International

GENEVA: The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a call for experts to join a new advisory group its forming, in part to address the agency’s fraught attempts to investigate how the coronavirus pandemic started. In a statement on Friday, the UN health agency said the new scientific group would provide the WHO with an independent analysis of the work …

PARIS: The Panjshir Valley north of Afghanistan’s capital is the final major centre of resistance to the Taliban, but analysts say the fighters gathered there will struggle if the hardliners launch a full-scale attack. Surrounded by the high peaks of the Hindu Kush north of Kabul, the Panjshir has long had a reputation as a bastion of resistance — legendary …

BENGALURU: Afghanistan’s economy could shrink by as much as 20 per cent this year and its currency may slide further than it already has following the Taliban’s takeover, Fitch Solutions said on Friday. The Taliban seized power last weekend from a US-backed government, sending thousands fleeing and potentially heralding a return to the militants’ austere and autocratic rule of two …

ISLAMABAD: Visiting Afghan political leaders have called for an all-inclusive political settlement in their country through power sharing and a decentralised government. The Afghan leaders believe that any monopolistic setup was bound to fail. The visiting delegation comprised Mir Rehman Rehmani, Salahuddin Rabbani, Mohammad Yunus Qanooni, Ustad Mohammad Karim Khalili, Ahmad Zia Massoud, Ahmad Wali Massoud, Abdul Latif Pedram and …

MOSCOW: German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed their sharply different views of Russia’s treatment of imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, democratic values and other major topics of dispute Friday, but vowed to maintain a dialogue. The talks, as Merkel prepares to step down following elections next month, coincided with the first anniversary of Navalny’s poisoning, an …

The Taliban will be accountable for its actions and will investigate reports of reprisals and atrocities carried out by members, an official of the group told Reuters on Saturday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that the group planned to ready a new model for governing Afghanistan within the next few weeks. It has been just a week since …

WASHINGTON: The United States has said that it wants Pakistan and China to help evolve “some sort of political settlement” in Afghanistan even though the Taliban now effectively control the country. Asked at a Thursday afternoon news briefing what Washington wanted from Pakistan now, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the United States wanted all neighbouring states to help …

The Chinese Embassy in Pakistan on Saturday “strongly condemned” a suicide attack targeting a vehicle carrying Chinese nationals in Balochistan’s Gwadar district on Friday, asking Pakistan “to take practical and effective measures” to prevent recurrence of such incidents in future. At least two children were killed and three people were injured when a suicide bomber blew himself near the vehicle …

Singapore, one of the world’s most vaccinated countries, is likely to stick to its mask mandate for some more time, according to its foreign minister, as the city-state cautiously reopens its borders and eases its COVID-19 restrictions. “I don’t think people want to wear masks. But on the other hand, I think we’ve gotten used to it,” Vivian Balakrishnan, who …

Emirates has signed a codeshare agreement with Azul Linhas Aereas Brasileiras S.A (Azul) which will allow customers to seamlessly connect to and from eight cities in Brazil to Emirates’ global network via Sao Paulo. The codeshare agreement has been approved by the Brazilian Federal Aviation Agency (Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil). Under the codeshare, customers will be able to connect …