ISLAMABAD: While thanking world leaders who congratulated him on assuming office, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday responded to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a notably restrained manner on X (formerly Twitter). The premier’s succinct message, “Thank you @narendramodi for felicitations on my election as the Prime Minister of Pakistan,” mirrored Mr Modi’s own coolly worded congratulations a few days prior, …

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden will tell Congress on Thursday that he has ordered the US military to set up a port in Gaza to get more humanitarian aid into the beleaguered territory by sea, senior US officials said. The major announcement will not involve any US boots on the ground in the Palestinian enclave, as military personnel will stay offshore …

COLOMBO: Former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa ended a long silence over his ouster on Thursday by releasing a book claiming “geopolitical rivalry” between China and other countries was responsible for his downfall. Rajapaksa was forced into temporary exile after protesters stormed his official residence in 2022, following months of street protests over the island nation’s worst-ever economic crisis. In …

NEW DELHI: India’s embassy in Moscow has confirmed the death of a citizen recruited by the Russian army, days after a relative said he had been sent to fight in Ukraine. Two years after Russia’s invasion began, tens of thousands of its soldiers have been killed in Ukraine and Moscow is on a global quest for more combatants. The foreign …

WASHINGTON: Sweden on Thursday became the 32nd member of Nato in the shadow of the war in Ukraine, ending two centuries of official non-alignment and capping two years of torturous diplomacy. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson was visiting Washington, where Secretary of State Antony Blinken was to ceremonially receive the ratification documents after the hard-fought battle to secure the green …

ISLAMABAD/SRINAGAR: As Indian PM Narendra Modi arrived in held Kashmir for his first visit since he scrapped its special status under Article 370 of India’s constitution, Pakistan dismissed the move as “part of India’s efforts to portray normalcy” in the disputed region. “We believe that these efforts to project normalcy are a facade and tourism cannot be promoted in a situation where …

The creator of Japan’s hugely popular and influential Dragon Ball comics and anime cartoons, Akira Toriyama, has died aged 68, his production team said Friday. First serialised in 1984, Dragon Ball is one of the best-selling manga franchises of all time and has spawned countless anime series, films and video games. Toriyama died on March 1 because of an “acute subdural haematoma” — a …

CAIRO: Hamas said its delegation had left Cairo on Thursday amid ongoing negotiations on a ceasefire accord in Gaza that mediators hope to achieve before Ramazan early next week. After four days of talks mediated by Qatar and Egypt to secure a 40-day ceasefire ahead of the fasting month there is still no sign of progress on key sticking points, …

The mother-in-law of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was on Friday appointed to serve in India’s parliament, capping a career working for the philanthropic arm of her billionaire husband’s tech firm. Sudha Murthy, 73, is the former chair of the Infosys Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the global tech behemoth Infosys her husband N.R. Narayana Murthy co-founded in 1981. The …

China believes that India’s move to add more troops at their disputed border is “not conducive to easing tensions”, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday. India has freed up a contingent of 10,000 soldiers, previously deployed at its western border, to strengthen its disputed border with China, according to several media reports. The two countries have previously agreed to maintain dialogue through military and diplomatic …