Sri Lanka troops break up protesters’ camp
Sri Lankan security forces raided the main anti-government protest camp at the President’s Secretariat here early on Friday, arresting nine people and injuring several others, as the protesters continued to occupy the sensitive area despite the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa as president. The decision to evict the anti-government protesters came a day after Ranil Wickremesinghe […]
Russia says its military aims now go beyond Ukraine’s east
KYIV: Russia said on Wednesday that its military aims in Ukraine have expanded beyond the industrial Donbas region as its forces launched deadly barrages over the east and the south of the country. The warning came as the European Commission called on EU countries to slash demand for natural gas to relieve dependence on Russian […]
Biden brings sanctions to end abduction of US citizens
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Tuesday that brings new punitive actions against foreign governments that unjustly imprisoned Americans and the order would also apply to hostage-takings in which the United States has a national interest. “I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with this threat,” the US president said […]
Israeli army chief makes first visit to Morocco
RABAT: Israel’s army chief arrived in Morocco on Monday for meetings with senior defence officials, military sources said, as cooperation between the countries expands following a normalisation of ties. Aviv Kohavi’s three-day trip is the first official visit of an Israeli army chief to the North African kingdom. Kohavi will meet Morocco’s minister delegate in […]
Gunman kills 3 in US shopping mall before being shot by armed bystander
A gunman killed three people when he opened fire in the food court of a shopping mall outside the US city of Indianapolis on Sunday before a bystander fatally shot the assailant, Greenwood Police Chief Jim Ison said. Two other people were injured in the incident, which took place in the early evening at Greenwood […]
Biden lands in Saudi Arabia to mend fences
• Slew of measures on mobile technology, cybersecurity announced • Biden raises Khashoggi killing with MbS • Meets Palestinian president, greeted by ‘Justice for Shireen’ posters JEDDAH: US President Joe Biden landed on Friday in Saudi Arabia and met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, beating a retreat from his campaign pledge to turn the kingdom […]
Sri Lankan speaker says president’s resignation has been accepted
The resignation of Sri Lanka’s president has been accepted, the crisis-hit country’s parliamentary speaker announced on Friday, after he fled the country earlier this week and notified him from Singapore that he was stepping down. The formal declaration makes Gotabaya Rajapaksa — once known as ‘The Terminator’ for his ruthless crushing of Tamil rebels — the first […]
Russia, Ukraine put heads together to solve grain crisis
ISTANBUL: Russia and Ukraine met UN and Turkish officials on Wednesday in a bid to break a months-long impasse over grain exports that has seen food prices soar and millions face hunger. The high-stakes meeting in Istanbul came with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine showing no signs of abating and the sides locked in a furious […]
WHO warns Covid-19 pandemic ‘nowhere near over’
World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was worried that coronavirus case numbers were shooting up, putting more strain on health systems and workers. The number of Covid cases reported to the WHO increased 30 per cent in the past two weeks, driven by sub-variants of the Omicron strain and the lifting […]
Japan readies sombre farewell to slain Abe, its longest-serving premier
Japan on Tuesday prepared to bid farewell to Shinzo Abe, a polarising figure who dominated Japanese politics for decades as the country’s longest-serving premier, before being gunned down at a campaign rally last week. Long lines of people dressed in black, mixed with others in informal clothing with backpacks, formed outside central Tokyo’s Zojoji temple, the site […]
