World

[ad_1] Ahmedabad, India – Cricket fans have poured into Ahmedabad in their thousands, hotel tariffs in the city are up to 20 times the usual, the wealthy have let out their spare homes for about $2,500 a night, and hospitals have observed a most unusual interest in admissions for Saturday, when India host Pakistan in the ICC Cricket World Cup. But there will be a glaring absence at the biggest occasion in cricket: Pakistanis – fans and media – have been all but blocked from attending. The echo in the Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday will be the incredibly loud…

[ad_1] India and Pakistan renew their rivalry when they meet for their ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Both teams go into Saturday’s match having won their two opening matches of the 50-over showpiece event. Pakistan would be forgiven for feeling like gladiators thrown into the Colosseum when they face an India team egged on by 100,000-plus fans, but skipper Babar Azam sees the match as a chance to end a jinx when they play their archrivals. Here’s all you need to know about the match: Who, when, where It’s India vs Pakistan on…

[ad_1] Gaza City, Gaza – Ahmed al-Saadi and his family have so far escaped the Israeli bombing campaign that has levelled entire neighbourhoods and killed more than 1,900 people in the Gaza Strip since last Saturday. But after they sought refuge in a United Nations school, that too was attacked from the air – multiple times, said al-Saadi. “Some people were killed. If schools are not safe, then where do we go? Where can an entire population seek safety?” he asked. Al-Saadi’s question is at the centre of a growing mix of desperation and defiance in the blockaded coastal enclave,…

[ad_1] RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is putting US-backed plans to normalise ties with Israel on ice, two sources familiar with Riyadh’s thinking said, signalling a rapid rethinking of its foreign policy priorities as war escalates between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas. The conflict has also pushed the kingdom to engage with Iran. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman took his first phone call from Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi as Riyadh tries to prevent a broader surge in violence across the region. The two sources told Reuters there would be a delay in the US-backed talks on normalisation with Israel that was a key…

[ad_1] Calls for a humanitarian corridor or an escape route for Palestinians from Gaza as a conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas has escalated have drawn a blunt reaction from Arab neighbours. Egypt, the only Arab state to share a border with Gaza, and Jordan, which is next to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, have both warned against Palestinians being forced off their land. It reflects deep Arab fears that Israel’s latest war with Hamas in Gaza could spark a new wave of permanent displacement from land where Palestinians want to build a future state. “This is the cause of all causes, the cause of…

[ad_1] As reports of Hamas fighters attacking southern Israel last Saturday flooded phones and television sets around the world, Kenyan President William Ruto took to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “Kenya joins the rest of the world in solidarity with the State of Israel and unequivocally condemns terrorism and attacks on innocent civilians in the country,” he wrote. “There exists no justification whatsoever for terrorism, which constitutes a serious threat to international peace and security.” “The international community must mobilise to bring the perpetrators, organisers, financiers, sponsors, supporters and enablers of these reprehensible criminal acts of…

[ad_1] GAZA: At least 1,900 Palestinians have been killed in the blockaded enclave of Gaza in a brutal air campaign of reprisal attacks by Israel as infantry forces from the IDF made their first raids into the Gaza Strip. Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari claimed troops backed by tanks had mounted raids to attack Palestinian rocket crews and seek information on the location of hostages, the first official account of ground troops in Gaza since the crisis began. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a campaign of retaliation had ‘only just begun’. Israel has vowed to annihilate Hamas after…

[ad_1] It was a moment that plunged the Ecuadorian presidential race into chaos. As anticorruption candidate Fernando Villavicencio ducked into a vehicle at the end of a campaign rally, gunfire ripped through the crowd, killing him mere days before the first round of voting. Now, as Ecuador prepares for the pivotal second round on Sunday — a run-off vote that will decide the country’s next president — a fresh volley of bloodshed has once again rattled the race. On October 6, rumours began to spread online that six of the suspects arrested in Villavicencio’s assassination had themselves been murdered behind…

[ad_1] Washington, DC – Arab, Muslim and Palestinian rights advocates in the United States have denounced Washington’s unconditional support for Israel’s war in Gaza, decrying the “dehumanisation” of Palestinians by media outlets and politicians. Speaking at a news conference on Friday, representatives of several advocacy groups also sounded the alarm about the prospect of hate incidents against Arab and Muslim Americans. Nihad Awad, the executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), slammed President Joe Biden, accusing him of failing to recognise the Palestinians’ humanity. “You are not helping,” Awad said, speaking as if he were addressing Biden himself.…

[ad_1] The Australian referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament is part of a long history of Aboriginal people fighting for their voice to be heard. The referendum was called after Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders issued the Uluru Statement from the Heart, a petition calling for a First Nations Voice to be enshrined in the Australian constitution. The Uluru statement is the latest of many petitions and protests from Aboriginal people calling for three separate processes known as Voice, Treaty and Truth, in varying orders. Australia has made limited progress on implementing any of the processes, and unlike…