International

LONDON: Britain’s parliamentary standards watchdog confirmed on Monday it is investigating Prime Minister Boris Johnson over how he paid for a luxury Caribbean holiday, the latest of multiple probes into his conduct. Kathryn Stone, the current Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, is looking into the controversial trip to the privately owned island of Mustique over Christmas 2019 by the UK leader …

The United States has urged the Taliban and the Afghan government to engage seriously in the ongoing peace process to prevent Islamic State militants from further aggravating an already tense situation in the war-ravaged country. “We are still looking into what or who is responsible, but I would note that ISIS has been responsible for similar attacks on Shia communities …

Dozens of bodies believed to be Covid-19 victims have washed up on the banks of the Ganges river in northern India, officials said on Monday. The pandemic has been spreading fast into India’s vast rural hinterland, overwhelming local health facilities as well as crematoriums and cemeteries. Local official Ashok Kumar said that about 40 corpses washed up in Buxar district …

Israel and Hamas exchanged heavy fire on Tuesday, with 22 Palestinians killed in Gaza, in a dramatic escalation between the bitter rivals sparked by violence at Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al Aqsa Mosque compound. Nine children were among those killed in the blockaded Gaza Strip that is controlled by Hamas and 106 people there were wounded, local health authorities said. More than …

GENEVA: The World Health Organisation said on Monday that the B.1.617 variant first identified in India last year was being classified as a variant of global concern. “We classify it as a variant of concern at a global level,” Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical lead on Covid-19, told a briefing. “There is some available information to suggest increased transmissibility.” Indian …

NEW YORK: A shooting in New York’s bustling Times Square on Saturday injured a four-year-old girl and two women, in the latest incident of gun violence in the city, police said. The shooting took place just before 5pm local time (9pm GMT), at the intersection of 7th Avenue and 44th Street, a NYPD spokesperson said. The three victims were a …

MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin on Sunday vowed Russia will “firmly” defend national interests and denounced the return of “Russophobia”, as the country marked the 76th anniversary of victory in World War II. His speech to thousands of soldiers and veterans on Red Square came as recent tensions between Moscow and the West have recalled the Cold War over the conflict …

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump encouraged the Capitol rioters and so earned his Facebook ban, but the social media giant’s rules are in “shambles” and need fixing, the co-chair of the network’s oversight panel said on Sunday. The panel agreed just days ago that Facebook was right to oust the ex-US president for his comments regarding the deadly Jan 6 rampage, though …

EDINBURGH: The Scottish National Party on Sunday said its landslide victory in Edinburgh’s devolved parliament was grounds for a fresh independence referendum, despite opposition from London. While the SNP campaigned on promises to hold a new vote, the UK government — which would need to give formal legal permission — is opposed, raising fears of a protracted political and legal …

LONDON: Sadiq Khan was elected mayor of London for a second term in a tighter-than-expected race, providing a boost to the opposition Labour party after a series of disappointing results in Thursday’s local elections, Al Jazeera reported on Sunday. Khan, who became the first Muslim to head a major Western capital after his victory in 2016, won 55.2 per cent …