10-03-2024 TEHRAN/ UNITED NATIONS: Iran has condemned a report by United Nations experts who concluded the Islamic republic’s violent crackdown in 2022 on peaceful protests and the specific targeting of women and girls were serious rights violations, with many amounting to crimes against humanity. The report was built on “baseless …
Read More »Sweden & Canada resume aid to UN Gaza Agency
10-03-2024 STOCKHOLM/ OTTAWA/ GAZA CITY: Sweden and Canada have said they will resume aid payments to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. They were among 16 countries that paused funds after Israel accused at least 12 UNRWA staff of involvement in the 7 October attack by Hamas. The UN …
Read More »Australian farmers rip out millions of vines amid wine glut
10-03-2024 GRIFFITH: Millions of vines are being destroyed in Australia and tens of millions more must be pulled up to rein in overproduction that has crushed grape prices and threatens the livelihoods of growers and wine makers. Falling consumption of wine worldwide has hit Australia particularly hard as demand shrinks …
Read More »‘Gaza maritime aid corridor to begin at weekend’
09-03-2024 UNITED NATIONS/ WASHINGTON: A maritime corridor to Gaza could begin operating this weekend to boost aid to the territory, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen says. It comes a day after President Biden said the US planned to build a temporary port in Gaza. The UN says a …
Read More »India prepares for its mammoth election exercise
09-03-2024 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI: From transporting voting machines on camelback to remote corners of its vast western desert to bolstering control rooms for monitoring malicious deep-fakes, India is preparing to run the world’s largest election due by May. More than 960 million Indians are registered to vote …
Read More »Families of Israeli hostages in Gaza call for their return
09-03-2024 JERUSALEM/ GAZA CITY: The families of seven Israeli hostages being held in Gaza have called for their release and safe return, at a press conference in London. The father of a 19-year-old being held said “all suffering” would end “on both sides” if the hostages came home. The families …
Read More »Sri Lankan family dead in Canada ‘mass killing’
09-03-2024 OTTAWA: Canadian police are describing the deaths of members of a Sri Lankan family, including four young children, in Ottawa as a “mass killing”. Police say the six victims were newcomers to Canada, and the youngest was less than three months old. A 19-year-old student from Sri Lanka who …
Read More »Hundreds of pupils abducted by gunmen in Nigeria
09-03-2024 ABUJA: More than 280 Nigerian school pupils have been abducted in the north-western town of Kuriga, officials say. The pupils were in the assembly ground around 08:30 (07:30 GMT) when dozens of gunmen on motorcycles rode through the school, one witness said. The students, between the ages of eight …
Read More »Cate Blanchett film tackles faith & colonialism in Australia
09-03-2024 SYDNEY: It would take a remarkable acting performance to rival Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett on screen but that’s exactly what untried child prodigy Aswan Reid has done in her latest movie, critics say. Barely 11 years old when The New Boy was shot in the dusty South Australian …
Read More »Haiti’s main port closes as gang violence spirals
09-03-2024 PORT-AU-PRINCE: Haiti’s main port says it is suspending operations due to sabotage and vandalism as the capital city descends further into violence and chaos. Local media report that armed men broke into the port in capital Port-au-Prince, looting containers. It follows attacks by gangs on the airport, police stations …
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