Allies bolster Ukraine with more weapons pledges
KYIV: Western allies pledged billions of dollars in new weapons for Ukraine on Thursday, but the question of whether they would also send German-made tanks remained unanswered, with Berlin yet to signal whether it would lift a veto. Fearing winter will give Russian forces time to regroup and unleash a major attack, Ukraine is pushing […]
Vietnam president steps down amid anti-graft purge
HANOI: Vietnam President Nguyen Xuan Phuc has resigned, state media said on Tuesday, after days of rumours he was about to be sacked as part of a major anti-corruption drive that has seen several ministers fired. The sudden departure is a highly unusual move in communist Vietnam, where political changes are normally carefully orchestrated, with […]
Death toll reaches 40 in Russian strike on Ukraine
The death toll from a Russian missile strike in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro rose to 40 on Monday with dozens more missing, making it the deadliest civilian incident of Moscow’s three-month campaign of hurling missiles at cities far from the front. Kyiv says the mass civilian deaths, which it describes as terrorism, demonstrate why it needs […]
Search resumes for four people missing in Nepal after deadly air crash
Rescuers resumed searching on Monday in Nepal for four people still missing after the Himalayan nation’s deadliest plane crash in 30 years, officials said. According to the latest report, the black box of the ill-fated plane has been found. Rescuers had recovered 68 bodies out of the 72 people onboard the ATR 72 aircraft operated […]
Eight killed after tornadoes rip through US southeast
SELMA: Rescue teams were searching for missing people in central Alabama on Friday after thunderstorms and tornadoes claimed eight lives, damaged dozens of homes and knocked down trees. Seven of the eight deaths were from the south-eastern US state’s Autauga county. Buster Barber, the county’s coroner, said the number of casualties would rise. The tornado […]
Kiev says troops fighting ‘stubbornly’ in Soledar, but admits situation ‘difficult’
BAKHMUT: Ukraine said on Thursday its forces were fighting to retain control of Soledar in the eastern Donetsk region but cautioned it was coming up against “difficult” resistance from Russian troops. The Kremlin has made capturing the industrial region of Donetsk its primary objective after nearly one year of fighting that has seen its forces […]
Most long Covid symptoms clear up in a year for mild cases: study
Most symptoms from long Covid clear up within a year for people who had mild initial infections, a large Israel study said Thursday, with the findings welcomed as “reassuring”. At least 17 million people in Europe suffered from long Covid symptoms months after recovering from their initial infection during 2020 and 2021, according to modelling […]
Indonesia president says “strongly regrets” past rights violations in country
Indonesian President Joko Widodo acknowledged on Wednesday a series of incidents amounting to “gross human rights violations” had taken place in his country’s past, including the bloodshed and arrests that took place in 1965 and 1966. In one of the darkest periods of Indonesia’s history, some historians and activists have estimated at least 500,000 people […]
Saudi Arabia lifts restriction on Haj pilgrim numbers
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will remove Covid-19 restrictions for the 2023 Haj season and host pre-pandemic numbers of pilgrims, the kingdom’s ministry of Haj and Umrah said on Monday. In 2019, the last year before the pandemic struck, some 2.6 million people performed the Haj. The kingdom allowed only limited numbers from its residents in 2020 […]
China reopens borders after three years of quarantine
BEIJING: China lifted quarantine requirements for inbound travellers on Sunday, ending almost three years of self-imposed isolation even as the country battles a surge in Covid cases. The first people to arrive expressed relief at not having to undergo the gruelling quarantines that were a fixture of life in zero-Covid China. And in Hong Kong, […]
