International

MOSCOW: The security situation at the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border is a concern, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday, a risk Moscow has sought to mitigate by strengthening its military base in Tajikistan with weapons and other equipment. The possibility of Islamist militants in Afghanistan infiltrating Tajikistan and other former Soviet republics in Central Asia is a worry for Moscow, which …

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Monday executed a Yemeni man accused of plotting a suicide attack in the kingdom and of links to the militant Islamic State group, the interior ministry said. The wealthy Gulf country, with one of the world’s highest execution rates, has been the target of a series of deadly IS shootings and bombings since late 2014. “Mohammed …

RAWALPINDI: Chief of the General Staff (CGS) of Turkish Land Forces, Lt Gen Veli Tarakci, on Monday acknowledged the professionalism of Pakistan armed forces and vowed to enhance cooperation in various fields. This he said during a meeting with Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa at GHQ. Matters about regional security situation and of mutual and …

ABU DHABI: The UAE issued its first civil marriage licence for a non-Muslim couple, state media reported on Monday, as the Gulf country seeks to keep its edge over regional competitors. The United Arab Emirates — where foreigners make up 90 per cent of the approximately 10 million population — has been amending its laws to present itself as a …

WASHINGTON: The new US policy of waiving in-person interviews for certain non-immigrant visa applicants becomes operative from Friday, the State Department said. The department said the move aims at reducing visa wait times as in some places applicants have to wait for more than a year to get an interview date. “The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in profound reductions in the …

Research by South African scientists suggests that Omicron infection enhances neutralising immunity against the Delta variant of the coronavirus. The study, which has not been peer-reviewed, found that people who were infected with Omicron, especially those who were vaccinated, developed enhanced immunity to the Delta variant. The analysis enrolled 33 vaccinated and unvaccinated people who were infected with the Omicron …

BANGKOK: The international aid group Save the Children said two of its staffers were missing in a massacre in eastern Myanmar that left more than 30 people, including women and children, dead and burned in their vehicles after they were reportedly shot by government troops as they were fleeing combat. Photos of the aftermath of the Christmas Eve killings in Mo …

WASHINGTON: The Covid-19 pandemic has had a major impact on population growth as well, as the US population grew at a slower rate in 2021 than in any other year since the founding of this nation. Statistics released by the US Census Bureau showed that in 2021 the US population grew only 0.1 percent and this is the first time …

JERUSALEM: A bird flu outbreak has killed more than 2,000 wild cranes on a reserve in northern Israel, an unusually high toll for the seasonal flu, the parks authority said on Sunday. In addition to the 2,000 dead, another 10,000 are believed to be infected, Ohad Hatsofe, a specialist at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, said. The virus affects …

ZURICH: People in Switzerland will be able to legally change gender by a visit to the civil registry office from Jan 1, putting the country at the forefront of Europe’s gender self-identification movement. Switzerland joins Ireland, Belgium, Portugal and Norway as one of the few countries on the continent that allow a person to legally change gender without hormone therapy, …