KABUL: He served as an interpreter alongside US soldiers on hundreds of patrols and dozens of firefights in eastern Afghanistan, earning a glowing letter of recommendation from an American platoon commander and a medal of commendation.Still, Ayazudin Hilal was turned down when he applied for one of the scarce special visas that would allow him…
KABUL: For generations, the pelts of newborn karakul lambs were one of Afghanistan’s major export items, sought after at home and abroad to produce the iconic caps worn by rulers, statesmen and trend-setters — prized fashion items that sold for up to $3,000 each. However, in recent years, there has been a drastic decline in…
KABUL: For generations, the pelts of newborn karakul lambs were one of Afghanistan’s major export items, sought after at home and abroad to produce the iconic caps worn by rulers, statesmen and trend-setters — prized fashion items that sold for up to $3,000 each. However, in recent years, there has been a drastic decline in…
GENEVA, Switzerland: The World Health Organization issued a grim warning on Friday that the second year of Covid-19 was set to be “far more deadly,” as Japan extended a state of emergency amid growing calls for the Olympics to be scrapped.“We’re on track for the second year of this pandemic to be far more deadly…
Experts warned on Wednesday that the lack of recognition and inclusion in the US Census continues to undermine the strength of the Arab American community. Because the demographics of their community are not precisely measured, Arabs in the US fail to benefit from more than $80 billion in Federal grants, and they are excluded from…
NEW DELHI: Local authorities in the Buxar district of India’s eastern state of Bihar on Tuesday confirmed the discovery of 71 dead bodies, suspected to be of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) victims, after they washed ashore along the banks of the river Ganges. The discovery sent shock waves and panic among locals in the Chausa town of…
BENGALURU: India’s coronavirus crisis showed scant sign of easing on Tuesday, with a seven-day average of new cases at a record high and international heath authorities warning the country’s variant of the virus poses a global concern.India’s daily coronavirus cases rose by 329,942, while deaths from the disease rose by 3,876, according to the health…
BENGALURU: India’s coronavirus crisis showed scant sign of easing on Tuesday, with a seven-day average of new cases at a record high and international heath authorities warning the country’s variant of the virus poses a global concern.India’s daily coronavirus cases rose by 329,942, while deaths from the disease rose by 3,876, according to the health…
MANILA: The Philippine military on Monday said that close cooperation with Malaysia’s security forces led to the arrest of two notorious Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) sub-leaders involved in high-profile crimes. The Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) identified the two arrested ASG sub-leaders as Sansibar Bensio and Mabar Binda, who led the kidnapping of several local and…
LONDON: A British Muslim woman said she is “grateful” for safely having a baby after she was placed in a coma due to complications from contracting COVID-19, describing it as a “miracle.” Marriam Ahmad, 27, from the Welsh city of Newport, went into hospital in January after testing positive for the disease. Ahmad, who was 29…
JUBA: South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has dissolved parliament, opening the way for lawmakers from opposing sides of the country’s civil war to be appointed under a 2018 peace accord. Kiir’s decision was announced on public television but no date was given as to when the new parliament will begin working. The setting up of a…
NEW DELHI: Facing a wave of criticism following an announcement to set up help desks to protect cows in the wake of a pandemic crisis, the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh was on Sunday forced to deny the plan. The chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, known as a hardline Hindu politician of the country’s…
BEIJING: A large segment of a Chinese rocket re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere and disintegrated over the Indian Ocean on Sunday, the Chinese space agency said, following fevered speculation over where the 18-ton object would come down. Officials in Beijing had said there was little risk from the freefalling segment of the Long March-5B rocket, which…
LONDON: A Libyan coastguard vessel involved in the shooting of a Sicilian fisherman on May 6 was given to Tripoli by Italy to stop the flow of migrants across the Mediterranean, it has emerged. Col. Massoud Abdalsamad of the Libyan coastguard told Italian media that the ship “fired warning shots into the air against vessels…
LONDON: A psychologist warned that prison had made a terrorist more dangerous to the public than when he was first jailed, an inquest heard. Usman Khan, 28, killed Saskia Jones, and Jack Merritt, in a knife attack in central London in 2019, just 11 months after he was released early from jail. Khan had been…
LONDON: An Irish woman alleged to be a so-called Daesh bride has won a court case which will let her challenge an exclusion order blocking her from entering the UK. Lisa Smith, 38, traveled to Syria several years ago to allegedly become the second wife of British Daesh soldier Sajid Aslam, with whom she had…
LONDON: The Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU) has urged the UK government and the international community to take political action to prevent the forced eviction, displacement and dispossession of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem. “The UK government is well aware that the forcible transfer of an occupied population constitutes a war crime under international law,”…
LONDON: The Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU) has urged the UK government and the international community to take political action to prevent the forced eviction, displacement and dispossession of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem. “The UK government is well aware that the forcible transfer of an occupied population constitutes a war crime under international law,”…
LONDON: Tourists arriving in the UK from countries with high coronavirus infection rates are bypassing mandatory quarantine periods in airport hotels by staying in Turkey before arriving, The Times newspaper has revealed. Travel agencies are selling “quarantine packages” to travelers from countries on Britain’s “red list,” such as India and Pakistan. As part of the…
LONDON: Tourists arriving in the UK from countries with high coronavirus infection rates are bypassing mandatory quarantine periods in airport hotels by staying in Turkey before arriving, The Times newspaper has revealed. Travel agencies are selling “quarantine packages” to travelers from countries on Britain’s “red list,” such as India and Pakistan. As part of the…
