02-0702024 BEIJING: A commercial Chinese rocket accidentally launched during a ground test on Sunday, climbing into the air before crashing into a nearby mountain and exploding in flames, the private company that owns the rocket said. Because of a “structural failure,” the Tianlong-3 rocket separated from its testing platform while …

01-07-2024 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI: New Delhi on Friday rejected the US State Department’s 2023 religious freedom report on India, calling it “deeply biased” and one that does not understand the South Asian nation’s social fabric. The report, released on Wednesday, noted violent attacks on minority groups, especially …

01-07-2024 SYDNEY: Australia’s Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Sunday he was confident cuts to income taxes from Monday would not exacerbate price rises, as the nation suffers a cost-of-living squeeze amid stubbornly high rates of inflation. The consumer inflation rate reached a six-month high of 4.0% in May, adding to …

01-07-2024 CAIRO/ GAZA CITY: Fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters continued in Gaza City’s Shujayea neighborhood as the United Nations Agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) warned of increasingly “desperate” conditions for displaced civilians amid soaring temperatures and the pile up of rubbish and sewage. A senior Hamas official said …

01-07-2024 BAGHDAD: Five large bombs were discovered hidden in the walls of the historic al-Nuri Mosque in the city of Mosul in northern Iraq, a remnant of the armed group ISIL’s (ISIS’s) rule over the region. The mosque famous for its 12th-century leaning minaret was destroyed by ISIL in 2017 …

01-07-2024 TEHRAN: Iran is set to hold a run-off presidential election on July 5 after none of the candidates managed to secure more than 50% of the votes amid historic low turnout on Friday. “None of the candidates could garner the absolute majority of the votes, therefore, the first and …

01-07-2024 NEW JERSEY: US President Joe Biden has assured Democrat donors that he can still win the presidential election against Donald Trump, after a poor debate performance fueled concern about his candidacy. The president, 81, attended a series of fundraising events in New York and New Jersey on Saturday, and …

01-07-2024 PARIS: France is voting on Sunday in a parliamentary election that could make history, with the far right closer to power than it has ever been in modern times. The National Rally (RN) of Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella are well ahead in the polls, three weeks to …

India becomes new champion of T20 World Cup 2024 30-06-2024 Bureau Report + Agencies BARBADOS/ NEW DELHI: The two best sides of the tournament, both undefeated, engaged in a cracker of a final at the T20 World Cup Final at Bridgetown, Barbados. Fortunes fluctuated. With five overs to go, South …

30-06-2024 WASHINGTON/ CANBERRA: Adding partners to the AUKUS defense project would be “complicated,” a senior Australian diplomat said on Friday, saying he did not believe the US Congress is open to expanding the pact involving Australia, the US and Britain. AUKUS was formed in 2021 to counterbalance China’s growing power. …