UK minister threatened with jail over Afghanistan probe
LONDON: A UK government minister is on a collision course with the law over his refusal to reveal the sources of allegations that British special forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan. Johnny Mercer, Britain’s minister for veterans, has said “multiple officers” told him about alleged murders and a subsequent cover-up during the Afghan conflict. He […]
Security Council finally ends paralysis on Gaza
• Ceasefire resolution calls for release of prisoners, urgent expansion of aid delivery • Veto avoided as Washington abstains; 14 members vote in favour • Guterres warns failure to implement resolution ‘would be unforgivable’ • Russia angry over replacing word ‘permanent’ with weaker language UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council finally passed a resolution on […]
Girl buried under rubble rescued after 16 hours as storm kills at least 12 in Brazil
Search teams in southeastern Brazil rescued a girl buried for more than 16 hours in the rubble of a collapsed house, following a powerful storm on Friday that has so far claimed at least a dozen lives. Authorities have deployed teams to the mountainous areas of Rio de Janeiro state, describing the situation caused by […]
Global sea levels jumped due to El Nino: Nasa
WASHINGTON: Global average sea levels rose by about 0.3 inches (one-third of an inch) from 2022 to 2023 — nearly four times the increase of the previous year — Nasa said on Thursday, attributing the “significant jump” to a strong El Nino and a warming climate. The Nasa-led analysis is based on more than 30 […]
Saudi Arabia donates $40 million to UNRWA
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday it will donate $40 million to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, which has faced massive funding cuts and calls for its abolition spearheaded by Israel. The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) said the funds would support UNRWA’s “humanitarian relief efforts in the Gaza Strip”, […]
Putin to visit China in May for talks with Xi
BEIJING: Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to China in May for talks with Xi Jinping, in what could be the Kremlin chief’s first overseas trip of his new presidential term, according to five sources familiar with the matter. Western governments on Monday condemned Putin’s re-election as unfair and undemocratic. But China, India and North […]
Gaza faces famine, unprecedented crisis, warns UN
• Says one in three children acutely malnourished, two in 10,000 die every day of starvation or malnutrition • Oxfam accuses Israel of ‘systematically and deliberately blocking’ delivery of aid ROME: Half of Gazans are experiencing “catastrophic” hunger, with famine projected to hit the north of the territory by May without urgent intervention, a United Nations-backed […]
Hamas proposes new six-week ceasefire in Gaza
GAZA STRIP: Hamas has proposed a new six-week truce in Gaza and prisoner swap on Friday, a day after Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas appointed Mohammed Mustafa, a long-trusted adviser on economic affairs, as prime minister. “The agreement is for a six-week ceasefire and a prisoner exchange,” a Hamas official said after weeks of so far […]
Israel has given no evidence to back accusations against UN agency, says EU
BRUSSELS: The European Union’s top humanitarian aid official said on Thursday he had seen no evidence from Israel to back its accusations against staff from the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), which should continue playing a “critical” role in Gaza. UNRWA, which provides aid and services to Palestinian refugees in Gaza and across the region, […]
Donald Lu to testify before Congress panel on March 20
WASHINGTON: The US House Foreign Affairs Committee has tasked its Subcommittee on the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia with conducting a hearing on the future of democracy in Pakistan, scheduled for March 20. The hearing will also delve into the dynamics of US-Pakistan relations following the Feb 8 general elections. Donald Lu, the Assistant […]
