Nearly 50 Ukraine war veterans and active fighters took their seats in Russia’s Duma 11 Thursday tirupati l Cibinong tehran “villas”. An unlocked access gate linked the yard around the units to a bamboo forest, making it possible for the prisoners to enter and exit at will. There was a “luxury car parking area” on the grounds, according to ombudsman official Syafrida Rachmawati Rasahan, as well as a swimming pool and a gym. A golf simulator was also being built for the residents. “We found occupied by inmates,” Syafrida told a news conference last Thursday .“So we strongly suspect that in Cibinong correctional facility there are special , facilities for some inmates.” The prison houses more than 1,800 inmates, many times its capacity They are de . tained for a mix of crimes, including violent and white-colAFP lar offences. Iranian authorities said on Wednesday they received the official US response to their proposal to end the West Asia war, state media reported, days after US President Donald Trump rejected the plan. “At today’s cabinet meeting, the American side’s proposal was presented to President Masoud Pezeshkian by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi,” government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani told the offic i a l I RNA n e w s agency without speci, fying the content of the reply Tehran said . the country’s senior leaders are reviewing Washington’s counter-proposal. After seven months of conflict, indirect talks between the United States and Iran resumed last week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly . Iran said it has put forward seven conditions for ending hostilities and reopening the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for oil and gas exports. The strait lies at the heart of the conflict between the United States and Iran, which began with US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic in late February Tehran imposed a blockade . on Hormuz after the war started, prompting Washington to respond with its own blockade on Iranian ports. While not all conditions have been made public, Iran is notably demanding a ceasefire across the West Asia. It is also demanding the unfreezing of Iranian assets abroad, the lifting of sanctions on its oil sector and an end to US naval blockade. Trump rejected the proposal when speaking to the press on Saturday, but Tehran had been awaiting an official response via Qatari mediators. Fighting has subsided in recent weeks, though Tehran has continued to target ships in the strait. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of the country’s military, said on Wednesday that they have been striking small vessels that try to pass through the strait. AFP EU open to ties review Brussels: The EU said it was up to Britain to propose how it wants to develop relations with the bloc, after PM Andy Burnham raised the possibility of rejoining. Burnham said his Labour government would consider different options and weigh the “pros and cons” of closer ties with Europe. Starmer, told his party’s annual conference on Tuesday that Britain’s departure in 2020 had done “more harm than good”. He said Brexit had triggered “a decade of low growth” and Britain must “decide on a longterm relationship” with its largest trading partner. Burnham promised to set out “different options” closer to a planned summit. Possibilities that could be looked at included joining the European single market and customs union, “or we could go all the way”, Burnham told BBC radio. “So there are clearly options that need to be considered, and we have to look at what is doable, and what would be the pros and cons of each,” he added. Macron, speaking at a news conference in Madrid after talks with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, welcomed the idea. “If the British want to come back and if the prime minister is moving in that direction, I think that is very good news both for his country and for Europeans,” Macron said. “Come back,” he added. Sanchez echoed Macron’s comments, saying if the UK asks to rejoin “then of course Spain would applaud it and open its arms again AFP to a brotherly people”. BAGHDAD The US military announced on Wednesday that it completed the withdrawal of all American troops from Iraq, ending a 12year mission to fight the Islamic State group. The last US troops left an air base in northern Iraq under a deal between Baghdad and Washington. The withdrawal, agreed on two years ago, comes against the backdrop of the ongoing war between the United States and Iran that has also sometimes spilled over into Iraq, with Iran-backed militias firing on US troops and the US striking the groups’ strongholds. Baghdad touted the end of the US mission as a sign of the country’s increasing strength and sovereignty The withdraw. al was also celebrated by Iranbacked groups but raised concerns among some other Iraqis, The US has decided to drastically increase fees for immigrants seeking to invest in America and eventually claim permanent residency under the EB-5 investor programme which remains one of the most reliable ways for Indian entrepreneurs and families to obtain Green Card. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) finalised a rule on Tuesday that seeks to more than double the fees for applying to the EB-5 visa. The rule will be effective from November 30. The US EB-5 Immigrant Investor Programme grants permanent residency (a Green Card) to foreign investors and their immediate families who invest capital into a US commercial enterprise and create 10 full-time jobs for American workers. The filing fee for Form I-526, used by standalone investors, will rise from $3,675 to $7,615. The fee for an initial Form I-526E petition, used by investors participating PTI through an approved centre. Trump to reveal Korean UK tells univs to cut ties with China investment in LNG institute over spying washington Dubai: An Indian sailor was among five crew members killed during a Somali operation to retake hijacked fuel tanker MT Honour 25. Another Indian sailor was injured. Puntland forces rescued the vessel and detained 16 suspected pirates. India’s mission in Kenya said it was assisting the sailor’s family and arranging repatriation of his remains. Fourteen other Indian sailors rescued from two tankers were safe. min 27 SNY 18 LR 7 SNY 24 LR 10 LC 31 sny 24 LR United States ends 12-year Iraq mission with final troop withdrawal washington Indian sailor killed in Somali piracy operation max 31 27 25 26 24 36 26 It has put forward