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 […]
British PM Boris Johnson digs in as ministers, lawmakers desert govt
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was defiantly hanging onto power on Thursday despite the resignation of four top ministers and a seemingly unstoppable revolt by his own lawmakers, threatening to paralyse the government. More than 50 ministers have quit the government in less than 48 hours, saying Johnson was not fit to be in charge […]
Finland, Sweden sign to join Nato but need ratification
BRUSSELS: Nato’s 30 allies signed an accession protocol for Finland and Sweden on Tuesday, allowing them to join the nuclear-armed alliance once parliaments ratify the decision, the most significant expansion of the alliance since the 1990s. The signing at Nato headquarters follows a deal with Turkey at last week’s Nato summit in Madrid, where Ankara […]
Sydney floods force thousands more to flee
Rain-swollen rivers spilled mud-brown waters across swathes of Sydney on Tuesday, swamping homes and roads while forcing thousands to flee. Emergency services have now instructed about 50,000 people to evacuate or to prepare to escape the rising waters in New South Wales, officials said. Emergency workers carried out 22 flood rescues in Sydney overnight, they said, with […]
North Korea slams US plan for ‘Asian Nato’
SEOUL: North Korea criticised the United States, South Korea and Japan’s recent agreement on strengthening military cooperation to be a means to materialise a US plan for a military alliance like Nato in the region. North Korea’s foreign ministry spokesperson said as much to a question put by KCNA, the state news agency reported on […]
At least 5 killed as 3 earthquakes of up to 6.3 magnitude strike Iran Gulf coast
At least five people were killed by a 6.1-magnitude earthquake in southern Iran early on Saturday, state media reported, with the area also hit later by two strong quakes of up to 6.3 magnitude. “Five people have died in the earthquake … and so far 12 are hospitalised,” Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, head of emergency management in […]
