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 […]
Baby rescued from Gaza rubble after mother killed in air strike
RAFAH: The rescuers in orange vests shouted as they reached a baby girl still alive in the rubble of an Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip’s Rafah city after yet another night of bombardment of the Palestinian enclave. Baby Mariam Abu Akel’s skin was grey with dust and she made little noises as the […]
Japan’s moon lander enters orbit
TOKYO: Japan’s SLIM space probe entered the Moon’s orbit on Monday in a major step towards the country’s first successful lunar landing, expected next month. The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) is nicknamed the “Moon Sniper” because it is designed to land within 100 metres (328 feet) of a specific target on the lunar […]
13 dead, 38 injured in explosion at nickel plant in Indonesia
At least 13 people were killed and 38 injured in eastern Indonesia on Sunday in an explosion at a Chinese-funded nickel-processing plant, the owner of the industrial park that hosts the facility said. The island of Sulawesi is a hub for the mineral-rich country’s production of nickel, a base metal used for electric vehicle batteries […]
Trump pressured officials to throw out Biden’s win: report
WASHINGTON: Donald Trump urged two Michigan election officials not to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the state following the 2020 presidential election, personally calling them in a pressure campaign reminiscent of his Georgia tactics, the Detroit News reported. In a Nov 17, 2020, phone call, the then-president told two fellow Republicans on the Wayne County […]
US, UAE work toward middle ground at UNSC
UNITED NATIONS: The United States and the United Arab Emirates engaged in last-minute consultations on Monday as the UN Security Council prepared to vote on a new resolution urging an “urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities” in Gaza. The UAE resolution responds to escalating tensions in the region and growing impatience among key allies, notably […]
