, as anger builds over the island’s worst economic crisis since independence. Months of blackouts and dire shortages of food, fuel and medicines have caused widespread suffering across the South Asian island and weeks of overwhelmingly peaceful anti-government protests. At least 20 people were injured in the …

Sri Lanka Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned on Monday, his spokesman said, shortly after violent clashes between his supporters and anti-government protesters left 78 people wounded. The 76-year-old sent his letter of resignation to his younger brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, clearing the way for a “new unity government”, spokesman Rohan Weliwita said. Earlier in the day, the Sri Lankan authorities …

KABUL: The National Resistance Front (NRF), led by the son of late anti-Taliban commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, on Saturday claimed to have seized three northern districts from the Taliban, after announcing a wide military offensive. Led by Ahmad Massoud, NRF said the action in the Panjshir Valley was its first armed offensive against Taliban forces since they stormed back to …

WASHINGTON: Paki­stan has ruled out refugee status for Afghan asylum-seekers but is facilitating their stay and onward journeys to destinations in the West, the Voice of America (VOA) broadcasting service reported on Saturday. Another VOA report said that the United States was giving Ukraine 16 Mi-17 helicopters that were meant for Afghanistan. Pakistani officials said that since the Taliban takeover, more than 100,000 urban Afghans have …

DUBAI: The European Union’s Iran nuclear talks coordinator Enrique Mora is to visit Tehran on Tuesday, the semi-official agency Nour News reported on Saturday, as the bloc said it was seeking to break a deadlock and save the 2015 accord. Talks to revive Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers have been on hold since March, chiefly over Tehran’s insistence that Washington …

PARIS: France’s Emmanuel Macron was sworn in for his second term as president on Saturday, promising to lead the country with a “new method” as his political rivals kicked off campaigning for next month’s legislative elections. In a country where presidents rarely get re-elected, Macron won 58.5% of the votes in the second round against the far-right’s Marine Le Pen, …

BELFAST: Irish nationalists Sinn Fein were poised for a historic first-ever win in elections for the Northern Ireland Assembly after vote counting resumed on Saturday. Tallies from Thursday’s complex proportional voting showed that the former political wing of the IRA paramilitary group had secured 18 seats for the 90-seat legislature, setting it on course for victory. England, Wales and Scotland …

MANILA: The son of late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos was set to address hundreds of thousands of supporters Saturday on the final day of presidential election campaigning, as polls showed him heading towards a landslide win. Victory in Monday’s election would cap a decades-long effort to rehabilitate the Marcos legacy after the patriarch was deposed and the disgraced clan chased …