US warships transit Taiwan Strait, first since Pelosi visit

WASHINGTON 28 Aug (Online): Two US Navy warships sailed through international waters in the Taiwan Strait on Sunday, the first such operation since a visit to Taiwan by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi enraged China which regards the island as its territory. The US Navy, […]

Russia blocks resolution on nuclear disarmament

NEW YORK: Russia on Friday prevented the adoption of a joint declaration following a four-week UN conference on a nuclear disarmament treaty, with Moscow denouncing what it said were “political” aspects of the text. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which 191 signatories review every five […]

Longtime White House pastry chef Roland Mesnier dies at 78

Washington, Aug 28 (AFP/APP): Roland Mesnier, the French-born longtime pastry chef at the White House whose whimsical confections served five American presidents, has died at age 78, relatives told AFP Sunday. The culinary master — who joined the presidential mansion’s staff in 1979 under Jimmy […]

Rival Libya leaders trade blame after Tripoli clashes kill 32

Tripoli, Aug 28 (AFP/APP): Libya’s rival premiers on Sunday traded accusations over deadly clashes in Tripoli — the worst in the capital since a landmark 2020 ceasefire and which sparked fears of a major new conflict. The health ministry said 32 people were killed and […]

China accelerates renovation of old urban residential communities

BEIJING, Aug. 28 (Xinhua/APP): China has accelerated the renovation of old urban residential communities in an effort to improve people’s quality of life. Some 44,300 old urban residential community renovation projects saw construction begin in the first seven months of this year, data from the […]

Turkiye dismisses concerns over US sanction warning

ISTANBUL 27 Aug (Online): Turkiye’s fin¬a¬nce minister on Friday dismissed as “meaningless” con¬cerns among Turkish businesses over a US Trea¬sury warning that they risked being penalised if they maintained commercial ties with Russians under sanctions. Nato-member Turkiye has sought to strike a balance between Moscow […]

Serbia, Kosovo reach free movement agreement: EU

Brussels, Aug 27 (AFP/APP): Serbia and Kosovo have agreed on an arrangement for free movement between their countries, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced Saturday. Serbia had agreed to abolish its entry-exit document for Kosovo ID holders, and Kosovo had agreed to […]

United States Donates Additional Nine Million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses

Islamabad, AUG 27 (Online): As part of the U.S. commitment to provide 77 million doses of U.S. COVID-19 vaccines to Pakistan, an additional nine million pediatric and adult doses from the United States—in partnership with COVAX— began arriving on August 26. The United States is […]