International

DURBAN: President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday said a week-long spree of violence and pillaging that has shocked South Africa had been “planned” and vowed to hunt down those responsible, as the death toll from the unrest reached 212. “It is quite clear that all these incidents of unrest and looting were instigated — there were people who planned it and …

WELLINGTON: Pacific Rim leaders vowed to ramp up the production and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines on Friday at an emergency virtual meeting to develop an action plan that will contain the global pandemic. The unprecedented talks brought together heads of state from the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group, including US President Joe Biden and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. New …

Shops in Saudi Arabia may now stay open during prayer times, a leading government-linked newspaper said on Friday, relaxing the kingdom’s strict rules on closing shops and businesses for prayer five times a day. It is the latest in a series of social and economic reforms intended to modernise the kingdom and boost the private sector’s contribution to its oil-dependent economy. The …

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday gave a robust response to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s allegation about Pakistan’s “negative role” in the Afghan peace process and said it was “extremely unfair” to blame Islamabad for the situation in Afghanistan. Fearing influx of Afghan refugees in Pakistan due to growing violence in the neighbouring country, the prime minister called upon …

A delegation of Afghan political leaders led by top peace official Abdullah Abdullah left for Qatar on Friday to attempt to breathe life into stalled talks with the Taliban as violence escalates around the country. Abdullah, head of the country’s High Council for National Reconciliation and former government chief executive, said that even as conflict rose and districts toppled to …

BAGHDAD: No beds, medicines running low and hospital wards prone to fire Iraq’s doctors say they are losing the battle against the coronavirus. And they say that was true even before a devastating blaze killed scores of people in a Covid-19 isolation unit this week. Infections in Iraq have surged to record highs in a third wave spurred by the …

KANDAHAR: Afghan forces clashed on Friday with Taliban fighters in an operation to retake a key border crossing with Pakistan, as the insurgents tightened their grip in the north and battled for the stronghold of an infamous warlord. The fighting at Spin Boldak follows weeks of intensifying clashes across Afghanistan, with the Taliban capitalising on the last stages of the …

The US State Department will offer rewards up to $10 million for information leading to the identification of anyone engaged in foreign state-sanctioned malicious cyber activity against critical US infrastructure including ransomware attacks and the White House has launched a task force to coordinate efforts to stem the ransomware scourge. The Biden administration is also launching the website stopransomware.gov to offer the public resources …

At least 11 people have died and dozens were reported missing on Thursday as record rainfall in western Germany caused rivers to burst their banks, swept away homes and inundated cellars. Police said four people had died and 70 were missing around the wine-growing hub of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate state, after the Ahr river that flows into the Rhine burst …

SINGAPORE: Singapore on Wednesday unveiled one of the world’s biggest floating solar power farms, covering an area the size of 45 football pitches, as part of the city-state’s push to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The project is the country’s most ambitious yet, comprising 122,000 panels on Tengeh Reservoir that will produce enough electricity to run its five water treatment plants. …