TEHRAN: Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Friday (Jul 19) they had seized a British-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz for breaking "international maritime rules" as tensions mount in the highly sensitive waterway. Britain, however, said Iran had seized two ships in the Gulf, with Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt warning of "serious consequences" if the issue was not resolved quickly. The...
MOSCOW: A Taliban delegation met a group of senior Afghan politicians in Moscow on Tuesday, insisting that international forces must leave Afghanistan for peace to be agreed, amid gathering diplomatic efforts to end the 18-year war. The delegation, led by chief Taliban negotiator Mullah Baradar Akhund, met politicians, including senior regional leaders and candidates challenging President Ashraf Ghani in this...
Regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia hosts Islamic, Arab and Gulf summits this week as tensions between Iran and the US raise fears of military escalation. The three summits in Makkah allow US ally Riyadh the chance to present unified Islamic, Arab and Gulf fronts against its arch-rival Tehran. Iran itself has not yet confirmed whether it will attend the meeting of...
NEW DELHI: India will not invite Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan to the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi, on Thursday who starts his second term as India’s prime minister, according to two sources in New Delhi's foreign ministry. Any early warming in ties between the Hindu-majority India and Pakistan now seems unlikely in light of how the nuclear-armed neighbours came...
Qatar said on Sunday that it had received an invitation from Saudi Arabia to attend emergency regional talks to discuss mounting tensions between Iran and the United States. Riyadh had called two gatherings — one for Arab League members, the other for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) regional bloc nations — after a spate of attacks. Several tankers in Gulf waters...
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan accepted Indian request to let Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj’s flight go over its airspace, according to The Hindu news. Citing offices in Delhi and Islamabad, the publication said Swaraj’s flight was permitted to go over Pakistani airspace as the Indian minister was due to attend Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) session in Bishkek. The Indian government had...
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday telephoned his re-elected Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on his Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) electoral victory in the Indian election, Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal said. Dr Faisal said Prime Minister Imran expressed his desire for both countries to work together for the betterment of their people. https://twitter.com/DrMFaisal/status/1132598331316822016 The premier, reiterating his vision for...
MEXICO CITY: A Mexican military helicopter engaged in firefighting operations crashed in central Mexico on Friday, killing five members of the Navy crew and an inspector with the national forestry commission, the Navy said on Saturday. The MI-17 helicopter came down about 55 miles (89 km) north of the town of Jalpan de Sierra in the central state of Queretaro,...
TEHRAN: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Saturday a US decision to deploy 1,500 additional troops to the Middle East is a "threat to international peace", state media reported. "Increased US presence in our region is very dangerous and a threat to international peace and security and must be confronted," Zarif told the official IRNA news agency before heading...
SRINAGAR: On Friday the Indian troops martyred Kashmiri freedom fighter Zakir Musa in occupied Kashmir's Pulwama district. Musa is reported to be a close associate of freedom fighter Burhan Wani, who was martyred by Indian forces in 2016. Musa’s killings triggered anti-India protest demonstrations in Tral and adjoining areas. As the news of the killings spread, several people took to...
LONDON: Prime Minister Theresa May said on Friday she would step down on June 7, succumbing to calls in her governing Conservative Party to make way for a new leader to try to break an impasse over Britain’s departure from the European Union. “It is now clear to me that it is in the best interests of the country for...
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday congratulated incumbent Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his re-election as premier for a second consecutive term. In a tweet, PM said I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look[ing] forward to working with him for peace, progress, and prosperity in South Asia, he added. https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1131526476828893184 Modi,...
NEW DELHI/KOLKATA: India began counting hundreds of millions of votes in its general election on Thursday, with a coalition led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party taking an early lead, TV channels and India’s Election Commission said. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is expected to surpass the 272 seats needed to...
BISHKEK: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday had an informal meeting with Indian Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj during the meeting of Foreign Ministers Council of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Speaking after the informal meeting, FM Qureshi said he cleared it to Swaraj that Pakistan wants resolution of all issues [with India] through dialogues. "We are ready for...
NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday dismissed "fake" Indian exit polls predicting a clear election victory for his opponent, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a day before the scheduled release of results. A slew of exit polls released after the world's largest election ended on Sunday projected that Modi and his allies would return to power with between 282 and 313...
JAKARTA: Demonstrations over the outcome of last month’s presidential election gripped the heart of Indonesia’s capital on Wednesday after an overnight face-off between police and protesters in which Jakarta’s governor said six people were killed. The riots followed an announcement on Tuesday by the General Election Commission (KPU) confirming that President Joko Widodo had beaten his challenger, former general Prabowo...
DUBAI/LONDON: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani rejected talks with the United States on Tuesday, after President Donald Trump said Iran would call and ask for negotiations “if and when they are ever ready”. Tehran and Washington have escalated rhetoric against each other in recent weeks as the United States has tightened sanctions with what it says is the goal of pushing...
