ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday hoped for “a comprehensive strategic partnership” with Saudi Arabia after receiving a call from Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman on his re-election. “Grateful for the telephone call from His Royal Highness Prince Moham­med bin Salman Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the brotherly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, …

WASHINGTON: SpaceX is building a network of hundreds of spy satellites under a classified contract with a US intelligence agency, five sources familiar with the programme said, demonstrating deepening ties between billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s space company and national security agencies. The network is being built by SpaceX’s Starshield business unit under a $1.8 billion contract signed in 2021 with …

UNITED NATIONS: The humanitarian situation in Gaza is a “nightmare” for mothers and babies, with doctors reporting small and sickly newborns, stillbirths and women forced to undergo C-sections without adequate anesthesia, a UN official said. “I’m personally leaving Gaza this week terrified for the one million women and girls of Gaza… and most especially for the 180 women who are …

GENEVA: In the shadow of the Israeli aggression in Gaza, record numbers of Palestinian detainees are filling Israeli prisons, where they face “systemic abuse” and torture, rights advocates warn, calling for international action. Members of several Israeli NGOs travelled to Geneva this week to raise concerns before the United Nations about a major “crisis” inside the country’s prisons. “We are …

MOSCOW: Russia’s governing party United Russia said on Saturday that it was facing a widespread denial of service attack — a form of cyberattack that snarls internet use — against its online presence, and had suspended non-essential services to repel the attack. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is running in Russia’s presidential election as an independent candidate with United Russia’s …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Special Re­­presentative on Afghanistan Ambassador Asif Durrani has said Islamabad has evidence that the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is getting money from India through Afghan proxies, estimating that 5,000 to 6,000 TTP militants have taken shelter in Afghanistan. “If we include their families, then the number goes up to 70,000,” Mr Durrani said on Saturday while speaking at …

US President Joe Biden joked about Donald Trump and his own age at an annual media dinner on Saturday — before unloading deadly serious criticisms of his rival in November’s election. “One candidate’s too old and mentally unfit to be president,” the 81-year-old Democrat quipped at the Gridiron Club in Washington. “The other guy’s me.” Democrat Biden was making his …

DOHA: The head of Israeli intelligence is expected to lead ceasefire talks with mediators which resume in Qatar today (Sunday) in direct response to a new proposal from Hamas, a source close to the talks said on Saturday. The talks between Mossad head David Barnea, Qatar’s prime minister and Egyptian officials will focus on remaining gaps between Israel and Hamas including over …

GENEVA: Environ­mental activists are increasingly facing hostility across Europe, a UN expert said, warning that the very right to protest was “at risk” in countries usually considered beacons of democracy. Michel Forst, the UN special rapporteur on environmental defenders, said that he was deeply troubled by the hardening tone against climate activists in countries including France, Austria, Germany and Britain. …

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s economy rebounded stro­ngly in the fourth quarter of 2023 from the island nation’s unprecedented financial crisis as tourism arrivals rose, the government said on Saturday. Agriculture, industries and services boosted the expansion to 4.5 per cent in the December quarter compared to a 12.4pc contraction a year earlier, the census and statistics department said. It added however …