24-09-2020 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report BEIJING/ MELBOURNE: China’s network of detention centres in the northwest Xinjiang region is much bigger than previously thought and is being expanded, even as Beijing says it is winding down a “re-education” program for ethnic Uighurs that has been condemned internationally, new research …

24-09-2020 TEHRAN/ UNITED NATIONS: Iran’s permanent representative to the UN dismissed Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz’s recent accusations against Tehran as a “blame game” aimed at diverting world attention away from Riyadh’s dark record of supporting terrorism. “Saudi Arabia desperately seeks to press charges against others in order to deflect …

24-09-2020 OTTAWA: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled a grand plan Wednesday to address social inequalities laid bare by the coronavirus pandemic and create one million jobs during recovery, while also extending emergency measures for a second wave of Covid-19. In the so-called throne speech, read by Governor General Julie …

24-09-2020 WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said he would not allow a peaceful transfer of power to Democratic rival Joe Biden if he (Trump) loses the November 3 election, saying that he expected the election battle to end up before the Supreme Court. “We’re going to have to see what …

23-09-2020 NEW YORK: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday accused China for ”unleashing” COVID-19 on the world and told the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to hold it accountable, prompting Beijing to accuse him of “lies” and abusing the UN platform to provoke confrontation. China’s President Xi Jinping struck a …

23-09-2020 CAIRO/ RIYADH: After a seven-month suspension due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Saudi Arabia will allow pilgrims residing inside the country to offer Umrah beginning on October 4, state news agency SPA reported. Umrah is an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina undertaken any time of the year, attracting …

23-09-2020 Bureau Report CANBERRA/ MELBOURNE: An Australian MP and her husband have been awarded A$875,000 ($628,000; £493,000) in a defamation suit. The National Party’s Anne Webster sued conspiracy theorist Karen Brewer over posts she wrote on Facebook in April and May. On Tuesday, Justice Jacqueline Gleeson called the claims “wholly …

23-09-2020 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report ISLAMABAD/ BEIJING/ NEW DELHI: China and India said on Friday they had agreed to de-escalate renewed tensions on their contested Himalayan border and take steps to restore “peace and tranquillity” following a high-level diplomatic meeting in Moscow. Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi and …

22-09-2020 BEIRUT: An arms depot of the powerful Shia Muslim group Hezbollah exploded in southern Lebanon, sending a new shockwave across the country still reeling from a blast in the capital that killed almost 200 people in August. Lebanon’s official news agency, NNA, said the explosion took place in the …

22-09-2020 By Marwan Bishara (Al Jazeera’s Senior Political Analyst) + By SJA Jafri (Messenger’s Bureau Chief Australia) RIYADH/ JERUSALEM/ WASHINGTON/ ISLAMABAD/ MELBOURNE: As we approach the second anniversary of the state-sponsored assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi Arabia continues its retreat, losing direction and influence in the Gulf and Middle …