US warns Turkiye on exports seen to boost Russia’s war effort
ISTANBUL: The United States warned Turkiye in recent days about the export to Russia of chemicals, microchips and other products that can be used in Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine, and it could move to punish Turkish companies or banks contravening sanctions. Brian Nelson, the US Treasury Department’s top sanctions official, visited Turkish government and […]
South Korea’s ex-justice minister sentenced to two years in jail
SEOUL: A disgraced former South Korean politician, Cho Kuk, was sentenced to two years in prison on Friday for forging documents to facilitate his children’s school admissions in a scandal that has deepened political divides and frustrated many young voters. A star law professor, Cho was a key aide to former President Moon Jae-in and […]
Australia to remove British monarch from currency notes
SYDNEY: Australia will remove the British monarch from its currrency notes, replacing the late Queen Elizabeth II’s image on its $5 note with a design honouring Indigenous culture, the central bank said on Thursday. The decision to leave her successor King Charles III off the $5 note means no monarch would remain on Australia’s paper […]
Humanoid robots to be star attractions at UN’s AI summit
GENEVA: Eight humanoid robots will be the star attractions when the United Nations hosts its first summit since the start of the pandemic on the benefits of artificial intelligence, it said Wednesday. The AI for Good Global Summit, first held in 2017, will return to Geneva on July 6 and 7 after a three-year Covid-imposed […]
Iranian couple jailed for ‘viral’ dance in public
PARIS: An Iranian court has handed jail sentences of over 10 years each to a young couple who danced in front of one of Tehran’s main landmarks, activists said on Tuesday. Astiyazh Haghighi and her fiance Amir Mohammad Ahmadi, both in their early 20s, had been arrested in early November after a video went viral […]
N-arms control regime may end in 2026, Russia warns US
LONDON: Russia told the United States on Monday that the last remaining pillar of bilateral nuclear arms control could expire in 2026 without a replacement due to what it said were US efforts to inflict “strategic defeat” on Moscow in Ukraine. Both Russia and the United States still have vast arsenals of nuclear weapons which […]
Women drive fast train to Makkah as Saudi workforce evolves
JEDDAH: Driver Tharaa Ali takes her seat at the helm of a high-speed train ferrying pilgrims to Makkah, a beneficiary of conservative Saudi Arabia’s bid to employ its booming female workforce. Saudi women only gained the right to drive in 2018, and until recently 25-year-old Ms Ali’s transportation experience was limited to cruising around her […]
Egyptian archaeologists uncover ‘complete’ Roman city
CAIRO: Egyptian archaeologists said on Tuesday they had discovered an 1,800-year-old “complete residential city from the Roman-era” in the heart of the southern city of Luxor. The city, dating to the second and third centuries, is the “oldest and most important city found on the eastern bank of Luxor,” according to Mostafa Waziri, head of […]
EU, UK and US impose new sanctions on Tehran over protests
TEHRAN: Relations between Iran and Europe have deteriorated sharply, with the EU and Britain ramping up sanctions against the Islamic republic over its response to more than four months of protests. Separately, the United States on Monday imposed sanctions on Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Cooperative Foundation and senior Iranian officials, stepping up pressure on […]
China records nearly 13,000 Covid deaths in a week
BEIJING: China reported nearly 13,000 Covid-related deaths in hospitals between January 13 and 19, after a top health official said the vast majority of the population had already been infected. The death toll came a week after China said nearly 60,000 people had died with Covid in hospitals in just over a month — but […]
