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BEIRUT: Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday criticised anti-migrant activists who stoke “fears” of Islam and said co-operation between Christians and Muslims in Lebanon should be an example for Europe and the United States. The 70-year-old pope spoke to reporters on the plane at the end of his visit to Turkey and Lebanon — his first trip outside of Italy since becoming head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics in May. Leo said anti-Muslim sentiment was “oftentimes generated by people who are against immigration and trying to keep out people who may be from another country, another religion, another race.” He said his visit to Lebanon was intended to show “that dialogue and friendship between Muslims and Christians is possible”. Leo said stories he heard during the trip of Christians and Muslims helping each other were “lessons … that we should perhaps be a little less fearful”. The pontiff urges halt to attacks in Lebanon as first trip abroad ends The US-born pope spent two decades in Peru...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia was “ready” for war if Europe seeks one, accusing the continent’s leaders of trying to sabotage a deal on the Ukraine conflict before he met with US envoys. The comments came as United States envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were in Moscow for high-stakes talks on ending the nearly four-year war, which were preceded by days of intense diplomacy. “We are not planning to go to war with Europe, but if Europe wants to and starts, we are ready right now,” Putin told reporters in Moscow. “They have no peaceful agenda, they are on the side of war,” he added, repeating his claim that European leaders were hindering US attempts to broker peace in Ukraine. He added that European changes to Trump’s latest plan to end the war “aimed solely at one thing — to completely block the entire peace process and put forward demands that are absolutely unacceptable for Russia”. Washington has presented ...

An Afghan man has been charged in Texas with threatening to build a bomb and carry out a suicide attack, United States officials said on Tuesday, as the Trump administration vows a crackdown on Afghan migrants after a deadly shooting. Mohammad Dawood Alokozay, 30, of Fort Worth, allegedly made the threats in a November 23 video that he shared on TikTok, X and Facebook, the Justice Department said in a statement. In the video, Alokozay allegedly praises the Taliban and threatens to carry out a suicide attack on Americans. “Thanks to public reports of a threatening online video, the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force apprehended this individual before he could commit an act of violence,” FBI Dallas special agent in charge Joseph Rothrock said. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said Alokozay “came into America during the Biden administration and, as alleged, explicitly stated that he came here in order to kill American citizens”. He faces up to five years in prison if convicted of making a...

MEMBERS of the Hazara American Community hold a banner honouring the National Guard killed in the Washington attack.—Dawn WASHINGTON: Afg­han Americans from different neighbourhoods gathered outside the White House to urge the US administration not to hold an entire community responsible for the actions of a few individuals. Amid heightened scrutiny of Afghan nationals, following reports of alleged involvement in terrorism-related incidents in the United States, the Hazara community on Sunday organised the rally to press the authorities to take a lenient view. The US Justice Department announced on the same day, that Afghan-born permanent resident Abdullah Hajizada had been sentenced last week to 15 years in federal prison. Hajizada, 17 at the time of his arrest, pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply firearms and ammunition for an ISIS-inspired plan to carry out a terrorist attack on election day in November 2024. He had allegedly obtained two AK47-style rifles and 500 rounds ...

Several people on social media platform X shared a video on November 28 that allegedly showed Imran Khan’s sister Noreen Niazi requesting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to launch Operation Sindoor 2.0 for her brother’s release. However, the video is doctored through AI. Last week, Imran’s sisters had camped outside Adiala Jail, where the PTI founder is currently incarcerated , along with other party members after being denied a meeting. According to the PTI, Aleema Khan, Dr Uzma Khan and Noreen were “sitting peacefully” outside the jail when they were manhandled and “violently detained” by police. After repeatedly being barred from meeting their brother, Noreen and Aleema gave separate interviews to the Indian media on the matter. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar had slammed the sisters for giving interviews to the Indian media. ‘Operation Sindoor’ is the term New Delhi used for its May 7, 2025, strikes on Pakistan amid the conflict between the two countries. On Nov 28, a...