Category: World

The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions against Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, effectively slamming the door on the country’s top diplomat. The sanctions freeze any of Zarif’s assets in the United States or that are controlled by US entities, the government announced, saying it also will curtail his international travel. “Zarif implements the […]

The United States believes that Hamza bin Laden, a son of slain Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and himself a notable figure in the militant group, is dead, a US official said on Wednesday. The US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, provided no further details, including when Hamza died or where. President […]

Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden went on the offensive on Wednesday against his main 2020 opponents, but was rapidly assailed on the debate stage over key issues like health care, race, immigration and criminal justice. Tensions rose rapidly between the former vice president and Senator Kamala Harris, the most prominent African American in the field, as […]

HERAT: At least 34 people were killed in western Afghanistan when their bus hit a Taliban roadside bomb, officials said on Wednesday, the same day a US peace envoy indicated a peace deal with the insurgents could be imminent. Even in a conflict where civilians die daily, Wednesday’s blast stood out as particularly devastating, as […]

JERUSALEM: Israel has given rare approval to Palestinian homes in the part of the occupied West Bank it fully controls while also backing a large settlement expansion before a visit by the White House’s Jared Kushner. An Israeli official confirmed the approval by the country’s security cabinet the previous day with US President Donald Trump’s […]

US special representative for peace in Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, will resume peace talks with the Taliban soon, sources with knowledge of the issue said on Wednesday. Khalilzad who has, since late last year, held eight rounds of talks with the Taliban to end the 18-year war in Afghanistan, is scheduled to travel to Qatar’s capital […]

Pyongyang fired two ballistic missiles on Wednesday, Seoul said, days after a similar launch that the nuclear-armed North described as a warning to the South over planned joint military drills with the United States. The two devices were fired from the Wonsan area on the east coast at dawn and flew around 250 kilometres into […]

Bangladesh is facing its worst-ever dengue fever outbreak as hospitals are flooded with patients, putting a severe strain on the country’s already overwhelmed medical system. The mosquito-borne viral infection has spread across the country with 61 out of 64 districts reporting dengue cases by late Tuesday. The government has confirmed 15,369 dengue cases since Jan. […]

Dozens of passengers, mainly women and children, were killed in western Afghanistan early Wednesday when the bus they were travelling in hit a roadside bomb, officials said. The attack, which came one day after the United Nations said civilians are being killed and wounded at a “shocking” level in Afghanistan’s war, occurred around 6:00 am […]

The body of a billionaire Indian coffee magnate who went missing amid financial troubles was found by a river in southern India, police said on Wednesday. V.G. Siddhartha, founder of the Cafe Coffee Day chain that beat Starbucks at its own game in India, was last seen Monday next to the Nethravathi river near Mangaluru […]