pakistan news

BEIJING: China will soften or lift restrictions on foreign investment in new sectors from July 30, authorities announced on Sunday, after Beijing and Washington decided to restart negotiations in their trade war.Foreign investors in China have long complained of unfair treatment, with restrictions covering sectors including maritime transport, gas pipelines, cinema, entertainment and telecommunication services, according to the Ministry of Commerce and the NDRC, the powerful economic planning committee.China has a “negative list” that states which industries are closed to, or regulated for, foreign investment. On July 30 that list will be reduced from the 48 sectors currently included down to 40 according to the Ministry of Commerce and the NDRC. The announcement comes a day after China’s President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump met on the sidelines of the G20 summit on Saturday, agreeing to restart trade talks that were abruptly halted in May.China and the US have been

KHARTOUM: Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets across Sudan Sunday chanting “civilian rule, civilian rule” as police fired tear gas in Khartoum, amid international calls for restraint to avoid a new deadly crackdown.The planned “million-man” march is being seen as a test for protest organisers whose movement has been hit by a June 3 raid on a Khartoum sit-in and a subsequent internet blackout that has curbed their ability to mobilise support.Dozens of demonstrators were killed and hundreds wounded when armed men in military fatigues stormed the sit-in outside army headquarters, shooting and beating protesters who had camped there since April 6.On Sunday, police fired tear gas in the northern Khartoum district of Bahari and in Mamura and Arkweit, in the capital´s east, as thousands of protesters chanted “Civilian rule! Civilian rule!”, witnesses said.Security forces also fired tear gas at demonstrators in the eastern town of Gadaref, a witness said. The latest demonstrati

OLDHAM: The popular Open call Mela, one of the largest events of its kind in the north of England, saw festival-goers gather in Alexandra Park of Oldham. According to organisers more than 25,000 people attended the event from Greater Manchester and other parts of the country.Open call is an opportunity for Greater Manchester’s Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and other communities to come together with the rest of the city to celebrate their distinctive arts, crafts and food. The event also focuses on promoting positive image of Islam.Festival-goers were treated with performances by some of the biggest names from Britain. They included Talha Tariq, Harris Tabraiz, Abdullah Haqqani, Shabaz Hassan Qadri, Prince Naseeb and Zaheer Iqbal Qawal Group and many more. from The News International - World https://ift.tt/2Xg3zbT

ABU DHABI: UN chief Antonio Guterres said climate-related devastation was striking the planet on a weekly basis and warned on Sunday that urgent action must be taken to avoid a catastrophe.“We are here because the world is facing a grave climate emergency,” Guterres told a two-day Abu Dhabi Climate Meeting to prepare for a Climate Action Summit in New York in September.“Climate disruption is happening now... It is progressing even faster than the world’s top scientists have predicted,” the UN secretary general said.“It is outpacing our efforts to address it. Climate change is running faster than we are,” he said. “Every week brings new climate-related devastation... floods, drought, heatwaves, wildfires and super storms,” Guterres said.He warned the situation would only deteriorate unless “we act now with ambition and urgency”. from The News International - World https://ift.tt/302OHKH

ABU DHABI: UN chief Antonio Guterres said climate-related devastation was striking the planet on a weekly basis and warned on Sunday that urgent action must be taken to avoid a catastrophe."We are here because the world is facing a grave climate emergency," Guterres told a two-day Abu Dhabi Climate Meeting to prepare for a Climate Action Summit in New York in September. Guterres said destructive climate change was moving at an increasingly fast pace."Climate disruption is happening now... It is progressing even faster than the world’s top scientists have predicted," the UN secretary general said. "It is outpacing our efforts to address it. Climate change is running faster than we are," he said."Every week brings new climate-related devastation... floods, drought, heatwaves, wildfires and super storms," Guterres said. He warned the situation would only deteriorate unless "we act now with ambition and urgency", but some of the world’s dec

Donald Trump stepped onto North Korean soil on Sunday as he met Pyongyang’s leader Kim Jong Un in the Demilitarised Zone dividing the peninsula, in a symbolic diplomatic spectacle and a first for any American president.After shaking hands with Kim over the line that marks where their two countries and their allies fought each other to a standstill in the 1950-53 Korean War, Trump walked for several steps into North Korean territory, before another handshake.The two men then walked into Seoul’s territory together -- pausing on the line for photographers -- where they were joined by South Korean President Moon Jae-in. "It’s a great day for the world and it’s an honour for me to be here," Trump said. "A lot of great things are happening."The impromptu meeting in the DMZ -- which came after Trump issued an invitation on Twitter on Saturday -- comes with negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington over the North’s nuclear arsenal at a deadlock.The two would "just

