Israel, Palestine trade heated barbs at UN over Al-Aqsa visit
UNITED NATIONS: Israeli and Palestinian envoys to the United Nations have traded heated barbs at a Security Council meeting over the controversial visit by an Israeli minister to Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem. Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, called the session “pathetic” and “absurd” while the Palestinian envoy accused the Jewish state of […]
Prince Harry says William knocked him to the floor in dispute: report
Britain’s Prince Harry says in an upcoming book that his older brother and heir to the throne, Prince William, knocked him to the floor during a 2019 argument over Harry’s wife Meghan, The Guardian reported on Wednesday. The Guardian said it had obtained a copy of the memoir, “Spare,” which is due to be published […]
Iran issues warning on mandatory headscarf in cars
TEHRAN: Iranian police have resumed warnings that women must wear mandatory headscarves even in cars, media reported on Monday, as unrest continues following the death of Mahsa Amini. Protests have gripped Iran since the Sept 16 death of Iranian-Kurdish Amini, 22, after her arrest in Tehran for an alleged breach of the Islamic republic’s strict […]
Beijing deplores Western outcry, defends Covid data
BEIJING: The Chinese government reacted with anger on Friday over Western moves to discourage travel from China, saying that all the Covid-19 data it shared, including with the World Health Organisation, was transparent. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus earlier urged China to be “more forthcoming” on the pandemic and said it was “understandable” that some […]
Covid travel curbs against Chinese visitors ‘discriminatory’: state media
Chinese state-media said Covid testing requirements imposed by several places around the world in response to a surging wave of infections were “discriminatory”, in the clearest pushback yet against restrictions that are slowing down its re-opening. Having kept its borders all but shut for three years, imposing a strict regime of lockdowns and relentless testing, […]
US court keeps Covid border policy to block migrants
WASHINGTON: The US government’s two-year-old policy of invoking Covid-19 precautions to turn away hundreds of thousands of migrants at the Mexican border will remain in place for now, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday. The decision to uphold the controversial rule known as Title 42 delayed a looming political crisis for President Joe Biden, as […]
Taiwan extends mandatory army service over China threat
TAIPEI: Taiwan on Tuesday announced an extension in mandatory military service from four months to one year, citing the threat from an increasingly hostile China. Beijing considers self-ruled, democratic Taiwan a part of its territory, to be taken one day, by force if necessary, and the island lives under the constant fear of a Chinese […]
Russia says it shot down Ukrainian drone near air base
Kyiv:The Russian military reported Monday that it shot down a Ukrainian drone approaching an air base deep inside Russia, the second time the facility has been targeted this month again revealing weaknesses in Russia’s air defenses. Russia’s Defense Ministry said debris killed three servicemen at the Engels air base, which houses Tu-95 and Tu-160 nuclear-capable […]
President Xi urges steps to ‘protect’ lives as China battles Covid wave
Chinese President Xi Jinping urged officials on Monday to take steps to protect lives in his first public remarks on Covid-19 since Beijing dramatically loosened hardline containment measures this month. Having mostly cut itself off from the rest of the world during the pandemic, China is now experiencing the planet’s biggest surge in infections after […]
US to provide Patriot missile system to Ukraine
WASHINGTON: The United States said on Wednesday it would provide Ukraine with the advanced Patriot air defence system to help counter Moscow’s relentless aerial attacks. The system is part of $1.85 billion in security assistance unveiled in parallel with a visit to Washington by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, his first trip outside the country since […]
