International

30-06-2023 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI/ MANIPUR: Tear gas was fired near the convoy of Indian opposition and Congress Party leader Rahul Gandhi, who was stopped by police as he was on his way to visit the conflict-hit northeastern Manipur state. At least 100 people have been killed in …

30-06-2023 COLOMBO: The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has unveiled a far-reaching domestic debt restructuring plan aimed at restoring stability in the crisis-hit country. The move on Thursday comes as the government tries to meet the conditions of a $2.9bn International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout agreed upon in March …

30-06-2023 BAGHDAD: Hundreds of Iraqis stormed and protested at the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad after a man burned a Quran outside a mosque in Stockholm. A crowd of supporters of Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr on Thursday stayed inside the compound for about 15 minutes, then left as security forces deployed, …

30-06-2023 PARIS: More than 400 people have been arrested as clashes between police and protesters continued through a third night. In Paris, shops were ransacked and cars set on fire despite a heavy police presence. 40,000 officers were deployed across France. The violence began on Tuesday after police shot dead …

30-06-2023 NEW YORK: Global heating incrementally boosts the intensity of extreme rainfall at higher altitudes, putting two billion people living in or downstream from mountains at greater risk of floods and landslides, researchers said yesterday. Every degree Celsius of warming increases the density of major downpours by 15% at elevations …

30-06-2023 WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court banned the use of race and ethnicity in university admissions, dealing a major blow to a decades-old practice that boosted educational opportunities for African-Americans and other minorities. One year after overturning the guarantee of a woman’s right to have an abortion, the court’s conservative …

29-06-2023 WASHINGTON: The United States on Wednesday clarified that no new nuclear agreement was on the table with Iran, after quiet new diplomacy between the adversaries. Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “There is no agreement in the offing, …

29-06-2023 HONIARA: The prime minister of the Solomon Islands has called for a review of his nation’s security treaty with Australia amid growing strategic competition in the Pacific region between China, the United States and its allies. Manasseh Sogavare made the statement on Wednesday following a meeting with the Australian …

29-06-2023 JEDDAH: No Americans were injured during an exchange of gunfire near the US consulate in Jeddah, according to the US State Department. “The US Embassy and Consulate remain in contact with Saudi authorities as they investigate the incident,” a department spokesperson said in a written statement. The incident involved …

29-06-2023 STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN: Salwan Momika strutted into view behind rows of police officers outside the picturesque Stockholm Central Mosque, waving two Swedish flags as the national anthem blasted over a speaker system. With white AirPods in his ears and a cigarette hanging nonchalantly from his mouth, he then desecrated the …