ANKARA: Ankara will retaliate against any assault from Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar’s forces, which he had ordered to attack Turkish ships and interests in the country, Turkey’s defence minister said on Sunday."There will be a very heavy price for hostile attitudes or attacks, we will retaliate in the most effective and strong way," Hulusi Akar told Turkish state news agency Anadolu.He said Turkey’s efforts in Libya sought to "contribute to peace and stability in the region". "It should be known that we have taken all kinds of measures to deal with any threat or antagonistic action against Turkey," Akar added.Haftar ordered his self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) to target Turkish ships and companies, ban flights and arrest Turkish nationals in Libya, his spokesman said on Friday. The LNA, which holds eastern Libya and much of the country’s south, launched an offensive to take the capital in early April.The new threat came after anti-Haftar forces re

WASHINGTON: Democrats vying to become the party’s candidate in 2020 presidential elections have rallied behind US senator Kamala Harris against social media claims she is not an "American Black".Harris, who is of Indian and Jamaican descent, drew national attention after a rock-solid performance in Thursday’s Democratic Party debate that shot her into the top tier of contenders. The senator was attacked online by social media users, some of them known for being far-right.One Twitter account with 90,000 followers, under the name Ali Alexander, sent a tweet on Thursday that read: "Kamala Harris is implying she is descended from American Black Slaves. She’s not. She comes from Jamaican Slave Owners. That’s fine. She’s not an American Black. Period."The US president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., retweeted the message, then deleted it. Former Vice President Joe Biden slammed the attack on Harris and said it has parallels with the "birtherism" movement that has quest

TIRANA : Albanians voted on Sunday in a tense but peaceful municipal election that has become the flashpoint of a democratic crisis, with the opposition boycotting the poll and refusing to recognise its results. The Balkan state has been hit by political turmoil since February, when opposition politicians resigned from parliament to launch sometimes violent street protests against Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama.They accuse him of links to organised crime and manipulating elections, which he has repeatedly denied. Earlier this month, Albania’s President Ilir Meta even tried to postpone the election, citing the ongoing unrest.But Rama’s ruling Socialist Party rejected that bid in parliament and election officials last week refused to let an opposition pull out, effectively green-lighting the election. On Sunday, groups of several dozen protesters gathered outside some polling stations in the capital, Tirana, shouting "Don’t vote!" and "Rama, go!". from The News I

KHARTOUM: Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets across Sudan on Sunday chanting ‘civilian rule, civilian rule" as police fired tear gas in Khartoum, amid international calls for restraint to avoid a new deadly crackdown.The planned "million-man" march is being seen as a test for protest organisers whose movement has been hit by a June 3 raid on a Khartoum sit-in and a subsequent internet blackout that has curbed their ability to mobilise support.Dozens of demonstrators were killed and hundreds wounded when armed men in military fatigues stormed the sit-in outside army headquarters, shooting and beating protesters who had camped there since April 6.On Sunday, police fired tear gas in the northern Khartoum district of Bahari and in Mamura and Arkweit, in the capital’s east, as thousands of protesters chanted "Civilian rule! Civilian rule!", witnesses said.Security forces also fired tear gas at demonstrators in the eastern town of Gadaref, a witness

Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un’s meeting in the Korean Demilitarised Zone produced a barrage of headlines and images, but left analysts questioning whether it was a small step for publicity or a giant leap for peace.The impromptu encounter saw Trump briefly crossing over the demarcation line -- becoming the first sitting US president to step into Pyongyang’s territory. It came months after their second summit in Hanoi broke down over what the nuclear-armed North would be willing to give up in exchange for sanctions relief.After around an hour of talks in Panmunjom -- the "truce village" in the DMZ that has divided the peninsula since the two sides and their allies fought each other to a stalemate in 1953 -- Trump emerged to say the two would begin working-level talks in the next few weeks.He also invited the North’s leader to Washington "at the right time", he added. It was a more substantive outcome than many had expected after Trump issued his Twitter invitation to

HONG KONG: Angry confrontations broke out around Hong Kong’s parliament on Sunday as protesters supporting the city’s police taunted anti-government demonstrators on the eve of the anniversary of the semi-autonomous territory’s 1997 handover from Britain to China.Crowds of police supporters chanted "Chinese traitors!" and profanities at their largely young opponents -- highlighting the ideological fissures running through the finance hub as it experiences its worst political unrest in a generation.Hong Kong saw two record-breaking rallies earlier this month by anti-government protesters opposed to a now-postponed plan to approve extradition to mainland China. But it has also been rocked by unprecedented clashes.On 12 June police used tear gas and rubber bullets to clear largely young anti-extradition protesters from around parliament. The police classified the demonstration as a riot and defended their tactics, but opponents have accused officers of using excessive force and

