23-06-2026 PARIS: France issued a red heatwave alert across more than a third of the country for Sunday as a ferocious heatwave dug in and the government banned the consumption of alcohol during the annual Fete de la Musique festivities. The prolonged heatwave, which began earlier this week, has disrupted …

23-06-2026 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: Three Indian-flagged tankers carrying more than 860,000 metric tons of oil and 94 Indian crew members have safely transited ‌the Strait of Hormuz and are en route to India, shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on Saturday. Sonowal posted on social media that the Desh ​Vaibhav, …

23-06-2026 JOHANNESBURG: In the narrow lanes of Fordsburg in central Johannesburg, Junaid Mohammed stands behind the counter of a family shop that has been in his family for decades. His father started it as a general dealer. Today, it survives on cheap Chinese imports and shrinking margins. Junaid, who asks …

23-06-2026 BOGOTA: “My brother was murdered for not paying an extortion payment…in front of his children,” Edilma Martinez Flores said at a support centre for displaced people in Bogota. She fled her home on the outskirts of Cali, in the south-west, after armed criminal groups handed out leaflets ordering residents …

23-06-2026 ROME: Italy’s Giorgia Meloni has again hit back at US President Donald Trump on social media after he questioned her political popularity and repeated his claim that she asked “over and over” for a photo together. Trump said on Saturday that the prime minister was “doing poorly in Italy …

22-06-2026 HARARE: Zimbabwean lawmakers have approved a bill that would replace direct presidential elections with a vote by parliament, a proposal that supporters say would promote policy continuity but that opponents fear could weaken democratic accountability and further entrench the ruling party’s grip on power. “I just cannot believe that …

22-06-2026 TAIPEI: Taiwan’s president has said he hopes the United States approves a $14bn arms sale “as soon as possible”, reiterating that the island “rejects unification” with China. Taiwan relies heavily on US support to deter any potential Chinese attack, and Washington has put pressure on Taipei to increase its …

22-06-2026 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: The trade deal between the United States and ‌India was a major subject of discussion between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ⁠U.S. President Donal Trump during their bilateral meeting on Wednesday, India’s foreign secretary said, adding that the deal had caused uncertainty ‌between ⁠the two …

22-06-2026 SYDNEY: Bird flu has killed thousands of southern elephant seal pups on remote Antarctic islands belonging to Australia, new research has shown. Heard and McDonald Islands, about 4,000 km (2,485 miles) south-west of Australia, are home to over one million breeding seabirds and seals. Scientists, using data from last …

22-06-2026 WASHINGTON: US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has severely criticised some of America’s Nato allies, while announcing a six-month review of the presence of US forces in Europe. “It’s a review that some countries will fail, and others will pass with flying colours”, he said at a meeting of Nato …