Erdogan hints at moves to draft new Turkish constitution
ANKARA; President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday it may be time for Turkey to adopt a new constitution, feeding speculation that he could seek a way to extend his rule. Erdogan, 66, has governed Turkey as prime minister or president since 2002, cementing his control over the nation of 83 million people and surviving […]
UN chief calls for regulating social media companies
UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations chief has called for global rules to regulate powerful social media companies like Twitter and Facebook. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he believes it shouldn’t be a company that has the power to decide whether, for example, then president Donald Trumps Twitter account should be closed, as a questioner asked. […]
Israel’s top general hints at ‘operational plans’ against Iran
JERUSALEM: Israel’s top general said on Tuesday that its military was updating its operational plans against Iran and that any US return to a 2015 nuclear accord with Tehran would be “wrong”. The remarks are an apparent signal to US President Joe Biden to tread cautiously in any diplomatic engagement with Iran. Such comments by […]
Joe Biden To Reinstate Covid-19 Travel Restrictions; South Africa Included Amid New Variant Concerns
President Joe Biden on Monday will formally reinstate Covid-19 travel restrictions on non-US travellers from Brazil, Ireland, the United Kingdom and 26 other European countries that allow travel across open borders, according to two White House officials. The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the order, also confirmed Sunday that South […]
Biden picks transgender woman as assistant health secretary
WASHINGTON: President-elect Joe Biden has tapped Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine to be his assistant secretary of health, leaving her poised to become the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the US Senate. A pediatrician and former Pennsylvania physician general, Levine was appointed to her current post by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf […]
SEARCH 5 times as many troops in US capital than Afghanistan, Iraq combined ahead of Biden inauguration
As housekeepers prepare the White House for President-elect Joe Biden, over 25,000 National Guard troops will be occupying the streets of Washington. That is five times more than the number deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq combined. Acting US Secretary of Defence Christopher Miller said on Monday there were “25,000 Guardsmen” who would leave “no stone […]
12 workers trapped week ago in China mine blast are alive
Chinese state media say 12 out of 22 workers trapped for a week by an explosion in a gold mine are alive, as hundreds of rescuers seek to bring them to safety. The Xinhua News Agency said on Monday, a note passed through a rescue shaft Sunday night reported the fate of the other 10 […]
Thousands of Rohingya left homeless after fire in BD camp
COX’S BAZAR: Fire tore through a Rohingya refugee camp on Thursday, destroying more than 550 shanty homes, but while 3,500 people were left homeless there were no serious casualties. The blaze started when most people in the sprawling Nayapara camp were asleep. Tens of thousands of members of the Muslim minority who fled a military […]
Twitter bans Trump, citing risk of violent incitement
Twitter banned President Donald Trump’s account Friday, citing “the risk of further incitement of violence.” “After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence,” the company said in a blog post on Friday. The White House […]
Brazil’s COVID-19 deaths top 2,00,000 amid a return to fun
The night before New Year’s Eve in Rio de Janeiro, thousands of revellers clad in their bathing suits crowded onto the iconic Ipanema beach to have some seaside drinks. It was one of many open-air parties occurring along Brazil’s vast coastline since the summer heat set in, and as the COVID-19 death toll climbed higher. […]