DUBAI: A Bahraini appeals court overturned a decision to strip the citizenship of 92 jailed for plotting to form an Iran-linked "terror" group, a judicial source said on Sunday.The 92 were among 138 sentenced to prison terms and the revocation of their citizenship after being convicted of trying to build a Bahraini version of Hizbullah, the Iran-backed militia active in Lebanon."The appeals court overturned the decision to strip the 92 people of their citizenship," a judicial source told AFP. "But their prison terms remain the same," the source added. The Court of Cassation, Bahrain’s highest court, will issue a final verdict, but the timing of that decision is not known.The small Gulf state, a key US ally located between rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, has been gripped by bouts of unrest since 2011, when authorities cracked down on protests demanding political reform.In April’s original court ruling, the prosecutor said 69 defendants were sentenced to life

ALGIERS: Algerian authorities have arrested a well-known veteran of the war of independence against France, his grandson and media outlets said on Sunday, after he reportedly criticised military chief Ahmed Gaid Saleh.Lakhdar Bouregaa, 86, was arrested at his home in the upscale Hydra neighbourhood overlooking Algiers on Saturday and taken to a intelligence services base, grandson Imad Bouregaa said.He told the DzVid news website that his grandfather’s arrest was linked to comments he made about Gaid Salah, Algeria’s strongman since the ouster in April of veteran president Abdelaziz Bouteflika."My grandfather said that Gaid Salah wanted to impose his own candidate in presidential elections" to replace Bouteflika, he said. National television reported that he had been detained for "insulting a state body and undermining the morale of the army", charges for which he could face up to 10 years in prison.Bouteflika resigned after weeks of protests against his rule, only

RIYADH: Two Yemeni rebel drones targeting southern Saudi Arabia were intercepted on Saturday, a Riyadh-led military coalition said, the latest in a series of assaults on the kingdom.The first drone targeted the province of Jizan and the second was aimed at a residential area in Asir province, the coalition said in a statement released by the official Saudi Press Agency. The coalition did not report any damage or casualties. The rebels earlier claimed drone attacks on the airports in Jizan and Abha, the capital of Asir, according to the group’s Al-Masirah TV.The Iran-aligned Huthi rebels, who have faced persistent coalition bombing since March 2015 which has exacted a heavy civilian death toll, have stepped up missile and drone attacks across the border in recent weeks. On June 12, a rebel missile attack on Abha airport wounded 26 civilians, drawing promises of "stern action" from the coalition. And on June 23, another rebel attack on Abha airport killed a Syrian national and

KINSHASA: Democratic Republic of Congo’s leader said on Sunday he had ordered the army to launch a "large-scale" operation against armed groups in the restive east after the killings of scores of civilians."I’ve ordered our armed forces to carry out large-scale operations in the territories of Djugu and Mahagi" in the volatile Ituri province, President Felix Tshisekedi said on Sunday in the capital Kinshasa.He added that the offensive would extend to South Kivu province to put a "definite end" to the dozens of militias roaming the lawless, mineral-rich region, where millions of lives were lost in a 1998-2003 war.The instability has forced more than 300,000 people to flee their homes, the UN refugee agency has said, with people escaping unrest in Djugu territory especially. At least 160 civilians have died in Ituri since June 10, according to local authorities who blame the Ngudjolo militia for the violence.The army announced last week it had taken control

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s president is facing fresh legal challenges in his attempt to end a 43-year moratorium on capital punishment and start executing drug convicts, officials said on Sunday.Two petitions were filed in the Court of Appeal on Friday seeking an order quashing any move by Maithripala Sirisena to resume executions, which have not been carried out since the last hanging in June 1976."The Court of Appeal will have a preliminary hearing next week. In the meantime, the prisons commissioner has given an assurance to court that there will be no hangings," a court official told AFP.On Wednesday, Sirisena said he has completed formalities to resume hangings by signing the death warrants of four condemned drug convicts. He did not say when the executions would be carried out.Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has been at loggerheads with Sirisena on multiple issues, weighed in on the matter, signalling his party’s opposition to capital punishment. "The death pena

