Muezzins issuing high-decibel calls to prayer have long been part of Saudi identity, but a crackdown on mosque loudspeakers is among contentious reforms seeking to shake off the Muslim kingdom’s austere image.

The Taliban yesterday said they remain committed to peace talks but insisted that a “genuine Islamic system” in Afghanistan was the only way to end the war and ensure rights -- including for women.

Renewed battles between government forces and Huthi rebels over the strategic city of Marib in northern Yemen have left 47 dead, including 16 pro-government forces, military sources said Saturday.

The Russian ambassador in Washington flew back yesterday to the United States saying he hoped to build “equal and pragmatic” ties after a US-Russia summit in Geneva aimed at reducing tensions.

When microorganisms – such as bacteria or viruses – infect us, our immune system jumps into action. It’s highly trained to sense and eliminate infections and clear up any damage caused by them.

1377 - King Edward III died after ruling England for 50 years; he was succeeded by his grandson, Richard II.

India may be hit by a third wave of Covid-19 far sooner than predicted because people are ignoring guidelines, the Times of India cited Dr Randeep Guleria, director at the state-run All India Institute of Medical Sciences, as saying.

Hardliner Iranian cleric Ebrahim Raisi’s victory on Saturday in a presidential election drew starkly opposed reactions, with Russia hailing a sign of greater regional stability but some condemning it as a farce.

The colourful former speaker of Britain’s House of Commons John Bercow said he has left the Conservatives to join the opposition Labour Party, launching a blistering attack on Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Britain recorded 9,284 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday and six new deaths within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test.

Belgian police found the body on Sunday of a fugitive soldier who went missing a month ago with a stash of weapons after threatening a virologist and his family, the Belgian federal prosecutors' office said.

When Libyan security forces rescued her earlier this year, the young Somali woman thought it would be the end of her suffering. For more than two years, she had been imprisoned and sexually abused by human traffickers notorious for extorting, torturing and assaulting migrants like her trying to reach Europe.

Marine Le Pen’s far right party is riding high on her tough-on-security, stop-immigration message as French voters start choosing regional leaders Sunday in an election that’s seen as a dress rehearsal for next year’s presidential vote.

Thousands took to the streets across Brazil on Saturday to protest against President Jair Bolsonaro's pandemic response, blasting the leader for not acquiring vaccines fast enough and for questioning the need for mask-wearing.

The United Nations General Assembly has called for a stop to the flow of arms to Myanmar and urged the military to respect November election results and release political detainees, including leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

1937 - The Scottish dramatist and novelist JM Barrie, creator of Peter Pan, died.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief yesterday told Lebanon’s leaders they were to blame for the country’s political and economic crisis and some could face sanctions if they continue to obstruct steps to form a new government and implement reform.

The Biden administration is withdrawing Patriot antimissile batteries from four Middle East countries as the US reduces its military footprint in the region amid a reduction in tensions with Iran, a US news outlet reported on Friday.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to preside a meeting with all political parties from Jammu and Kashmir on June 24 in the first concrete

The World Health Organization yesterday officially announced the end of Guinea’s second Ebola outbreak which was declared on February 14. It