seven conditions for ending hostilities and reopening the strategic Strait of Hormuz, says Iran London EXPRESS READ Country Singapore South Korea (Seoul) Switzerland (Bern) Thailand (Bangkok) Türkiye (Ankara) UAE (Dubai) Vietnam (Hanoi) USA issues reply to Iran’s peace initiative US hikes EB‑5 visa fees, green card cost soars Donald Trump is expected to announce on Wednesday plans for South Korea to invest roughly $54 billion in a project to export natural gas from Alaska, a proposal long backed by Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, who’s in a competitive reelection contest there. The investment would mark the second time this week that the Republican president has sought to highlight the promise of foreign investment made possible by his administration’s trade policy in states where Republican Senate candidates are in tight election campaigns. He made a similar announcement on Monday in the Oval Office for a massive steel plant in Iowa. The Alaska investment comes from pledges made as part of a 2025 trade deal with South Korea, which included promises of $350 billion in U.S. investments in exchange for lower U.S. tariffs on South Korean min 9 SNY 19 LC 14 LC 18 LR 24 SNy 28 LR 21 SNY l Burnham puts UK return to EU on table, reopens Brexit debate Andy Burnham put the idea of Britain rejoining the EU on the table on Wednesday breaking a , taboo for a UK prime minister and leading French President Emmanuel Macron to declare in English “Welcome back”. Burnham reopened the divisive Brexit debate by saying his centre-left Labour government could go “all the way” and propose membership of the bloc after weighing the “pros and cons” of different possible. Right-wing rivals immediately criticised the comments, as the UK appeared to be gearing up for a re-run of the bitter “Brexit wars” that dominated its politics following the contentious 2016 vote to leave the European Union. Burnham, premier since July after Labour MPs turfed out Keir lr: light Rain hr: heavy Rain Ls: Light Snow tds: thundershower lc: light cloud sny: sunny max 27 30 27 23 31 29 28 01 10 2026 Luxury inmate facilities torn down after outcry Indonesian authorities razed luxury prison “villas” outside Jakarta on Wednesday where whisky and a big-screen TV were seized from a complex, complete with a pool and a gym, in which inmates were allegedly paying to live. Officers raided the prison and emptied several “villas” of furniture, bottles of alcohol and at least one big-screen TV , before taking an excavator to 10 of the units and smashing them to the ground. The Indonesian ombudsman’s office said last week an inspection uncovered a cluster of indulgently furnished apartments inhabited by inmates on the grounds of the Cibinong men’s prison in Bogor, south of the capital. The inmates allegedly paid rent for the accommodation complete with couches, large beds, TVs, fridges and even dining tables. Photos released by the ombudsman’s office after an unannounced visit showed bottles of beer, whisky and other alcohol in a fridge door of one of the units described by the team as Global Weather Country Australia (Canberra) Indonesia (Bali) Italy (Rome) Japan (Tokyo) Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) Maldives (Male) Mauritius (Port Louis) LONDON US President Donald Trump cars, auto parts and other products. Sullivan, who has been a persistent advocate for the Alaska natural gas project and has encouraged South Korean investment, is a two-term senator facing a competitive challenge from Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman. The project consists of a 1,300-kilometer natural gas pipeline connecting Alaska’s North Slope to a liquefied natural gas export terminal in Alaska and eventually will reduce energy costs. AFP The British government on Wednesday told UK universities to stop working with a Chinese research institute that Britain’s security service says is a front for espionage. Security Minister Dan Jarvis said British academics should “end all arrangements” with the China General Technology Research Institute. MI5, Britain’s domestic intelligence agency, said more than 100 UK-linked academics have worked on projects secretly funded by Chinese intelligence through the research institute. The projects included work on cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, covert communications systems and steganography, the practice of hiding messages. MI5 said the institute has “very strong ties to the Chinese Ministry of State Security” and seeks to fund research that improves the Chinese state’s “technical capacity for espionage.” British intelligence officials have in recent years steadily ramped up their warnings about espionage threats from China, the UK’s third largest trading partner. A year ago, MI5 Director-General Ken McCallum said Chinese state actors present a security threat “every day In June, the .” Five Eyes intelligence-sharing nations — the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada — AP warned that Chinese spies. China extends probes into US trade barriers until December Beijing China has extended two investigations into US trade barriers until December, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Wednesday, delaying potential retaliatory measures by Beijing. The investigations into US practices that “disrupted global industrial and supply chains” and “obstructed trade in green products” were due to conclude on Sunday but will now run until December 27, CCTV said, citing China’s ministry of commerce. The extension comes less than a week after US President Donald Trump hosted Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Washington for a state visit during which they agreed to extend their trade truce. They also committed to reduce tariffs on goods worth $30 billion on each side. China’s commerce ministry initiated the two trade barrier investigations on March 27 in response to US probes into China for overproduction. AFP Iraqi security officers flash victory signs as they ride on vehicles decorated with national flags during a convoy celebrating the withdrawal of US troops | ap particularly in the Kurdish region, where many fear a resurgence of the Islamic State group as well as more attacks by Iranlinked groups, possibly emboldened by the departure of US forces. Meanwhile, Iraqi armed factions backed by Tehran said Wednesday that they were “not bound by any timeline or agreement” to surrender their weapons to state, as the government seeks to disarm them under mounting US pressure. AFP