RABAT: A blaze ripped through a migrant camp in the Moroccan city of Casablanca on Sunday leaving "many injured", authorities and camp residents said.Illegal but tolerated by authorities, the Oulad Ziane camp near the coastal city’s main bus station has for years been home to hundreds of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest and one of the last informal camps left in the kingdom, following a push by authorities to dismantle others."The camp burned down, and many injured were hospitalised," said Camara Lassine, a community leader in the camp. "There was a fight between a hundred migrants over a stolen phone, and one of them started the fire and called the police," he said."We don’t know if we’ll be allowed to return." Authorities said the fire broke out amid "plastic tents and debris" but was later brought under control without causing any deaths.Blighted by a poor hygiene and violence, Oulad Ziane camp was hit by four fire

SAN SALVADOR: The bodies of a man and his young daughter who drowned while trying to cross the Rio Grande from Mexico to the United States were returned on Sunday to their native El Salvador.A shocking photo of the lifeless bodies of Oscar Alberto Martinez, who was 25, and his 23-month-old daughter Valeria lying face down in the river fuelled concern and outrage around the world, with some people blaming the US crackdown on border crossings for their deaths.Hearses accompanied by a long caravan brought the two corpses to the town of La Hachadura, near the border with Guatemala. Mario Duran, the Salvadoran minister of government, was on hand to receive the remains. The two victims are to be transferred to a cemetery in southern San Salvador, to be buried after a day-long vigil. from The News International - World https://ift.tt/2XiT0Vl

ISTANBUL: Turkish police on Sunday fired tear gas at gay rights groups and activists who defied authorities to march for the Istanbul pride parade, banned for the fifth year in a row.Thousands of people rallied close to the popular Istiklal Avenue and Taksim Square where organisers originally planned to hold the parade, an AFP correspondent said. The parade was banned by the Istanbul governor’s office but the police allowed people to gather in a side street nearby where a public statement was made by the organisers, Istanbul LGBT+ Pride Week.Riot police then fired tear gas to disperse the crowd, the correspondent said. There was a heavy police presence near Taksim Square, including police water cannon vehicles. Other streets were closed off by officers.There were chants of "shoulder to shoulder against fascism" and "we will not be quiet" among the crowd filled with rainbow flags and umbrellas. Amnesty International on Friday dismissed authorities’ claims of security

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan: Taliban bombers targeting a district centre in southern Afghanistan have killed at least 19 people, including eight election workers, officials said on Sunday.The attack comes as a new round of talks between the United States and the Taliban to end the 18-year long war in Afghanistan entered a second day in Qatar. The militants rammed four armoured vehicles packed with explosives into a government compound in Maruf district late Saturday, a police spokesman in southern Kandahar province said.Eight election workers who were stationed at the centre to register voters ahead of the presidential polls in September were also killed in the attack, said Zabiullah Sadaat, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission (IEC).Afghanistan’s twice-delayed presidential election is now slated for September 28. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, with a spokesman tweeting that their fighters had captured the district centre, killing 57 security forc

TEHRAN: Iran will no longer require Chinese visitors to obtain visas, state media reported on Sunday, as the sanctions-hit country attempts to boost tourism in the face of an economic crisis."The cabinet has agreed to waive visa requirements for Chinese nationals entering the Islamic Republic of Iran," state news agency IRNA said. Tourism board chief Ali Asghar Mounesan told IRNA that "we aim to host two million Chinese tourists per year using our country’s numerous attractions."He said the sector is "unsanctionable" and could help offset the economic hardships caused by tough sanctions Washington reinstated after withdrawing from a multilateral nuclear deal last year.The sanctions have particularly targeted Iran’s vital oil exports and international financial transactions, and were a major factor in the country’s ongoing recession. According to IRNA, some 52,000 Chinese tourists visited Iran during the 12 months to March. In another bid to boost tourist a

MULTAN: Eight members of a family were killed and set on fire in an honour-related incident at  Hassanabad area of Multan on Sunday night.Rescue officials told media that six of the deceased were gunned down while two of them were burnt alive inside a room. Multan’s Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) was reported to have said that Ajmal allegedly killed his wife and seven in-laws over the honour issue, adding that the assailant, along with his brother and father Zafar, broke into his in-laws' house  and opened fire at his wife, mother-in-law and other family members. Resultantly six family members were killed on-the-spot. Later, the suspects allegedly locked two others in a room and set them on fire, he added. According to the police, Ajmal had returned from Saudi Arabia few days earlier and he had suspicions about character of his wife. Two of the  alleged assailants have been arrested, while police were trying to apprehend a brother of the accused, who had fled the scene during t

