BANGKOK: United Nat­ions human rights experts on Monday spoke out against Thailand’s increasing use of a law forbidding criticism of its royal family, singling out a 43-year sentence for an elderly woman convicted under the law. The condemnation comes after dozens of police cases have been filed against leaders of youth-led demonstrations that have broken taboos by openly criticising the …

TAPOVAN: Twenty-six people were confirmed dead on Monday and more than 170 others were missing after a devastating flash flood in India thought to have been caused by a chunk of glacier breaking off. The resulting wall of water and debris barrelled down a tight valley in India’s Himalayan north on Sunday morning, destroying bridges, roads and hitting two hydroelectric …

JERUSALEM: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied corruption charges during a brief court appearance on Monday, as his graft trial resumed weeks ahead of a fourth national election within two years. Netanyahu, the first Israeli premier to be indicted in office, was formally charged last year over allegations of accepting improper gifts and seeking to trade regulatory favour with media …

GAZA: Leaders of rival Palestinian factions began Egyptian-brokered reconciliation talks in Cairo on Monday to try to heal long-standing internal divisions, ahead of planned Palestinian elections later this year. Egypt has tried in vain for 14 years to reconcile Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s nationalist Fatah faction and its bitter rival Hamas, the armed militant movement that opposes any negotiations with …

GENEVA: The United States said on Monday it would “re-engage” with the UN Human Rights Council, nearly three years after former president Donald Trump’s administration withdrew. President Joe Biden had instructed the US State Department “to re-engage immediately and robustly with the UN Human Rights Council”, said its new chief Antony Blinken as the council met in Geneva. Biden’s move …

CHITRAL: The Drosh police on Monday arrested a retired army man for flogging a teenager in the public over theft of a hen after a video showing a 13-year-old boy hanging upside down tied to a tree branch by rope went viral on social media earlier in the day. In the video believed to be taken in Sheshi Lusht village …

US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed in a telephone call to strengthen Indo-Pacific security through the Quad grouping of countries that is seen as a way to push back against China’s growing assertiveness in the region. India, United States, Japan and Australia are members of the Quad, an informal group that Washington has been promoting …

KARACHI: The Sindh government would buy 20 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine from China, the health department stated on Monday. Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho held a meeting with Chinese Consul General Li Bijian and shared matters related to purchase of Covid-19 vaccine, training of healthcare providers and transfer of health technology. Secretary health Dr Kazim Jatoi was also …

KARACHI: The seventh edition of the multinational maritime exercise Aman-2021 will be held in Karachi and in Pakistan waters from Feb 11 to 16. It was announced by Pakistan Fleet Commander Rear Admiral Naveed Ashraf during a media briefing held at the Pakistan Navy Fleet Headquarters here on Monday. “With a resolve against terrorism and piracy, carrying high the slogan …

TAXILA: A ruling party Member of the National Assembly (MNA) lashed out at the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Inaf (PTI) government for public issues, especially corruption, inflation and unemployment, warning that if the government failed to address these issues, it would bear the brunt in the next general elections. Retired Maj Tahir Sadiq from Attock was speaking at a PTI youth wing convention …