Japanese craft makes successful, pin-point Moon landing
TOKYO: Japan’s “Moon Sniper” craft made a pin-point lunar landing despite last-minute engine problems, the space agency said on Thursday as it released the first images from the mission. A photo taken by a mini-rover showed the boxy yellow lander sitting intact at a slight angle on the rocky grey surface, lunar slopes rising in […]
More US senators back ceasefire move in Congress
WASHINGTON: Five US Senators have endorsed an amendment that could link military aid to Israel, aligning with increasing calls for a Gaza ceasefire. This follows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s outright rejection of a Palestinian state. The new supporters include Democratic Senators Tina Smith, Raphael Warnock, LaPhonza Butler, Tammy Baldwin, and Jon Ossoff, bringing the […]
Dozens buried, 8 killed in southwest China landslide
Dozens of people were buried and eight confirmed killed when a landslide struck a remote and mountainous part of southwestern China on Monday. The pre-dawn landslide buried 18 homes and sparked the evacuation of more than 200 people when it struck in Zhenxiong County, Yunnan province, state media said. Eight people are confirmed dead and […]
Hamas rejects Israeli efforts to decide Gaza’s future
GAZA STRIP: Palestinian resistance group Hamas said on Sunday its October 7 raid in southern Israel was a “necessary step” against Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. But the fighter group admitted in a 16-page report justifying the attack that “some faults happened … due to the rapid collapse of the Israeli security and military […]
Israel claims killing ‘dozens of militants’ in ‘close-quarters combat’
• Aid shipment reaches Gaza after Qatar-France deal • Refugee camp in occupied West Bank sees violence for second day running GAZA CITY: Israel claimed killing “dozens of militants” in “close-quarters combat” in Khan Yunis on Thursday, as it intensified operations in southern Gaza’s biggest city. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the army was […]
One dead, 12 injured in rammings; Israel arrests students in West Bank
NABLUS: Apparently coordinated car-rammings in central Israel on Monday, claimed the life of a woman and injured 12 other people, police and medical officials said, as tensions soared over the more than three-month-old Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip. Police described the incident in Raanana, north of Tel Aviv, as a terrorist attack and said […]
Blinken’s ‘tent meeting’ with Saudi crown prince
AL ULA: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met on Monday with Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler before heading to Israel as part of efforts to stop the Gaza crisis spiralling into a regional conflict. Blinken was expected to discuss Red Sea attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, Saudi Arabia’s southern neighbour, during […]
Jordan presses US on Gaza ceasefire
• Blinken assures King Abdullah Washington opposes displacement of Palestinians • With 113 dead in last 24 hours, Gaza death toll hits 22,835 • Eight Palestinians killed in occupied West Bank AMMAN: Jordan’s king on Sunday urged the top US diplomat to push for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and end the humanitarian crisis […]
Aruri’s killing sends menacing message to Hamas chiefs, may hamper truce effort
CAIRO: The killing of Hamas’s deputy chief in Lebanon removes a big name from Israel’s most-wanted list, but could drive the Palestinian group’s exiled leaders deeper into hiding, hampering efforts to negotiate further Gaza ceasefires and prisoner releases. Hamas deputy leader Saleh Al Aruri was struck down by a drone in the southern suburbs of […]
China’s Xi terms Taiwan reunification ‘inevitable’
BEIJING: China’s “reunification” with Taiwan is inevitable, President Xi Jinping said in his New Year’s address on Sunday, striking a stronger tone than he did last year with less than two weeks to go before the Chinese-claimed island elects a new leader. The Jan. 13 presidential and parliamentary elections come at a time of fraught […]