WASHINGTON: The US has deployed F-22 stealth fighters to Qatar for the first time, its military said on Friday, adding to a buildup of US forces in the Gulf amid tensions with Iran.The Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighters have been deployed "to defend American forces and interests," the US Air Forces Central Military Command said in a statement that did not specify how many of the hi-tech planes had been sent.A photo handout showed five of the jets flying above the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.Tehran and Washington have been locked in an escalating standoff since US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from a multi-party 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and reimposed sanctions on the Islamic republic.Tensions spiked last week when Iran shot down a US drone over sensitive Gulf waters following a series of tanker attacks that Washington blamed on Tehran, which has denied involvement.Since then the arch-foes have been locked in a war of words, which escalated this week when T

PARIS: Europe was bracing itself for a sweltering on Saturday as a deadly heatwave across the continent has sparked record-breaking temperatures, large blazes and pollution peaks.The Meteo-France weather service lifted its red warning but forecast a "very hot day" across a large central band of the country, with the mercury expected to rise to 42 degrees Celsius (108 degrees Fahrenheit) in some parts.With France, Spain, Italy and parts of central Europe hard hit by all-time highest temperatures, officials pleaded with people to take precautions.France’s new record temperature of 45.9 degrees C was registered on Friday in Gallargues-le-Montueux, a village in the southern department of Gard near Montpellier, breaking successive records set earlier in the day, Meteo-France told AFP.This is the same area where the previous high of 44.1 degrees C was set in August 2003 since records began at the turn of the 20th century.The weather service said the new high was comparable to Augus

KHARTOUM: Driven from power after months of nationwide protests, Sudan’s former strongman Omar al-Bashir has been held in the capital’s grim Kober prison on a series of charges filed by prosecutors.Those charges range from corruption to killing protesters, and on June 16 Bashir appeared before a prosecutor.But the most serious indictments facing him have been filed by the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC).They include war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide for his alleged role in the war in Darfur.The question remains whether Bashir will ever face the ICC for the crimes allegedly committed during his ironfisted 30 year rule.The veteran leader was accused of corruption, illegal possession of foreign currency, acquiring wealth illegally, financing terrorism, and wrongly ordering a state of emergency, according to prosecutors and state media. The ruling generals who seized power after deposing Bashir have said that more than $113 million (99 million euros) worth of

LAMPEDUSA, Italy: Sea-Watch 3 skipper Carola Rackete faced jail time on Saturday after forcing her way into Italy’s Lampedusa port with rescued migrants to end a lengthy standoff with authorities.Sea-Watch spokesman Ruben Neugebauer told AFP the 31-year-old German captain was seized after bringing the ship into port without authorisation late on Friday.Rackete, described as a "pain in the neck" by Italy’s far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, was detained for forcing her way past a police boat that tried to block her, a crime punishable by three to 10 years in jail.She was escorted from her ship and taken away as Salvini slammed what he termed a "criminal act, an act of war," demanding that she be imprisoned."Humanitarian reasons cannot justify unacceptable acts of violence towards those wearing uniform at sea," Italian media quoted regional prosecutor Luigi Patronaggio as saying.Rackete will appear before a state prosecutor within 48 hours, her lawy

OSAKA, Japan: US President Donald Trump on Saturday invited North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to meet for a historic handshake at the demilitarised zone that divides the Korean peninsula, and said he would have "no problem" stepping over the border.The invitation issued on Twitter caught observers by surprise. If Kim accepts, it would be the third meeting between the leaders of the two wartime enemies amid efforts to contain North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.The North’s official KCNA news agency quoted Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui as saying the offer was "a very interesting suggestion" but that no official request had been received.Trump lobbed the shock invitation on Twitter from the G20 summit in Osaka, saying: "if Chairman Kim of North Korea sees this, I would meet him at the Border/DMZ just to shake his hand and say Hello(?)!"He later said he would have "no problem" stepping into the North with Kim -- in what would be a dramatic gesture re-

LONDON: A British-Iranian mother jailed in Tehran since 2016 on sedition charges she denies has ended her hunger strike after 15 days, her husband said on Saturday.Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband, Richard Ratcliffe, told BBC Radio that his wife had eaten some porridge with apple and banana."I’m relieved because I wouldn’t have wanted her to push it much longer," said Ratcliffe, who also went without food for 15 days in solidarity with his wife.Ratcliffe had spent much of that time picketing Iran’s embassy in London, urging whoever is to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May to make his wife’s case a priority.Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 40, began refusing food to mark her daughter Gabriella’s fifth birthday.Tulip Siddiq, who is the Labour MP for Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s consituency, expressed relief at the news and said it “shames those in power that they had to go through that torture in the first place”.The former cabinet minister Andrea Leadsom tweeted: “It is heart breaking th

