21-05-2024 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI/ MUMBAI/ BHUBANESWAR: Indians voted on Monday in the fifth phase of mammoth general elections, with film actors and sports celebrities among the thousands who turned out early in a bid to avoid scorching afternoon heat in the financial hub of Mumbai. Three hours …

21-05-2024 TAIPEI: Taiwan President Lai Ching-te asked China on Monday to stop its military and political threats, saying in his inauguration speech that peace is the only choice and that Beijing had to respect the choice of the Taiwanese people. China responded by saying Lai had sent “dangerous signals” that …

21-05-2024 BEIJING: Two people have been killed and dozens others injured in a knife attack at a primary school in China’s southern Jiangxi province, police said. It was not immediately clear if children were among the casualties. The attack took place at about midday (04:00 GMT) at the school in …

21-05-2024 LISBON/ MADRID: A bright comet fragment lit up the skies over parts of Spain and Portugal late on Saturday, according to the European Space Agency (ESA), with one Lisbon resident saying the dazzling display “felt like a movie”. On Sunday morning, the ESA shared on X a video, opens …

21-05-2024 JERUSALEM/ RIYADH/ WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden’s national security adviser has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to connect the war in Gaza to a “political strategy” for the territory’s future. Jake Sullivan met Netanyahu in Israel after holding talks in Saudi Arabia on Saturday. His intervention comes a …

20-05-2024 TEHRAN/ TABRIZ: Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has been martyred in a helicopter crash, state media confirmed. Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was also martyred in Sunday’s crash, along with several others. The helicopter, one of three travelling in a convoy crashed in heavy fog in the north of the country. …

20-05-2024 TEHRAN/ BAKU/ TABRIZ: A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister crashed on Sunday as it was crossing mountain terrain in heavy fog, an Iranian official told media, and rescuers were struggling to reach the site of the incident. The official said the lives of Raisi …

20-05-2024 SYDNEY/ PARIS: Australians stranded in New Caledonia are rationing food as they wait for a way out of the Pacific island territory, amid unrest that has killed six people, a traveler from Sydney said on Saturday. They are among 3,200 people who are stuck waiting to leave or enter …

20-05-2024 RIYADH: In a historic first, Saudi Arabia hosted a swimsuit fashion show, a remarkable step for a nation known for its conservative dress codes. This groundbreaking event occurred during the inaugural Red Sea Fashion Week at the St. Regis Red Sea Resort on the country’s western coast. On Friday, …

20-05-2024 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI/ BENGALURU: Lokeswara Reddy, an Indian farmer with two decades of experience, has seen his crops flourish after lean years, thanks to earth-observation satellites. Shifting climate patterns, high input costs, a scarcity of labor and erratic weather began to disrupt his earnings about 10 …