International

20-02-2023 BEIJING: As China declares victory over the pandemic, the landmark protests in November which spelled the end for zero-COVID rules have begun fading from memory but as the country moved on, many of those who took part in the demonstrations went missing, taken by authorities in a quietly deepening …

20-02-2023 WELLINGTON: At least 11 people have died and thousands are missing in New Zealand after Cyclone Gabrielle hit the North Island last week. The cyclone hit the northern part of the island on February 12 and tracked down the east coast, inflicting widespread devastation. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has …

20-02-2023 TEHRAN/ LONDON: Independent TV network Iran International is suspending its operations in the UK because of threats against its London-based journalists. The Persian-language TV channel said that the decision was due to a “significant escalation in state-backed threats from Iran”. “Threats had grown to the point that it was …

20-02-2023 ISTANBUL: Footballer Christian Atsu has been found dead under the rubble of his home almost two weeks after the Turkey earthquake, his agent has confirmed. The Ghana international, 31, had spells with Premier League sides Everton, Chelsea and Newcastle. Atsu had been missing since the 6 February quake that …

20-02-2023 MUNICH/ TEHRAN: A group of exiled Iranians will increase support for opposition movements in the country so they can continue to pressure the authorities there, amid a crackdown on protests, the last heir to the Iranian monarchy said yesterday. Iran has been rocked by unrest since the death in …

20-02-2023 PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron has said he does not want to see Russia crushed by a defeat in Ukraine. Speaking to French media, Macron urged Western nations to increase military support for Kyiv and said he was prepared for a protracted war. “I want Russia to be defeated …

20-02-2023 PYONGYANG: North Korea has said it fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) as a warning to the United States and South Korea, claiming the drill successfully demonstrated its capacity to launch a “fatal nuclear counterattack”. The North Korean statement on Sunday came a day after it launched the Hwasong-15 …

20-02-2023 WASHINGTON: Former United States President Jimmy Carter has decided to receive hospice care and “spend his remaining time at home with his family”, according to a statement by the Carter Center. At 98 years old, Carter is the longest-lived US president. He began hospice care at home instead of …

19-02-2023 Bureau Report NEW DELHI/ LONDON: Indian tax authorities say they have uncovered irregularities in the BBC’s accounting books after searches at the broadcaster’s offices in the country. The statement, which does not directly name the BBC, comes after officials carried out a three-day operation at premises in Delhi and …

19-02-2023 DAMASCUS/ JERUSALEM: At least five people have been martyred, 15 wounded and several residential buildings damaged in Israeli airstrikes on the Syrian capital Damascus, Syrian state media reported. The raids early on Sunday hit a building in central Damascus’s Kafr Sousa neighborhood near a large, heavily guarded security complex …