NEW DELHI: At least 15 people, including four children, were killed when a wall collapsed on shacks outside an apartment complex in western India, police said.Most of those who died were sleeping when the 3 metre high brick wall came crashing down on several tin cabins built for a group of labourers who had work at a nearby construction site, according to police. Two people were also injured in the accident and are "undergoing treatment at a hospital", a local police official told AFP.He said a search was on to find any survivors.The shacks, located in the city of Pune in Maharashtra state, were mostly occupied by migrant workers from India’s north.Authorities have ordered an inquiry into the incident and announced a cash compensation to the families of those killed.The city has seen two days of heavy rains. India’s millions of labourers and their families often live either on construction sites or in temporary huts nearby to save on accommodation costs.It is the latest in a

KHARTOUM: Driven from power after months of nationwide protests, Sudan´s former strongman Omar al-Bashir has been held in the capital´s grim Kober prison on a series of charges filed by prosecutors.Those charges range from corruption to killing protesters, and on June 16 Bashir appeared before a prosecutor.But the most serious indictments facing him have been filed by the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC).They include war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide for his alleged role in the war in Darfur.The question remains whether Bashir will ever face the ICC for the crimes allegedly committed during his ironfisted 30 year rule.The army ousted Bashir on April 11 following protests that first erupted in December against a tripling of bread prices.The veteran leader was accused of corruption, illegal possession of foreign currency, acquiring wealth illegally, financing terrorism, and wrongly ordering a state of emergency, according to prosecutors and state media.The ru

WASHINGTON: Kamala Harris made a splash with her well-received presidential campaign rollout in January, only to see her candidate-of-the-month status deflate as she struggled for a breakout moment on the trail.Thanks to a rock-solid performance Thursday in the first Democratic debate of the 2020 cycle, the US senator from California has now catapulted back into the top tier.Her suddenly viable candidacy is noteworthy in the era of Donald Trump: as a black American daughter of immigrants, Harris may well be the American dream incarnate, mounting a challenge to a president whom many Democrats denounce as the nation´s divider in chief.Harris is 54, a former prosecutor and one time attorney general for California whose sometimes steely demeanor can give way to a million-watt smile.Both countenances were on display in the debate — the most watched Democratic debate ever — where she was the best storyteller on stage, mixing policy proficiency with a knack for personal connection.“We need to

NEW YORK: Lady Gaga delighted crowds in New York Friday with a surprise appearance at a rally marking the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, as the city gears up to welcome millions to its Gay Pride event that will feature concerts from Madonna and Grace Jones.Stonewall Day commemorates the June 1969 riots sparked by repeated police raids on the Stonewall Inn — a well-known gay bar in New York´s Greenwich Village — that proved to be a turning point in the LGBTQ community´s struggle for civil rights.“I really, really hope you celebrate every inch of who you are today,” said the pop superstar, long beloved by the LGBTQ community at the bash in Manhattan´s Greenwich Village that featured rainbow flags, drag queens and performances from stars including Alicia Keys. “You were born this way and you are superstars,” she shouted to applause, referencing the title of her 2011 hit “Born This Way” that has became a gay rights anthem.Up to four million people are expected to attend the city´

BEIRUT: Kurdish authorities in northeastern Syria have handed to Italy one of its citizens accused of belonging to the Islamic State group, a spokesman said Saturday.“Italian jihadist Samir Bougana (aka Abu Abdullah) who had been captured fleeing ISIS and had been imprisoned since then, was handed over to Italian government,” said Mustefa Bali, a spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, using a different acronym for IS.He said the transfer had been made on Rome´s request.He did not specify when it took place or whether or not the suspected jihadist had already left the country.Bougana — also known as Abu Hureyre al-Muhajir or Abu Abdullah al-Muhajir — was first captured by Kurdish fighters in Syria in August 2018 as he tried to flee into Turkey. He had allegedly been involved in weapons shipments to IS.His transfer is part of a wider effort by the Kurdish administration to rid itself of the dregs of the IS proto-state.Following the collapse of the group´s “caliphate” in

WASHINGTON: The United States said Saturday it was looking into a report that American anti-tank missiles were found by forces loyal to Libya´s unity government at a captured rebel base.The New York Times reported Friday that four Javelin missiles were found at a base used by men under the command of Khalifa Haftar, a strongman who has waged a months-long offensive against Libya´s internationally recognized government based in Tripoli. Markings indicate the missiles were first sold to the United Arab Emirates.“We take all allegations of misuse of US origin defense articles very seriously. We are aware of these reports and are seeking additional information,” a State Department spokesperson said on condition of anonymity. “We expect all recipients of US origin defense equipment to abide by their end-use obligations.”The missiles were apparently discovered earlier this week when forces loyal to the Government of National Accord recaptured the strategic town of Gharyan in a surprise attac

