21-03-2023 TEHRAN/ RIYADH: Iran says Saudi Arabia has invited Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi for an official visit just over a week since the countries agreed to restore diplomatic relations. The invitation is said to have come in a letter from King Salman, but has not yet been confirmed by the …
Read More »How 2003’s US/ UK-led invasion turbo-charged Iraq into chaos
21-03-2023 WASHINGTON/ LONDON/ BAGHDAD: The invasion of March 2003 was a catastrophe for Iraq and its people. More proof of that, measured in broken lives, was at a suspected site of a mass grave in the desert outside Sinjar, not far from the border with Syria. Survivors of one of …
Read More »Khalistan activist arrested at IHC in London
21-03-2023 Bureau Report + Agencies LONDON/ NEW DELHI/ MELBOURNE: A man has been arrested on suspicion of violent disorder after a crowd incident saw windows smashed at the Indian High Commission in London, media reported on Monday. Metropolitan Police officers were called to the building in Aldwych, Westminster, at around …
Read More »China-Russia ties ahead of Xi’s visit to Moscow
21-03-2023 BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to embark on his first state visit to Russia in four years, spotlighting an alliance that has faced growing scrutiny since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Here are the key aspects of China and Russia’s bilateral relationship: Common international goal In February 2022, …
Read More »Syria’s Bashar al-Assad in UAE on 2nd visit since 2011
21-03-2023 DUBAI/ DAMASCUS: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met on Sunday with Emirati leaders in Abu Dhabi, his second Gulf visit since last month’s earthquake in his country prompted renewed efforts to bring Damascus back into the Arab fold. The trip Assad’s second to the oil-rich United Arab Emirates (UAE) in …
Read More »Macron hopes pension bill to complete its democratic journey
21-03-2023 PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron said that he hoped his bitterly contested pension’s reform plan, forced through parliament without a vote, could complete “its democratic journey”, a day before crucial votes in parliament. The controversial legislation, which has led to months of protests in parliament and on the streets, …
Read More »Indian students face exit from Canada over fake papers
20-03-2023 Bureau Report + Agencies OTTAWA/ NEW DELHI: More than 150 Indian students have been told to leave the country by the Canadian Border Security Agency (CBSA), which says they arrived in the country on forged college admission letters. The students say they were unaware of the forgeries and insist …
Read More »No obligation to defend Taiwan with US: Australia
20-03-2023 Bureau Report + Agencies SYDNEY: Australia “absolutely” did not promise to support the US in any military conflict over Taiwan in return for a deal to acquire US nuclear-powered attack submarines, Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Sunday. Australia, the US and Britain unveiled the multi-decade AUKUS project …
Read More »N Korea fires short-range ballistic missile towards sea
20-03-2023 PYONGYANG: North Korea has fired a short-range ballistic missile towards the sea off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, according to South Korea and Japan, the latest in a barrage of weapons tests from the state. The missile, launched on Sunday from the Dongchang-ri site on the west …
Read More »Cyclone Freddy death toll in Africa surpasses 500
20-03-2023 OUAGADOUGOU/ BAMAKO/ NIAMEY: The death toll in southeast Africa due to the exceptionally long-lasting Tropical Cyclone Freddy has risen to 522, according to authorities in Malawi, Mozambique and Madagascar. Disaster management authorities in Malawi, which has been hit the hardest by the cyclone, reported on Saturday that the death …
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