International

JERUSALEM: Israel has launched a polio vaccination drive after its first case of the disease in more than three decades, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday, voicing concern turnout may be depressed by public fatigue over the Covid-19 pandemic. Poliomyelitis, or polio, is a viral disease of the brain and spinal cord that can cause irreversible paralysis. It affects mainly …

UNITED NATIONS: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky challenged the United Nations to “act immediately” or “dissolve yourself altogether” during a blistering address on Tuesday in which he showed harrowing footage of dead bodies — including children — he said were victims of Russian atrocities. Likening Russia’s actions in Bucha and other Ukrainian cities to violence carried out by “terrorists” such as the militant …

TEHRAN: Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Sunday an agreement is “close” in paused negotiations to restore the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers. Iran has been engaged in negotiations to revive the deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China directly, and the United States indirectly. “We …

WASHINGTON: The United Nati­ons, US and Nato leaders voiced shock and horror on Sunday at new evidence of atrocities against civilians in Ukra­ine, and warned that Russian troop movements away from Kyiv did not signal a withdrawal or end to the violence. Evidence of possible civilian killings around Kyiv has emerged as the Russian army has pulled back from the …

AMMAN: An outspoken half-brother of Jordan’s king relinquished his princely title on Sunday in apparent protest over how the country is run. It was the latest chapter in an ongoing palace feud that saw the junior royal placed under house arrest a year ago. Prince Hamzah posted the announcement on his official Twitter account. He wrote that he was driven …

KABUL: Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban on Sunday announced a ban on poppy production, even as farmers across the country began harvesting the bright red flower that produces the opium used to make heroin. The order warns farmers that their crops will be burned and they can be jailed if they proceed with the harvest. Taliban’s spokes­man Zabihullah Muj­ahid announced the ban …

COLOMBO: Armed troops in Sri Lanka had a tense confrontation with a crowd protesting a worsening economic crisis on Sunday, after a social media blackout failed to halt another day of anti-government demonstrations. The South Asian nation is facing severe shortages of food, fuel and other essentials — along with record inflation and crippling power cuts — in its most …

PARIS: A loosely federated network of scientists in more than two dozen countries plan acts of civil disobedience starting this week to highlight the climate crisis, members of Scientist Rebellion said. Their non-violent actions are timed to the release on Monday of a landmark report from the UN’s climate science advisory panel laying out options for slashing carbon pollution and …

KABUL: An explosion in the centre of the Afghan capital of Kabul on Sunday killed one person and wounded at least 59 others, hospital officials said. In a tweet, Kabul’s Emergency Hospital said one body was received at the hospital and 59 people were treated, with 30 of the wounded being admitted for further treatment. It did not specify the …

TEHRAN: Over 250 women working in Iran’s film industry have signed a statement condemning what they call “systematic” sexual harassment and demanding a committee address the issue. People in power in Iranian cinema are known to exploit their positions “to bully, threaten, insult, humiliate and assault women,” they charged. “Acts of violence are systematic,” said the statement signed by some …