KINSHASA: DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi on Saturday backed a decision to ban an opposition march in the capital, pointing to violence that broke out last weekend to justify the decision.Speaking in his first major interview since becoming president, he said he backed a decision by the governor of Kinshasa to ban Sunday´s march.Since assuming the presidency at the beginning of the year he had not banned any demonstrations, he told Radio France International (RFI) and France 24 television.“But we have the impression that there are some who confuse democracy with anarchy,” he added.Tshisekedi referred to clashes that took place last Sunday as opposition leader Jean-Pierre Bemba flew back into the country.On that occasion, police fired tear gas at rock-throwing protesters who targeted Bemba´s convoy, AFP correspondents at the scene reported. from The News International - World https://ift.tt/32aVfZU

CALDAS: Anthony cried so hard at night that Susana Ortegon couldn´t sleep. The weekend felt like an eternity for the 13-year-old.So when she handed back her “robot baby” it was with great relief. She had taken part in a program launched by the Caldas municipality in Colombia to try to tackle the problem of teenage pregnancies.“This experience was pretty tough, it´s not easy being a mommy or a daddy,” Ortegon told AFP.The baby´s cries were so loud that they even bothered her parents.“It´s awful! Awful! On top of that, the baby never stops crying and you´ve got to look after it all the time,” she added.The baby — a rubber doll with built-in software — cries when it wants to be fed, have its diaper changed or simply needs a cuddle.It´s a voluntary program launched in schools by the Caldas municipality, just outside Medellin, in a bid to reduce the high level of teenage pregnancies in the town of 78,000.The initiative has been used in at least 89 other countries and is being included in th

WASHINGTON: A wounded Joe Biden scrambled to defend his frontrunner status Friday after getting pummeled over his record on race relations at a Democratic election debate, throwing the battle for the party´s nomination to challenge President Donald Trump wide open.Watching from Japan, where he was attending the G20 summit, Trump licked his chops as the 10 Democrats at the Thursday night debate in Miami veered sharply to the left on immigration, health care, taxes and the ever-emotional subject of gun ownership.Biden, vice president under still highly popular ex-president Barack Obama, came in as the favorite, polling well ahead of Trump and all Democratic rivals.But it was Kamala Harris, the only black woman in the 2020 race, who stole the show when she left 76-year-old Biden speechless by attacking his stance on civil rights issues.Harris, a senator and former attorney general of California, pinned down Biden on his past opposition to busing programs that forced integration of segrega

MIAMI: Human rights groups on Friday sued Florida over a law that in effect denies more than a million ex-convicts the right to vote in the 2020 presidential election in the key swing state.Governor Rick DeSantis, a Republican, had earlier Friday signed into law the bill, which was approved by the state legislature on May 3.The American Civil Liberties Union, the largest human rights group in the US, along with the NAACP, the largest advocacy group for African-Americans, and New York University Law School filed suit against the new law.“Over a million Floridians were supposed to reclaim their place in the democratic process, but some politicians clearly feel threatened by greater voter participation,” said Julie Ebenstein, a lawyer working with an ACLU voter rights project. In November last year, Florida voters taking part in a referendum known as Amendment 4 agreed to restore the voting rights of more than one million former convicts, except those who had served time for murder or sex

RAMALLAH: Palestinian Authority security forces on Saturday arrested a West Bank businessman for taking part in this week´s US-led peace conference in Bahrain, which the PA boycotted, a Palestinian security source said.They detained Salah Abu Mayala, a businessman from the city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the source told AFP on condition of anonymity.The family of Abu Mayala, who is in his 70s and has health problems, said they had no information on his detention.The security source said the Palestinian Authority (PA) had decided to arrest Palestinians found to have taken part in the conference, where US President Donald Trump´s son-in-law Jared Kushner launched a long-awaited Middle East initiative. Contacted by AFP, the United States embassy in Jerusalem declined to comment.The Palestinian leadership, which has boycotted the White House over a series of pro-Israeli moves including recognising the disputed city of Jerusalem as capital of Israel, insists a political so

