International

26-11-2022 Bureau Report CANBERRA/ MELBOURNE: Australia will introduce new rules to increase transparency in ministerial appointments after an inquiry into secret ministerial roles by then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison found they corroded public trust in government. Morrison, who lost power in a general election in May, secretly accumulated five ministerial roles …

26-11-2022 RIYADH: At least two people died on Thursday as heavy rains hit western Saudi Arabia, including the coastal city of Jeddah, delaying flights and forcing schools to close, officials said. “Two deaths have been recorded so far, and we call on everyone not to go out unless necessary,” the …

25-11-2022 By SJA Jafri + Agencies KUALA LUMPUR: For Anwar Ibrahim’s supporters, his appointment as Malaysia’s new prime minister has been a long time coming. The 75-year-old opposition leader secured the Southeast Asian country’s top job on Thursday after its king intervened in the political impasse that followed last weekend’s …

25-11-2022 PARIS/ LONDON: There’s growing evidence that French rescue services failed to respond adequately to a migrant boat that sank in the Channel last November, with at least 33 people on board. Only two of the passengers survived the disaster. Transcripts of emergency calls made to the French coastguard, seen …

25-11-2022 TEHRAN: The foreign minister of Iran took a swipe at the US and certain European governments for exploiting human rights to fulfill their political purposes. In a telephone conversation on Thursday, Hossein Amirabdollahian and his Emirati counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan talked about a range …

25-11-2022 BEIJING: A record wave of COVID-19 infections has sparked further restrictions for the people in China. The health commission in Beijing on Thursday reported more than 31,000 new cases nationwide in the last 24 hours, the largest increase in cases since the chaos of the early days of the …

25-11-2022 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI/ MUMBAI: Measles has killed 12 children in the western Indian city of Mumbai and surrounding areas, authorities say. The first death was reported around 26-27 October when three children died within 48 hours. The city had 233 confirmed cases this year until Wednesday …

25-11-2022 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: Afghans are giving their hungry children medicines to sedate them, others have sold their daughters and organs to survive. In the second winter since the Taliban took over and foreign funds were frozen, millions are a step away from famine. “Our …

25-11-2022 DAMASCUS: Omair al-Najjar had only been married for nine days when the missile exploded in the centre of Azaz on Tuesday. The 22-year-old was one of the five civilians who died in the attack on the Syrian opposition city in northern Aleppo province. Media was unable to verify who …

24-11-2022 By SJA Jafri + Agencies KUALA LUMPUR: Anwar Ibrahim has been sworn in as Malaysia’s 10th Prime Minister (PM), marking an incredible comeback for a man who was first lined up for the job in the boom years of the 1990s before he was suddenly sacked and jailed. The …