Controversial anchor Arnab Goswami, known for aggressively backing Narendra Modi and his discriminatory Hindu nationalist policies, is in hot waters. Evidence submitted by Mumbai police as part of an ongoing investigation on manipulation of television ratings suggests that Goswami knew of the Modi government’s plan to stage a strike in Pakistan days before the Feb 26, 2019, Balakot episode between …

WASHINGTON: US President-elect Joe Biden has inducted a second Pakistani American, Salman Ahmed, into his foreign policy team, said a statement issued on Friday. Mr Ahmed, who served as head of strategic planning in the Obama National Security Council, is joining the US State Department as director policy planning. Last month, Mr Biden announced that another Pakistani American, Ali Zaidi, …

TEHRAN: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards test-fired ballistic missiles against targets in the Indian Ocean as they wrapped up a two-day exercise, their official website reported on Saturday. The missiles of “various classes” targeted “the enemy’s battleships and destroyed them from 1,800 kilometres (1,125 miles) away,” according to the Sepahnews website. The missiles were fired from central Iran at targets located in the northern …

KABUL: The Taliban welcomed the latest withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan with the insurgents’ spokesman on Saturday calling the continued reduction of American forces a “good advancement” even as fighting raged across the war-weary country. The Taliban’s statement came just hours after the Pentagon announced it had cut troop levels in Afghanistan to 2,500, their lowest numbers during the …

WASHINGTON: US law enforcement officials are gearing up for pro-Trump marches in all 50 state capitols this weekend, erecting barriers and calling in their National Guards to try to prevent the kind of violent attack that rattled the nation on Jan 6. The FBI has warned police agencies of possible armed protests at all 50 state Capitols starting on Jan …

Gunmen shot dead two Afghan women judges working for the Supreme Court during an early morning ambush in the country’s capital on Sunday, officials said, as a wave of assassinations continues to rattle the nation. Violence has surged across Afghanistan in recent months despite ongoing peace talks between the Taliban and government — especially in Kabul, where a new trend of …

Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur led an unlikely rescue mission as India reached 253 for six at tea on the third day of the series-deciding fourth Test against Australia at the Gabba on Sunday. Sundar and Thakur came together with India in huge trouble at 186 for six but defied expectations to share in an unbeaten 67-run partnership and help India move …

India’s Covid-19 vaccination drive had a successful start with more than 190,000 people receiving their first jabs and no one hospitalised for major side effects, the health ministry said, but reports emerged about concerns over the homegrown vaccine. Authorities have given emergency-use approval for two vaccines — Oxford-AstraZeneca and the homegrown “Covaxin”, which has yet to complete its Phase 3 trials — and plans …

ISLAMABAD: It is time for the government to consider civil society organisations (CSOs) as partners for development of the country, and policy measures need to be based on facilitation for the sector rather than over-regulations. These views were expressed at a webinar on ‘The state of civil society in Pakistan’ organised by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and Pakistan Centre …

United States President-elect Joe Biden’s decision to immediately ask Congress to offer legal status to an estimated 11 million people in the country has surprised advocates given how the issue has long divided Democrats and Republicans, even within their own parties. Biden will announce legislation on his first day in office to provide a path to citizenship for millions of …