Category: World

KABUL: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani replaced two top ministers charged with managing the country”s faltering security Saturday, as the Taliban pressed on with their campaign to capture new territory in fierce battles with government forces. The shake-up of the defence and interior ministry portfolios comes as violence surges and peace talks remain deadlocked, with the…

TEHRAN: Iran”s ultraconservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi was elected president with just under 62 percent of the vote, according to figures released Saturday by Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli. Voter turnout for Friday”s election was 48.8 percent of the more than 59 million eligible voters, he said — a record low for a presidential election in…

MOSCOW: Russia has notified its partners under in the Open Skies arms control treaty that it will leave the group on Dec. 18, the Russian foreign ministry said on Friday. The Kremlin said this month that the US decision to withdraw from the treaty – which allows unarmed surveillance flights over member countries – had…

UNITED NATIONS: The U.N. General Assembly unanimously elected Antonio Guterres to a second term as secretary-general on Friday, giving him another five years at the helm of the 193-member organization at a time a deeply divided world faces numerous conflicts, the growing impact of climate change, and a pandemic still circling the globe. Ambassadors in…

WASHINGTON: The Democratic-led House, with President Joe Biden’s backing, passed legislation Thursday to repeal the 2002 authorization for use of military force in Iraq, a step that supporters said was necessary for Congress to reassert its constitutional duty to weigh in on matters of war. Detractors worried it would embolden militias or terrorist groups. The…