Baby son of UK’s Prince Harry and Meghan christened at private Windsor ceremony LONDON: The youngest member of Britain's royal family, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, was christened at Windsor Castle on Saturday in a private ceremony — too private for some royal fans.The 2-month-old son of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex was baptized in a private…
COLOMBO: A Muslim doctor falsely accused of secretly sterilizing Buddhist women in Sri Lanka remains in detention weeks after his arrest, despite investigators saying he was framed.Mohamed Shafi was arrested on May 24 over claims he had carried out the illegal sterilizations of thousands of Sinhalese women.But court documents seen by AFP show investigators are…
NEW DELHI: An Indian court Friday granted a 30-day parole to a woman convicted three decades ago over her role in the 1991 assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi by militants.Gandhi and 14 others were killed in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu by a female suicide bomber belonging to Sri Lanka’s Tamil…
NEW DELHI: An Indian court Friday granted a 30-day parole to a woman convicted three decades ago over her role in the 1991 assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi by militants.Gandhi and 14 others were killed in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu by a female suicide bomber belonging to Sri Lanka’s Tamil…
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan will meet with US President Donald Trump in Washington on July 22. The Pakistani Foreign Office announced the meeting on Thursday during its weekly press briefing adding that the “focus will be to refresh the bilateral relationship.” “The agenda of the meeting is being developed through diplomatic channels and a…
TAIPEI: Taiwan’s parliament has voted to tighten a law governing links with China, effectively barring many of its former top ministers and retired generals from attending Chinese government ceremonies.Ties between China and Taiwan are frosty, with the mainland cutting off communications with the island’s government after the election of Beijing-skeptic President Tsai Ing-wen three years…
MOGADISHU, Somalia: Somalia’s government announced it is cutting diplomatic ties with Guinea, accusing the West African country of violating its sovereignty.The decision came after the president of the breakaway northern territory of Somaliland received a red carpet welcome in Guinea’s capital, Conakry, earlier this week.Somalia’s foreign minister Ahmed Awad announced the action against Guinea on…
LUCKNOW, India: Seven bodies believed to be from a missing team of international climbers were retrieved by helicopters from a notoriously dangerous Himalayan mountain in northern India on Wednesday, officials said.Indian air force helicopters brought the bodies to Pithoragarh town in northern India’s Uttarakhand state, said Vijay Jogdande, a local civil administrator. He said the…
Party pooper: Food served at birthday fete of ex-Philippine dictator’s wife Imelda Marcos downs 200 MANILA, Philippines: More than 240 people were brought to hospitals in the Philippine capital Wednesday with suspected food poisoning in an event celebrating the 90th birthday of former first lady Imelda Marcos.Bryant Wong, a disaster-response officer, said dozens of ambulances…
SEOUL: South Korea said on Wednesday it sacked an army commander and rebuked other senior officers after a North Korean fishing boat piloted by defectors went undetected in South Korean waters for more than two days last month.The incident has raised concerns about potential lapses in South Korea’s security during fragile talks to end a…
China’s climate ‘ambition’ pledge could lead to tougher CO2 targets: experts SHANGHAI: A new pledge by China to show “the highest possible ambition” in the fight against climate change could see the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter introduce new and more stringent carbon targets next year, according to experts and policy advisers.As US President Donald…
China’s climate ‘ambition’ pledge could lead to tougher CO2 targets: experts SHANGHAI: A new pledge by China to show “the highest possible ambition” in the fight against climate change could see the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter introduce new and more stringent carbon targets next year, according to experts and policy advisers.As US President Donald…
MANILA: The son of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday he might seek the speakership of the lower house of Congress, heating up a race for leadership of a legislature dominated by his father’s allies.Paolo Duterte, 44, who won a seat in May’s midterm election, proposed to share the three-year speaker term and wants…
AGRIGENTO, Italy: The German captain of a migrant rescue ship appeared in an Italian court on Monday, as her case sparked fresh tension between Rome and Berlin.Sea-Watch 3 skipper Carola Rackete was arrested after hitting a police speed boat while entering Lampedusa port with 40 people rescued from the Mediterranean.Her vessel, banned from docking by…
MANILA: Philippines officials on Monday voiced growing alarm over what they described as the “changing face of terrorism” in the country following the suicide attack on an army command post on the island of Sulu. Eight people, including three soldiers and two suspected bombers, were killed in twin explosions near the military counterterrorism base on June…
A North Carolina man has been charged with posting an anonymous threat on social media to lynch a Muslim-American candidate for a state Senate seat in Virginia.A warrant for the arrest of Joseph Cecil Vandevere, 52, of Black Mountain, was issued after his June 20 indictment, federal court records show. Federal authorities hadn’t yet arrested…
NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday pushed for greater grassroots water conservation efforts amid concerns weak monsoon rains would push millions of drought-hit people to the edge and hammer agricultural production in Asia’s third-biggest economy.The monsoon season is responsible for around 70% of India’s annual rainfall, and is particularly important for the…
ISLAMABAD: After complaints lodged against Kashmir police for misbehaving with tourists, the government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Tuesday launched its newest department: A tourism police force to help travelers and nature-lovers, officials said. The strikingly beautiful region with its forest-clad mountains is divided between India, which rules the populous Kashmir Valley and the…
ISLAMABAD: After complaints lodged against Kashmir police for misbehaving with tourists, the government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Tuesday launched its newest department: A tourism police force to help travelers and nature-lovers, officials said. The strikingly beautiful region with its forest-clad mountains is divided between India, which rules the populous Kashmir Valley and the…
ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopia has released a recording of the state militia commander it says led a failed coup attempt last week in which dozens of people, including five top officials, were killed.A state militia commanded by Brigadier General Asamnew Tsige attacked government buildings in Bahir Dar, the state capital of Ethiopia's Amhara region on June…
