07-09-2024 WASHINGTON/ MANAGUA: The United States has secured the release of 135 political prisoners held in Nicaragua, including students and members of a faith organization. In a statement on Thursday, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the prisoners were among the thousands of Nicaraguans caught up in a multiyear …
Read More »Bangladeshis mark one month since Hasina was ousted
07-09-2024 DHAKA: Thousands of people rallied Thursday in Bangladesh’s capital to mark one month since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted in a mass uprising sparked by students over government job quotas. Hasina fled to India on Aug. 5 after weeks of violence left more than 600 people dead, …
Read More »Aid situation ‘beyond catastrophic’ in Gaza: UN
07-09-2024 UNITED NATIONS/ GAZA CITY: UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said more than one million people in central and southern Gaza did not receive any food rations in August, adding the “humanitarian situation in Gaza remains beyond catastrophic”. Gaza’s Health Ministry says the Israeli military is refusing to coordinate the entry …
Read More »Hunter Biden makes last-minute guilty plea in tax case
07-09-2024 WASHINGTON: Hunter Biden has pleaded guilty to all nine charges in his federal tax evasion case, catching federal prosecutors off guard as they prepared to begin his trial on Thursday. The son of US President Joe Biden had previously denied allegations that he intentionally avoided paying $1.4m (£1m) in …
Read More »Barnier becomes new French PM and bids to end turmoil
07-09-2024 PARIS: Veteran French conservative Michel Barnier has taken over as prime minister, almost two months after France’s snap elections ended in political stalemate. He said France had come to a “serious moment” and he was facing it with humility: “All political forces will have to be respected and listened …
Read More »Mpox doses to start to arrive in Congo
06-09-2024 BRAZZAVILLE: The first shipment of nearly 100,000 doses of mpox vaccines is expected to arrive in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Thursday. The Central African country of about 100 million people is at the epicentre of an mpox outbreak that the World Health Organization (WHO) declared …
Read More »India & Singapore sign deal to cooperate on semiconductors
06-09-2024 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI: The leaders of India and Singapore on Thursday signed an agreement to partner and cooperate in semiconductors, in a deal aimed at giving Singaporean firms a greater role in supply chains in the Indian market, the two countries said. A Memorandum of Understanding …
Read More »Over 80,000 attend Pope’s mass in Indonesia
06-09-2024 JAKARTA: Only rockstars and presidents can usually fill Indonesia’s national stadium, but on Thursday it was octogenarian Pope Francis who drew more than 80,000 fans to a Catholic Mass in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation. The event was the high point of the 87-year-old pope’s four days in the …
Read More »China offers Africa $51 billion in fresh funding
06-09-2024 BEIJING: President Xi Jinping pledged on Thursday to step up China’s support across debt-laden Africa with funding of nearly $51 billion over three years, backing for more infrastructure projects, and the creation of at least 1 million jobs. China was ready to step up cooperation with Africa in industry, …
Read More »Child-killing wolves sparking panic in India
06-09-2024 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI: Four-year-old Sandhya was sleeping outside her mud hut in India’s Uttar Pradesh state on the night of 17 August when a power cut plunged the village into darkness. “The wolves attacked within two minutes of the lights going out. By the time we …
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