International

JERUSALEM: Amnesty International on Tuesday labelled Israel an “apartheid” state that treats Palestinians as “an inferior racial group”, joining the assessment of other rights groups which the Jewish state vehemently rejects. “Israel’s cruel policies of segregation, dispossession and exclusion across all territories under its control clearly amount to apartheid,” said Amnesty’s secretary general Agnes Callamard. “Whether they live in Gaza, …

JERUSALEM: Israeli forces on Tuesday destroyed the home of a Palestinian man who fatally shot an Israeli tour guide before being killed by security forces in Jerusalem last year. Police said more than 150 security personnel arrived in the Shuafat refugee camp in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem for the destruction of the home of Fadi Abu Shkhaydam, a member of the …

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s navy on Tuesday said it had arrested 21 Indian fishermen after a confrontation with two trawlers poaching in the island’s territorial waters. A fast attack craft was damaged in the clashes on Monday night, the navy said in a statement, without giving further details. “As the Indian trawlers were attempting to evade naval units with their aggressive …

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Russia to immediately de-escalate tensions and to withdraw troops from Ukraine’s borders in a call on Tuesday with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. Blinken “emphasised that further invasion of Ukraine would be met with swift and severe consequences and urged Russia to pursue a diplomatic path,” the US State department said in a …

LAHORE: A delegation, headed by the Indian Commissioner for Indus Waters, is set to visit Pakistan in March to attend the annual meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission. The visit was scheduled in January but it was postponed at the request of India due to the Covid-19 restrictions, has learnt. “The annual meetings, under the Indus Water Treaty, are always …

DOHA: Qatar has reached an agreement with the Taliban to resume chartered evacuations out of Kabul airport, the Axios news website reported on Tuesday citing an interview with Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. The agreement was for two flights per week, chartered by Qatar Airways, and would allow the United States and other countries to evacuate thousands more of their …

The United States said it is sending fighter jets to assist the United Arab Emirates following missile attacks on the Gulf state launched by Yemen’s Houthi movement, including a foiled attack aimed at a base hosting US forces. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin also told Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in a telephone call on Tuesday that Washington would …

Some public universities opened in Afghanistan on Wednesday for the first time since the Taliban seized power in August, with a trickle of women attending classes that officials said would be segregated by sex. Most secondary schools for girls and all public universities were shuttered when the hardline group stormed back to power, sparking fears women would again be barred …

Prime Minister Imran Khan will be leaving for China on Thursday on a four-day visit, during which he will attend the Winter Olympics 2022 in Beijing and hold bilateral meetings with President Xi Jinping and premier Li Keqiang. According to a statement issued by the Foreign Office (FO) in Islamabad, Prime Minister Imran’s visit from February 3 to February 6 …

NAIROBI: Six people died on Monday when a minibus was destroyed by a roadside bomb during an ambush by armed men in northeastern Kenya near the border with Somalia, police said. The assailants opened fire on the 14-seater vehicle after it ran over the explosive device about eight kilometres from the town of Mandera. “Six people were killed during an …