ROME: Seven people were rescued and 21 people are missing at sea after a migrant shipwreck off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa, Italian news reports and UN officials said on Wednesday. The survivors are Syrian nationals who told rescuers that three children are among the missing, the reports said. The seven survivors were rescued by the coast guard and said they were travelling on a boat that had set off from Libya a few days ago, with 28 people on board. “Twenty people are reported missing in the Mediterranean after a shipwreck on Sept 1,” Chiara Cardoletti,…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
JERUSALEM: The United States has said it is time to “finalise” a deal between Israel and Hamas to end the Gaza war, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to bow to pressure. Washington would work “over the coming days” with fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar “to push for a final agreement,” said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller on Tuesday. He was speaking after Netanyahu rejected “concessions” in indirect negotiations with Hamas, despite growing domestic and international pressure following the recovery by Israel’s military of six killed prisoners from the war-ravaged Palestinian territory. “It is time to finalise that deal,” Miller…
A couple went on trial on Thursday accused of locking their 10-year-old foster daughter in an electrified cage and throwing her downstairs, in a harrowing case that has shocked the Netherlands. The girl was taken to hospital in May, unconscious, in a filthy state, with several broken bones and badly malnourished, reportedly weighing just 22 kilogrammes. She emerged from her coma in July but is unable to sit up independently or communicate, prosecutors said as the trial opened in Rotterdam. They said she would probably need intensive medical care for the rest of her life. The couple, named only as…
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday held a meeting with United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy in London to discuss bilateral relations. According to a statement released by the Foreign Office (FO), Dar, who is also the deputy prime minister, “underscored the importance of a strong Pakistan-UK partnership, advancing the wide-ranging bilateral agenda, and promoting regional peace and stability”. The pair “reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations and discussed regional issues of common interest”, the statement read. The deputy prime minister expressed his interest in working with his UK counterpart on issues that concerned the two countries, which included climate change,…
Vast crowds of Indians bearing candles marched through the streets of Kolkata early on Thursday, demanding justice nearly one month on since the rape and murder of a doctor. The discovery of the 31-year-old doctor’s bloodied body at a state-run hospital in Kolkata on August 9 has stoked nationwide anger at the chronic issue of violence against women. “We want justice”, read one message spelt out in flickering candles and clay lamps. “Let there be light, let there be justice”, a sign held by protesters read. The brutal murder has triggered protests across India — and repeated strikes by medics — demanding safer conditions…
Bangladesh’s ousted premier Sheikh Hasina should “keep quiet” while exiled in India until she is brought home for trial, interim leader Muhammad Yunus told Indian media on Thursday. Hasina, 76, fled to India by helicopter one month ago as protesters marched on her palace in a dramatic end to her iron-fisted rule of 15 years. An interim government led by Nobel laureate Yunus has been under public pressure to demand her extradition and trial over the hundreds of demonstrators killed during the weeks of unrest that ultimately toppled her. “If India wants to keep her until the time Bangladesh wants her back, the condition would be that…
WASHINGTON: The White House is urgently preparing a new proposal for a Gaza ceasefire and the release of hostages held by Hamas, sources from the US government, Egyptian security, and those familiar with the matter told Reuters. This proposal seeks to address key issues that have stalled negotiations, which have been mediated by the US, Qatar, and Egypt, for months. Most elements of the deal have already been agreed upon, according to a senior official in the Biden administration, but two main sticking points remain. These include Israel’s demand to maintain a military presence in the Philadelphi corridor, a buffer…
Russia has reportedly created a covert trade route with India to secure critical electronics for its military operations in Ukraine, according to a Financial Times report. Citing leaked documents and anonymous sources, the report reveals that Russia’s Ved MMKP, a consortium linked to foreign economic activities, planned to spend approximately $976,650 on essential components for telecommunication, server, and other complex electronic equipment, previously sourced from Western countries. These components, crucial for both civilian and military use, are subject to Western export controls. Despite sanctions disrupting Russia’s access to foreign electronics, the country’s military continues to require these components for missiles,…
ROME: The Arch of Constantine, a giant ancient Roman arch next to the Colosseum, was damaged after a violent storm hit Rome, conservation authorities said on Tuesday. In a statement to Reuters, which first reported on the accident, the Colosseum Archaeological Park confirmed that the monument was hit by lightning. The triumphal arch was built in the 4th century AD to celebrate the victory of Constantine – the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity – over his rival, Maxentius. It is about 25 metres (82 feet) high and is located in the same pedestrian area where the Colosseum stands,…
Kamala Harris’ campaign has agreed to the terms for next week’s presidential debate with former President Donald Trump, including the provision that candidates’ microphones will be muted when not speaking. Despite reservations about this format, which they argue might disadvantage Harris, the campaign agreed to avoid jeopardizing the debate’s occurrence. In a letter to ABC News, the Harris campaign expressed concerns that the muted mics rule would shield Trump from direct exchanges, potentially giving him an unfair advantage. They noted that Harris, a former prosecutor, might be at a disadvantage in such a format. ABC News confirmed that both campaigns…
