LONDON: Britain is considering changing the law to stop a foreign state owning a news organisation, government sources said on Tuesday, as it weighs up whether to allow Abu-Dhabi-backed Redbird IMI to buy the Telegraph newspaper. The bid for the politically influential Telegraph has raised questions about the independence of the media and the role of foreign investors acquiring assets that could undermine press …

BUDAPEST: The Hun­ga­rian government on Tuesday rejected US President Joe Biden’s accusation that Prime Minister Viktor Orban was “looking for dictatorship”, summoning the US ambassador over the claim. Relations between the two Nato allied countries have been frosty over the past years, as the United States has frequently criticised Hungary for its close relations with Russia, for holding up Sweden’s …

YAFTAL SUFLA: Tearing off a piece of mouldy flatbread, Homayon gulped tea in a brief reprieve from the din of the machines he and a dozen other men were using to dig for gold on a mountainside in northeastern Afghanistan. The 30-year-old found little work as a mechanic in nearby Faizabad city, so he banded with other unemployed men to …

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah said on Tuesday it launched over 100 rockets at Israel’s two military bases in retaliation for a strike on the country’s east that killed one person the day before. Hamas ally Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged near-daily cross-border fire since the Gaza war erupted in October, but several Israeli strikes have recently hit Hezbollah positions further north, raising …

A Chinese military delegation recently visited the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Nepal to discuss further cooperation in defence issues, Beijing said on Wednesday. Beijing is seeking to build closer ties in South Asia in a push to counter its strategic rival India for influence. Last week, the Maldives said it had signed a “military assistance” deal with China after ordering Indian troops deployed in …

President Vladimir Putin warned the West on Wednesday that Russia was technically ready for nuclear war and that if the US sent troops to Ukraine, it would be considered a significant escalation of the conflict. Putin, speaking just days before a March 15-17 election which is certain to give him another six years in power, said the nuclear war scenario …

ISLAMABAD: JUI-F and PPP have agreed to support each other’s candidates in the upcoming Senate by-elections on March 14 after a meeting between the parties’ leaders on Tuesday. The former has shown some flexibility in its rigid stance of not taking part in the parliamentary process as it announced support for PPP’s candidate for the upper house from Islamabad. The …

RAWALPINDI: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has formed a three-member monitoring committee to check the delivery process of the Ramazan Nighaban programme, neat and clean Punjab and prices of food items in Rawalpindi. Bilal Yamin Satti is the chairman of the committee while MPA Naeem Ejaz and Ziaullah Shah are members. The committee held a meeting in the Commissioner’s Office …

RAWALPINDI: Pilots and cabin crew of the national flag carrier have been advised against flying while fasting as it will not only risk their lives but also that of others too in the aircraft and on the ground. A letter to all cabin crew members with instructions regarding “in-flight fasting” stating that as advised by Corporate Safety Management and the …

PESHAWAR / DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Three policemen were martyred and another one was injured in two separate attacks in the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Dera Ismail Khan district. Police officials told Dawn that unidentified attackers targeted a police van in the Dag Lara area of Peshawar within the limits of Michni Gate police station late on Monday. A police official said …