14-04-2024 LONDON/ MOSCOW: The Russian justice ministry has labelled two prominent journalists BBC Russian correspondent Ilya Barabanov and science reporter Asya Kazantseva – as “foreign agents”. Barabanov has written extensively about Russia’s war in Ukraine and the Wagner mercenary group. The BBC condemned the ministry’s move against him. “The BBC …

13-04-2024 TEHRAN/ JERUSALEM: Iranian armed forces have seized a container ship near the Strait of Hormuz amid rising tensions across the region after a deadly Israeli attack on Iran’s consulate in Syria. The ship was commandeered by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the elite force that lost seven members, …

13-04-2024 Bureau Report SYDNEY: An attacker who fatally knifed six people in a Sydney mall was shot dead by police in Sydney’s beachside suburb of Bondi on Saturday, police said, as hundreds fled the scene. The assailant was shot by a police officer after he attacked shoppers in the busy …

13-04-2024 TEHRAN/ WASHINGTON: Iran has signaled to Washington that it will respond to Israel’s attack on its Syrian embassy in a way that aims to avoid major escalation and it will not act hastily, as Tehran presses demands including a Gaza truce, Iranian sources said. Iran’s message to Washington was …

13-04-2024 WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden has been urged to ban imports of Chinese-made electric cars to the US. The chair of the Senate Banking Committee, Senator Sherrod Brown, wrote “Chinese electric vehicles are an existential threat to the American auto industry”. His comments are the strongest yet by any US …

13-04-2024 MANILA/ TOKYO/ WASHINGTON: The leaders of Japan, the Philippines and the United States have voiced “serious concern” over China’s actions in the disputed South China Sea. Beijing has stepped up its activities in the strategic waterway in recent years, and tensions have risen, particularly with the Philippines, one of …

13-04-2024 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI/ BENGALURE: In early March, a realistic Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated image of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, styled as Bhishma Pitamah from the ancient Hindu epic Mahabharata, was boosted as a political advertisement on Instagram. With long wavy grey hair, a sun-shaped mark …

13-04-2024 JERUSALEM: Israel is keeping up its war in Gaza but is also preparing for scenarios in other areas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday, amid concern that Iran was preparing to strike Israel in response for the killing of senior Iranian commanders. “Whoever harms us, we will harm …

13-04-2024 NEW YORK: Taylor Swift’s songs are back on TikTok following a dispute that led her label to stop licensing its content to the app. Her music’s return on Thursday comes ahead of the release of her new album, The Tortured Poets Department. Universal Music pulled songs by its artists …

13-04-2024 KYIV/ MOSCOW: A major power plant near Kyiv was completely destroyed by Russian strikes early on Thursday, Energy Company Centrenergo said. Trypillya power plant was the largest electricity provider for three regions, including Kyiv, officials said. “The scale of destruction is terrifying,” said Centrenergo chairman Andriy Hota. Russia has …