Category: English

Authorities in India’s capital, Delhi, are deploying thousands of police and paramilitary personnel ahead of a protest called for ‌Saturday by the “Cockroach” youth movement to demand the election chief quit over a revision of voter lists. Several long-distance trains coming into Delhi were also cancelled on Friday, and 57 metro stations were closed from Friday night, authorities said, after organisers said they were expecting thousands of people to join the protest. The anger against the voter ​verification drive that began last year has become one of the biggest political…

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Thursday’s attacks on Riyadh airport killed three people, Saudi authorities said on Friday, as Yemen’s Houthi group ​stepped up missile strikes on the kingdom and tried to shut down its airspace in an escalating war ‌triggered by the US-Iran conflict. The strikes, which also injured several people, damaged a Saudi Airlines plane and sent smoke billowing over the airport, led many airlines to cancel flights to the Saudi capital days before it is due to host a major meeting of global oil chiefs. Saudi airstrikes hit ​Houthi targets in the…

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Pakistan remains committed to a negotiated and peaceful resolution of the Iran-US conflict and opposes any further expansion of the war, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has said. In an excerpt from an interview with CNN shared on X by the broadcaster’s correspondent Ivan Watson, ISPR said Pakistan would continue doing whatever was possible and necessary to narrow differences and help secure a peaceful outcome. “Pakistan has been a very honest broker. So neutrality and everything stands with honesty,” he said, adding that Pakistan…

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Almost all of Gaza’s population needs tents or help with shelter ahead of winter, with the El Niño weather phenomenon expected ​to bring heavier rainfall, while supplies remain scarce due to Israeli ‌restrictions, the UN migration agency said on Friday. The El Niño — which could be the strongest ever, according to the UN weather agency — could further weaken unsafe buildings and cause flooding ​amid the enclave’s heavily damaged drainage systems, the IOM said. Almost 2 million ​people inside the enclave, largely devastated by the war launched ⁠by Israel…

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Gold prices in Pakistan increased on Friday, following an upward trend in the international market, with the price of one tola rising by Rs5,900 to reach Rs440,936. According to rates released by the All-Pakistan Gems and Jewellers Sarafa Association (APGJSA), the price of 10-gram gold also increased by Rs5,058 to settle at Rs378,031. On Thursday, gold had gained Rs600 per tola, taking its price to Rs435,036. In the international market, gold prices rose by $59 to reach $4,184 per ounce. Meanwhile, silver prices in the local market increased by Rs144…

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South African judge Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, 85, won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday “for her efforts to promote peace and international law”, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said. Pillay ​held states and national leaders accountable and brought hope to ​victims of violence and conflict, and demonstrated a firm moral ⁠compass in her long career, the committee said. “A common thread runs ​from her early work defending Nelson Mandela and others who stood ​up against apartheid to her service as a judge in some of the key international court cases of…

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Sand-filled blast barriers ​and concrete shelters are multiplying at filling stations in Ukraine in a push by ‌retailers to fortify their networks as Russia attacks fuel infrastructure in major cities. Russia has struck petrol stations in frontline areas since the beginning of the full-scale war in 2022, but in recent months it has broadened its ​air campaign to target fuel retailers in Kyiv, Dnipro and Kharkiv. A senior executive at ​state-owned Ukrnafta, Ukraine’s largest oil company, said it was taking steps to protect ⁠its facilities, and the strikes would not…

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US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared ​Kushner will meet Ukrainian representatives on Friday in Miami to discuss new ‌ideas and try to produce a unified proposal for resolving the war in Ukraine, an American source familiar with the plan said on Thursday. Earlier on Thursday, US Secretary of State ​Marco Rubio said the conflict was at a dangerous stalemate. President Donald ​Trump this week said he planned to talk to Russian ⁠President Vladimir Putin by phone soon. Trump, whose efforts to resolve the conflict ​have so far not succeeded, has…

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The population of Aldabra giant tortoises in Seychelles has reached an estimated 183,000 adult and sub-adult animals, according to a new study, marking a major conservation success for a species that was once pushed close to extinction. The survey, led by the Seychelles Islands Foundation (SIF) and the University of Exeter, found that approximately 180,000 giant tortoises live freely on Aldabra Atoll. The figure is the highest recorded for the species and far exceeds the human population of Seychelles. Researchers analysed five years of tortoise counts conducted between 2018 and…

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In a burst of anti-Somali and anti-Muslim rhetoric, President Donald Trump ​cast the Somali American community as a threat to Minnesota on Thursday, hours after he labelled Muslim ‌US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed a radical extremist. “The once Great State of Minnesota is being taken over by Somali Immigrants. There is Violence, Murder, and Mayhem all over the State. The people of Minnesota must fight back,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. Trump urged ​authorities in Minnesota to ask for federal intervention. Civil rights advocates have criticized the Republican…

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