WASHINGTON: An American neo-Nazi who killed an activist when he rammed his car into a group of counter-protesters during a white supremacist rally was ordered jailed for life without possibility of parole on Friday.James Alex Fields Jr, 22, had pleaded guilty to 29 federal hate crimes charges in March in a deal with prosecutors that eliminated the possibility of a death sentence. The charges were linked to the 29 people wounded when he drove his car through a crowd in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 12, 2017, when he killed 32-year-old paralegal Heather Heyer. “As a result of this act of domestic terrorism that was charged as 29 hate crimes, a United States district judge this afternoon determined that Mr Fields deserved to spend the rest of his life in federal prison and imposed that sentence,” said US Attorney Thomas Cullen.According to the local CBS6 news channel, Judge Michael Urbanski said Fields was “a profoundly disturbed young man” with a history of violence and releasing h

LONDON: London´s iconic Tower Bridge celebrates its 125th anniversary on Sunday by showing off the weird and wacky alternative designs that were nearly built instead.The globally-recognised landmark which opens and closes for large boats plying the River Thames, has become one of the symbols of the British capital. But it could have been very different.The fairytale castle-style masterpiece was just one of 50 designs which vied to solve the conundrum of erecting a much-needed new bridge that would still allow large ships into what was the world´s busiest port.“There were all sorts of weird and wonderful, really creative ideas,” said Tower Bridge head Chris Earlie.“There were spiral roadways — like you would see in car parks — either side of the River Thames and then a high-level bridge,” the bridgemaster told AFP.“One design that got quite far was a very high-level bridge with long approaches. But it was found that horses pulling carts would get exhausted before they got near the top!”

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MURREE: The operation to rescue the picnickers stranded in the Patriata chairlift, Murree has been completed after the area’s main attraction broke down on Saturday.“All 90 tourists stuck in the cable cars have been rescued to safety and all of them are safe and sound,” said Patriata cable car manager Mohsin Fazal, while talking to Geo News. “Whole cable car system will be checked before it is allowed operation. The cable car operation will remain on hold while.”As many as 90 people remained marooned in the air for ten hours. He said the help was sought from the district administration,  Rescue 1122, the Civil Defence and the Pakistan Army. DC Rawalpindi Chaudhry Muhammed Ali Randhawa said there were eight to nine people in every cable and none of the rescued is injured. “In first phase, we rescued 27 people from three cables that were easily accessible,” he told, adding it was very difficult to rescue the people as the other cables were on a height in a hilly area. So, we decided to r

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CARPENTRAS, France: The temperature in France surpassed 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time on record on Friday as Europe sweltered in an early summer heatwave that has caused several deaths.With France, Spain, Italy and parts of central Europe particularly badly hit by the high temperatures, officials pleaded with people to take common sense precautions. France’s new record temperature of 45.1 degrees Celsius was registered in Villevieille, a village in the southern department of Gard near Montpellier, the same area where a previous high of 44.1 degrees Celsius was set in August 2003, Meteo-France told AFP. Records began at the turn of the 20th century.The state forecaster said it was likely the record could be beaten again on Friday as it was still relatively early in the day. Earlier the mercury rose above 44 degrees C in the southeastern town of Carpentras. The town was deserted, with cafe owners contemplating empty terraces, which would normally be packe

VIENNA: Iran’s deputy foreign minister says progress has been made in Vienna talks aimed at saving the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers but the demands of the Islamic Republic are yet to be met.“It was a step forward, but it is still not enough and not meeting Iran’s expectations,” Abbas Araqchi told reporters on Friday after almost four hours of talks with senior diplomats from Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.On Friday, the remaining signatories of the nuclear agreement met in the Austrian capital as a last-ditch effort to save the accord after the US withdrew last year.US President Donald Trump withdrew Washington in May 2018 from the multilateral nuclear accord, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was reached between Iran and six world powers in 2015.Afterwards, Washington re-imposed unilateral sanctions on Iran that had been lifted under the deal.European signatories to the nuclear deal are facing a two-month ultimatum to help Ira

OSAKA, Japan: An exiled advocate for China’s ethnic Uighur minority on Friday urged world leaders gathered in Japan for the G20 summit to confront Chinese President Xi Jinping over the "genocide" of her Muslim people.Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Osaka meeting, Rebiya Kadeer said strong world pressure was essential to free an estimated one million people, mostly ethnic Uighurs, held in internment camps in western China."(The) entire Uighur people are facing (an) existential threat, and its real and urgent," Kadeer, the 72-year-old head of the World Uyghur Congress, said through an interpreter. Chinese officials describe the camps as voluntary "vocational education centres" where Turkic-speaking Uighurs receive job training.But rights groups and former inmates describe them as "concentration camps" where Uighurs and other minorities are being forcefully assimilated into China majority ethnic Han society. Kadeer said Uighur culture