International

WASHINGTON: The main US health agency continues to place Pakistan among the countries where the chances of catching Covid-19 are low. In its latest update on the pandemic, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) placed Pakistan in level-1, which is its lowest category for getting infected by a disease. The agency places India in level-3, which includes …

WASHINGTON: The Biden administration is raising red flags about 33 Chinese companies whose legitimacy it cannot verify, imposing new restrictions on their ability to receive shipments from US exporters and requiring extra diligence from American companies that want to do business with them. The Commerce Department said on Monday that it was adding the companies to what is known as …

HONG KONG: The residents of Hong Kong crowded supermarkets and fresh food markets on Monday to stock up on vegetables, noodles and other necessities after a record number of Covid-19 infections in the city and transport disruptions at the border with mainland China. The city of 7.5 million people reported a record 614 coronavirus cases on Monday, in the biggest …

MOSCOW: French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday he hoped to make a start towards a de-escalation of tensions over Ukraine, as he began talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Macron flew into Moscow at the start of a week of intense Western diplomacy aimed at easing fears of a Russian invasion of its pro-Western neighbour. Sitting across …

LONDON: A detective constable from the Met Police’s counter-terrorism department was cross-examined at the Kingston-upon-Thames court on Monday, as the incitement to viol­e­nce trial against MQM supremo Altaf Hussain entered its second week. The officer informed the court about evidence retrieved during a raid at the Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s international secretariat at Edgware, London, in 2019. The officer spoke of …

SRINAGAR: An Indian court on Monday gave a Kashmiri freelance journalist two days to appear before it over a police complaint that he had acted against the public interest by sharing information on social media about a militant attack on a policeman. The complaint against Gowhar Nazir Geelani comes days after the editor of web portal Kashmir Walla, Fahad Shah, was arrested for …

JERUSALEM: Three members of the United Arab Emirates’ Federal National Council visited Israel’s parliament on Monday, becoming the first Emirati delegation there since the US-brokered normalisation of ties in 2020. “When we talk about Abraham Accords agreements, we want you to look at the big picture,” Ali Rashid al-Nuaimi, chairman of the council’s defence, interior and foreign affairs committee, said …

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor said on Tuesday it deeply regrets any offence caused to Indians by an “unauthorised” tweet from the account of its Pakistan partner that expressed solidarity for the people of Indian-occupied Kashmir (IoK). “As a business policy, Hyundai Motor Company does not comment on political or religious issues in any specific region,” Hyundai said in a Twitter …

Al Qaeda’s past ties to the recently empowered Taliban have the potential of making Afghanistan a safe haven for extremists, and “terrorist groups enjoy greater freedom there than at any time in recent history”, UN experts said in a report circulated on Monday. In the wide-ranging report, the experts also said extremists linked to both Al Qaeda and the militant Islamic State …

ADDIS ABABA: The African Union has condemned a recent “wave” of military coups that has seen an unprecedented number of member states suspended from the bloc, a senior official said on Sunday, the last day of its annual summit. The putsches were among the main issues expected to be discussed at the summit, along with the AU’s ties to Israel …