International

WASHINGTON: Documents ripped up, stuffed down the toilet or carted off to Florida — the list of former US leader Donald Trump’s alleged flouting of laws on preserving presidential papers grew longer and more bizarre on Thursday. Trump’s shredding of many previously accepted norms of presidential decorum was part of his populist attraction to Republican supporters. But now the National …

WASHINGTON: Film star Angelina Jolie was back on Capitol Hill on Wednesday pleading with US lawmakers to immediately pass measures to combat domestic violence. At a press briefing in the US Capitol, Jolie expressed support for renewing legislation that would provide victims of such abuse with medical and legal assistance, as well as support to children who have been exposed …

KABUL: Only five hospitals in Afghanistan still offer Covid-19 treatment, with 33 others having been forced to close in recent months for lack of doctors, medicines and even heating. This comes as the economically devastated nation is hit by a steep rise in the number of reported coronavirus cases. At Kabul’s only Covid-19 treatment hospital, staff can only heat the …

PARIS: France’s gender equality minister threw her support on Thursday behind Muslim women footballers who are seeking to overturn a ban on players wearing headscarves on the pitch. Rules set by the French Football Federation currently prevent players taking part in competitive matches from wearing religious symbols such as Muslim headscarves or the Jewish kippa (a skullcap). A women’s collective …

LONDON: British ex-premier John Major on Thursday accused Prime Minister Boris Johnson of breaking Covid laws and fostering public “contempt” for politics, as police prepared to grill Downing Street party-goers. The unusually blunt attack from Major on his Conser­vative colleague underlined the political jeopardy John­son faces with several lawmakers from the ruling party calling publicly for his resignation. Police are …

MOSCOW: Russia rolled its tanks across Belarus on Thursday for live-fire drills that drew an ominous warning from Nato and added urgency to Western efforts to avert a feared invasion of Ukraine. Nato said Russia’s deployment of missiles, heavy armour and machine-gun toting soldiers marked a “dangerous moment” for Europe some three decades after the Soviet Union’s collapse. The war …

WASHINGTON: The US government has had “a number of conversations” with Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers on plans to counter the Khorasan faction of the militant Islamic State (IS) group, according to officials. At a news briefing in Washington on Thursday, they said the Taliban could also benefit from the two $10 million reward offers, announced on Wednesday, for catching the Khorasan …

The top diplomats of the United States, Australia, Japan and India opened talks in Melbourne Friday on deepening their Quad alliance, hoping to blunt China’s expanding power across the Asia-Pacific region. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison kicked off the day by highlighting the group’s importance in building cooperation among democracies while making a thinly-veiled allusion to his country’s troubled relationship …

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday said Russia is amassing yet more troops on Ukraine’s border, and warned an invasion could come “any time”, including during the Winter Olympics which end on February 20. “We’re in a window when an invasion could begin at any time, and to be clear that includes during the Olympics,” he said, brushing …

TEHRAN: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard announced on Wednesday the development of a surface-to-surface missile whose stated range would put Israel within reach. The Sepahnews website said the missile was named Khaybarchekan after a victorious battle fought by Holy Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) in the seventh century. Armed forces chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri described it as a strategic, “long-range” missile. The Sepahnews said …