International

Redmond: Microsoft is firing thousands of workers, its second mass layoff in months. The tech giant began sending out layoff notices Wednesday. The company declined to say how many people would be laid off but said that it will comprise less than 4% of the...

Seoul: A South Korean special counsel team has imposed a fresh travel ban on former first lady Kim Keon Hee as part of its probe into corruption allegations surrounding her, judicial sources said Wednesday. The investigation team, led by special prosecutor Min Joong-ki, made the...

Peshawar: Four government officials, including an assistant commissioner, were killed and 11 others injured in a bomb blast in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Wednesday, police said. The blast, which occurred near Mela Ground in Khar Tehsil in the Bajaur tribal district bordering Afghanistan, targeted...

Tel Aviv: The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) Wednesday said that it identified and prevented two attempts at smuggling weapons across the border with Egypt. According to the security forces, a drone, attempting to smuggle arms and weapons across the border, crossed from Egyptian territory into...

Tehran: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian Wednesday issued an order to enact a law to suspend the country's cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The law calls for a suspension of cooperation with the IAEA until Iran's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the safety of...

Colombo: The IMF has completed the fourth review of Sri Lanka's USD 2.9 billion bailout programme, allowing the country to draw a USD 350 million tranche from the four-year facility. Amid the island's unprecedented economic crisis, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in March 2023 approved...

Dhaka: Bangladesh's deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was Wednesday sentenced to six months in prison in a contempt of court case by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), according to a local media report. The verdict was issued by a three-member bench of the International Crimes...

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday departed for Accra, Ghana, kicking off a landmark five-nation tour aimed at boosting India’s diplomatic, economic, and strategic ties across Africa and Latin America. The weeklong visit — covering Ghana, Trinidad & Tobago, Argentina, Brazil, and Namibia —...

Washington: The US-India COMPACT, a multifaceted programme for cooperation between the two countries, was the centrepiece of the meeting between External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce. "The Secretary affirmed the strength of...

Washington: Two Chinese nationals have been charged in the US with engaging in espionage activities on behalf of China, including photographing a naval base, coordinating a clandestine cash drop, and attempting to recruit members of the US military, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said Wednesday...