World news
Imams now require ‘license to preach’

PARIS: France’s leading Muslim body called Tuesday for imams to require a permit to preach in a bid to root out extremists, and for a new religious body to fight back against jihadist propaganda. Anouar Kbibech, president of the French Council for the Muslim Religion (CFCM), said the country’s imam
Bangladesh angry over Pakistan’s criticism of executions

NEW DELHI: Bangladesh has accused Pakistan of interfering in its internal affairs by criticizing the execution of two opposition leaders for alleged war crimes during the country’s 1971 war of independence from Pakistan. Bangladesh Junior Foreign Affairs Minister Shahriar Alam said a “strongly word
Obama says world must not succumb to fear of terror

KUALA LUMPUR: US President Barack Obama called Sunday for resolve in the face of heightened jihadist threats, insisting panicked citizens must not succumb to fear and urging world leaders not to abandon a climate summit in Paris. With Brussels in lockdown, cities from Beirut to Bamako reeling from
Chinese police shoot dead 28 ‘terrorists

BEIJING: Chinese police have killed 28 members of a “terrorist group” in the Xinjiang region, authorities announced Friday, in the bloodiest such operation in months and as Beijing denounces Western “double standards” in the wake of the Paris attacks. The killings took place over the course of a 56
Russia will join anti-ISIL coalition if Syrian govt respected

Moscow: Russia is ready to work with the Western coalition fighting Daesh if its members respect Syria’s sovereignty, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday “We... are ready for practical cooperation with those countries which are part of the coalition and are ready to develop with them such
US shouldn't sell nuclear-armed version of F-16 to Pak: Republican leadership

WASHINGTON : With the Obama administration contemplating selling F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, the top Republican leadership has expressed concern over it and said the US should not sell nuclear armed fighter jets to Pakistan.an) has to be reviewed carefully. I do not think that the nuclear armed
Dawn raids as France steels for more attacks

PARIS: France staged dozens of raids on suspected extremists on Monday and bombed the Daesh group in Syria as the prime minister steeled the nation for more bloodshed after its deadliest ever terror attacks. A traumatized nation stopped for a minute’s silence at midday (1100 GMT) to honor at least
Eiffel Tower goes dark as France mourns 129 dead

PARIS: The Eiffel Tower stood dark in a symbol of mourning Saturday night as France struggled to absorb the deadliest violence on its soil since World War II: Coordinated gun-and-suicide bombing attacks across Paris that left at least 129 people dead and 352 injured. President Francois Hollande vow
France in shock after attacks; arrests made in Belgium

PARIS: French prosecutors said on Saturday that three coordinated teams of gunmen and suicide bombers carried out a wave of attacks across Paris that killed 129 people in what President Francois Hollande called an “act of war” by Islamic State. Hollande declared a state of emergency, ordering polic
Scores killed in Paris attacks, Hollande declares emergency

PARIS: Gunmen and bombers attacked restaurants, a concert hall and a sports stadium at locations across Paris on Friday, killing at least 120 people in a deadly rampage that a shaken President Francois Hollande called an unprecedented terrorist attack. A Paris city hall official said four gunmen sy
Protests erupt as Modi visits Britain

LONDON: India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi began a visit to Britain on Thursday expected to yield trade deals worth billions of dollars, but his arrival was overshadowed by protests over a perceived rise in intolerance back home. Bruised by his Hindu nationalist party’s election defeat in populou
Lufthansa strike grounds another 100,000 passengers

BERLIN: Lufthansa scrapped 930 more flights on Wednesday, grounding 100,000 passengers after a court allowed cabin staff to press on with a strike that is shaping up to be the worst in the German airline’s history. The new flight cancellations in and out of Germany’s biggest airport, Frankfurt, as
Hundreds of teachers sacked from Pakistan ‘ghost schools’

QUETTA: Pakistan authorities have halted funding to hundreds of “ghost schools” and fired 450 absentee teachers, with officials vowing Tuesday to launch a crackdown on the practice in the southwestern province of Baluchistan. “We have detected and stopped funds to some 650 ghost schools and sacked
’Catastrophe’ climate warnings as greenhouse gases hit new high

PARIS: Rising seas from global warming could submerge swathes of New York and Shanghai, and drive millions of people into poverty worldwide, researchers warned Monday as climate-altering carbon levels broke new records. The slew of fresh planetary warnings came as ministers met in Paris searching c
Pakistan invites India for key Afghan conference

Pakistan has invited External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for a crucial regional conference here on Afghanistan, a move that could provide an opportunity for the two neighbours to mend their frosty ties. The ‘Heart of Asia’ conference will be held on December 7 and 8, where representatives fro
Investigators “90 percent sure” bomb downed Russian flight in Egypt

CAIRO: Investigators of the Russian plane crash in Egypt are “90 percent sure” the noise heard in the final second of a cockpit recording was an explosion caused by a bomb, a member of the investigation team told Reuters on Sunday. “The indications and analysis so far of the sound on the black box
Turkish police detain more ISIS suspects

ISTANBUL: Turkish police on Saturday detained seven foreign nationals in southern Turkey on suspicion of planning to head to Syria to join Islamic State fighters, state media said. The detentions were part of a series of police operations against suspected members of IS across Turkey, which is on
Hopes fade for survivors of Pakistan factory collapse

LAHORE: Hopes of finding more survivors in the rubble of a collapsed Pakistani factory were fading as darkness fell Thursday, with rescuers warning the death toll would likely rise as they dig further down through the debris. Soldiers and rescuers in Lahore have pulled 108 people out of the rubb