International

BERLIN: Germany’s newly elected parliament held its first meeting on Tuesday and elected a lawmaker from the center-left Social Democratic Party as speaker of the 736-member lower house, or Bundestag. German Chancellor Angela Merkel attended the session although she is no longer a lawmaker. She sat in the visitor stands of parliament. Merkel’s Union bloc finished behind the Social Democrats …

ISLAMABAD: In a joint appeal, Pakistan and China on Tuesday urged the international community to help the Afghan people as well as the new Kabul administration to rebuild the war-torn country. The world attention was drawn by the two countries towards the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan after Prime Minister Imran Khan spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping on telephone to wish him …

UNITED NATIONS: Iran executed over 250 people, including at least four child offenders, in 2020 and so far this year has carried out 230 executions that included nine women and one child who was executed in secret, the UN independent investigator on human rights in Iran said on Monday. Javaid Rehman told the UN General Assembly’s human rights committee that …

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Monday pledged more than $1 billion for new environmental initiatives, as the world’s top oil exporter took further steps to bolster its green credentials ahead of next week’s COP26 climate summit. Two days after targeting carbon neutrality by 2060, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced two initiatives to fund the “circular carbon economy” and provide …

ISLAMABAD: Former chief of air staff retired Air Chief Marshal Sohail Amaan believes that “constructive space” could be available for Pakistan despite the United States’ growing strategic interests in India and their strong partnership. He expressed these views at a book launch ceremony hosted by the Strategic Vision Institute (SVI), a statement issued by the think-tank said on Monday. Indo-US …

Japan’s Princess Mako married her university sweetheart on Tuesday, but it was a low-key union bereft of traditional rituals, with the couple voicing sadness over the controversy that haunted their engagement. Under the rules of the imperial family, Emperor Naruhito’s 30-year-old niece Mako gave up her royal title as she wed Kei Komuro, who is the same age and works for a …

KABUL: Afghanistan is on the brink of one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, UN agencies warned on Monday, with more than half the country facing “acute” food shortages. More than 22 million Afghans will suffer food insecurity this winter, they said, as a drought driven by climate change adds to the disruption caused by the Taliban takeover of the …

OVDA: Israel is holding its largest-ever air force exercise this week, joined by several Western countries and India, with the United Arab Emirates’s air force chief set to inspect the drills. Amir Lazar, chief of Israeli air force operations, told reporters the drills “don’t focus on Iran”, but army officials have said the Islamic republic remains Israel’s top strategic threat …

ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday backed down from his threat to expel 10 Western ambassadors over their joint statement of support for a jailed civil society leader. He spoke after the United States and several of the other concerned countries issued identical statements saying they respected a UN convention that required diplomats not to interfere in the host country’s …

Asia suffered its hottest year on record in 2020, the United Nations said on Tuesday ahead of the COP26 summit, with extreme weather taking a heavy toll on the continent’s development. In its annual “State of the Climate in Asia” report, the UN’s World Meteorological Organisation said every part of the region had been affected. “Extreme weather and climate change impacts …