DEARBORN (Michigan): Abdullah Hammoud’s election as the first Muslim mayor of Dearborn was a watershed moment for this city, an automaking hub home to the highest concentration of Arab-Americans in the United States. But while his early focus was on upgrading sewer infrastructure and investing in parks, he has now been thrust into the national spotlight for his outspoken criticism of fellow Democrat Joe Biden, over the president’s support for Israel’s military offensive in Gaza. “I’ll be the first to say that we don’t want to see (Donald) Trump reelected to the White House,” Hammoud said in an interview. “But…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
CAIRO: Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly ordered 16 tourism companies stripped of their licences and referred their managers to the public prosecutor on Saturday over illegal pilgrimages to Makkah, the cabinet said. The order came after countries whose citizens performed this year’s Haj reported more than 1,100 deaths, many attributed to the oven-like summer heat in Saudi Arabia. A tally on Friday, compiling official statements and reports from diplomats involved in the response, put the toll at 1,126, more than half of them from Egypt. Arab diplomats said earlier this week that Egyptians accounted for 658 deaths — 630 of…
ROME: The Italian island of Capri banned tourists from disembarking on Saturday after problems with the water supply from the mainland threatened to leave the holiday hotspot parched. The ban by Capri mayor Paolo Falco forced several ferries on their way to the island from Naples and Sorrento in southern Italy to turn back. The company charged with supplying the island with water said there had been a technical problem on the mainland on Thursday, and while that had since been fixed problems with the supply to Capri remained. Falco warned of “a real emergency” and said that while there…
KYIV: Ukraine on Saturday said Russia had launched a “massive” overnight attack on energy infrastructure in the west and south, adding that at least seven people died from Moscow strikes elsewhere. Russia launched 16 cruise missiles from land, sea and air as well as 13 attack drones, aiming at energy infrastructure in several regions, Ukraine’s military said. Air defences downed all but four of them, it added. Russia’s defence ministry said that its troops “carried out a group strike with long-range high-precision weaponry from air and sea and also drones on Ukrainian energy facilities that power arms production”. It said…
XICHANG: A French-Chinese satellite blasted off on Saturday on a hunt for the mightiest explosions in the universe, in a notable example of cooperation between a Western power and the Asian giant. Developed by engineers from both countries, the Space Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM) will seek out gamma-ray bursts, the light from which has travelled billions of light years to reach Earth. The 930-kilogram satellite carrying four instruments — two French, two Chinese — took off around 3:00pm local time aboard a Chinese Long March 2-C rocket from a space base in Xichang, in the southwestern province of Sichuan, journalists…
NAIROBI: A 21-year-old man died after being hit by a tear gas canister during protests in Kenya this week, a human rights official and the victim’s relative said on Saturday, in the second fatality resulting from the youth-led demonstrations. Led largely by Gen-Z Kenyans who have livestreamed the demonstrations against tax hikes, the protests have been galvanised by widespread anger over President William Ruto’s economic policies. Thursday’s demonstrations in the capital Nairobi were mostly peaceful, but officers fired tear gas and water cannon throughout the day in an attempt to disperse protesters near parliament. According to a Kenya Human Rights…
LONDON: Nigel Farage, leader of Britain’s anti-immigration Reform UK party, faced strong criticism on Saturday after saying that the West provoked Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In an interview with the BBC on Friday, Farage said “We’ve provoked this war”, while adding that “of course” it was Russian president Vladimir Putin’s “fault”. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told reporters that Farage’s claim was “completely wrong and only plays into Putin’s hands”, likening the comments to “appeasement”. Labour leader Keir Starmer, who looks set to take Sunak’s job after an election next month, said Farage’s comments were “disgraceful”. “Anyone who is standing for parliament ought to…
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Interior Mohsin Naqvi has said that there is no room for negligence in providing security to foreigners in Pakistan. He made these remarks on Saturday while chairing a meeting at the Ministry of Interior to review security measures for foreigners, especially Chinese citizens. The meeting also evaluated the overall security situation in the country. Mr Naqvi instructed the officials to implement standard operating procedures regarding security as per the devised plans. He said the plan should be regularly reviewed at all levels, and relevant departments should improve coordination to “thwart nefarious intentions of anti-state elements”. The officials…
WASHINGTON: The number of Pakistani female officers receiving military training in the United States has increased by 150 per cent in the past decade, according to a report released by the US State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs. The report, released on Friday, stated that for the past two years, Pakistan has led the region by sending the most number of female military officers to the US for training. From 2020 to 2023, 55 Pakistani women attended International Military Education and Training (IMET) courses, more than double compared to 22 who participated between 2013 and 2019. “In Pakistan, these individuals have proven…
ISLAMABAD: Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has sought reports from sector commanders of Inter-Services Intelligence and Military Intelligence deputed in Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Azad Jammu and Kashmir on a petition seeking the whereabouts of a citizen. Mr Khursheed, a resident of Neelum Valley, went missing on June 7, according to the petition filed by Khaleeqa Khursheed. She stated Mr Khursheed was in Rawalpindi and went to G-13 sector of Islamabad, but did not return home. The petitioner’s counsel informed the IHC that Mr Khursheed’s brother had lodged a complaint with local police but he could…
