International

Tallinn: Authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko Thursday hosted a US envoy for talks in the Belarus capital of Minsk, the latest step in the isolated leader's effort to improve ties with the West. Lukashenko met with President Donald Trump's special envoy for Belarus, John Coale, according...

Colombo: The US Special Representative for South and Central Asia, Sergio Gor and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake Thursday discussed strengthening bilateral relations and the island nation's position on the West Asia crisis. The US Special envoys' visit to Sri Lanka comes at a...

London:  British police have charged two men with spying on the UK's Jewish community on behalf of Iran. Iranian-British national Nematollah Shahsavani, 40, and 22-year-old Iranian citizen Alireza Farasati have been charged with engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service. Prosecutors said...

Bangkok: Global oil and natural gas prices soared Thursday after Iran attacked a key natural gas facility in Qatar that can supply one-fifth of the world's gas, as well as two oil refineries in Kuwait. The attacks added to fears the energy crisis triggered by...

New Delhi: Seasoned diplomat Vikram Doraiswami was Thursday appointed as India's new ambassador to China. Doraiswami, a 1992-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, is currently serving as Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. India's decision to send the senior diplomat to Beijing comes amid efforts...

New York: The US and Israel's war with Iran has thrust the Strait of Hormuz once again into the crosshairs of a geopolitical conflict. Nearly all traffic in the waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the rest of the globe's oceans, shutting down a...

Abu Dhabi: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities said Thursday that operations at the Habshan gas facilities have been temporarily suspended due to falling debris from interceptions of missiles and condemned Iran over the "terrorist attack". "The United Arab Emirates has strongly condemned the Iranian...

Kabul: Pakistan and Afghanistan announced a “temporary pause” in hostilities on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, following appeals from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar, even as tensions remain high after Kabul accused Islamabad of carrying out a deadly strike that killed hundreds. Pakistan’s Information Minister Ataullah...

Washington: US President Donald Trump said that the United States “knew nothing” about Israel’s strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field and warned Tehran of massive retaliation if it “unwisely” targets Qatar again, after Iran struck a portion of Qatar’s LNG facility following the attack....

Dubai: President Donald Trump pledged that Israel would make no more attacks on Iran's major South Pars gas field, but if Iran attacked Qatar again, the U.S. would retaliate and "massively blow up the entirety" of the field. Trump made his threat on social media...