International

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday he would repeal controversial farm laws that farmers have protested for more than a year, a significant climbdown for the combative leader. The sudden concession on the three laws comes ahead of elections early next year in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, and two other northern states with large rural populations. “Today …

ISLAMABAD: Secretary General of the Digital Cooperation Organisation (DCO) Deemah Al-Yahya on Thursday said the organisation would promote Pakistan as an attractive country for foreign investment in the information technology sector and a provider of cloud services. She said the DCO member states could benefit from IT initiatives of each other and stressed the need for building partnerships with governments, …

BERLIN: The head of Germany’s disease control agency has warned that the country faces a really terrible Christmas unless steps are taken to counter the sharp rise in coronavirus infections. German lawmakers are debating measures on Thursday that would replace the nationwide epidemic rules, which will expire at the end of the month. The Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s disease control …

VIENNA: The UN nuclear watchdog on Wednesday reported that Iran has again boosted its stock of highly enriched uranium, just days before talks are set to resume seeking to revive the 2015 nuclear deal. In a report, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) estimated Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium at 2,489.7 kilograms — many times in excess of the …

KARACHI: A partial lunar eclipse will take place on Friday (tomorrow) which will be the longest partial lunar eclipse in 600 years, Met officials and astronomy enthusiasts said on Wednesday. The Met office shared details of the approaching lunar eclipse which will not be visible in Pakistan. The Climate Data Processing Centre of the Pakistan Mete­orological Department (PMD) came up …

LONDON: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended a botched bid to overhaul parliament’s standards system that has prompted a weeks-long sleaze crisis for his ruling Conservatives, as he faced multiple grillings from lawmakers on Wednesday. With opposition parties on the attack and rank-and-file Tory MPs unhappy, the embattled British leader admitted he had made a “mistake” as he faced senior …

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken on Wednesday redesignated Pakistan as a country of particular concern (CPC) for violating religious freedom and also rebranded the Taliban as an entity of particular concern. The Trump administration first placed Pakistan on this list in December 2018 and retained it in 2020 as well. The Biden administration, which came to power in January …

WASHINGTON: Afghan­istan’s Taliban rulers sent an open letter to the US Congress on Wednesday, urging American lawmakers to help unfreeze their country’s assets seized after their August takeover of Kabul. In the letter, Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi warned of a mass refugee exodus from Afghanistan unless the United States unblocks the frozen assets and ends other financial sanctions …

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday warned that bitcoin presents a risk to younger generations, sounding a hawkish tone as his government prepares to introduce legislation to regulate cryptocurrencies. Speaking at an online cybersecurity forum, Modi framed virtual money — which is highly popular in India and exists beyond state and central bank control — as a domain that …

VANCOUVER: The Canadian government said on Wednesday it is sending the air force to the Pacific coast Canadian province of British Columbia to assist with evacuations and to support supply lines following floods and mudslides caused by extremely heavy rainfall. Minister of Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair said they will also protect residents against further flooding or landslides. Military helicopters already …