20-02-2025 MOSCOW/ WASHINGTON: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said his country won’t accept peacekeeping forces from NATO countries in Ukraine under any peace deal, following high-level talks with the US in Saudi Arabia. “Any appearance by armed forces under some other flag does not change anything. It is of …

19-02-2025 WASHINGTON/ NEW DELHI: Hours before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the White House, President Donald Trump announced that the United States would levy reciprocal tariffs on its trading partners. It could hardly have come at a tougher time for India, which is already pressed by a slowing …

19-02-2025 JERUSALEM/ GAZA: Israel’s Defence Ministry says it is establishing a government body for the “voluntary departures” of Palestinians from Gaza as it pushes forward with the ethnic cleansing plan proposed by US President Donald Trump. Israeli media reports say the military is preparing to receive the bodies of four …

19-02-2025 WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has asked the US Supreme Court to allow him to fire the head of an independent ethics agency that protects whistleblower federal employees. He has filed an emergency appeal to the country’s highest court to rule on whether he can fire Hampton Dellinger, head of …

19-02-2025 WASHINGTON/ TAIPEI: Taiwan is exploring buying arms worth billions of dollars from the United States, sources briefed on the matter said, hoping to win support from the new Trump administration as China continues to apply military pressure on the island. Three sources familiar with the situation, speaking to media …

19-02-2025 BRAZZAVILLE: Residents of eastern Congo’s second-largest city on Monday surveyed the aftermath of widespread looting that accompanied the arrival of Rwandan-backed M23 rebels who have pledged to restore order. The M23 fighters moved into the centre of Bukavu on Sunday, marking the Tutsi-led group’s most significant advance since seizing …

19-02-2025 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI: Indian state power company NTPC, opens new tab is looking to build 30 gigawatts of nuclear power capacity over the next two decades, three times more than expected, at a cost of $62 billion, three sources said. The country’s top power producer, which …

19-02-2025 MUNICH: Ever since World War Two ended, Europe has been able to stand up to Russia by relying on its big brother in the United States but now it is confronted by a strongman in the White House, US President Donald Trump, as well as one in the Kremlin, …

19-02-2025 BUENOS AIRES: Argentine President Javier Milei is facing impeachment calls and legal action accusing him of fraud over his promotion of cryptocurrency on social media. Milei posted on X, formerly Twitter, about the $LIBRA coin on Friday, which he said would help fund small businesses and start-ups. He shared …

19-02-2025 PARIS: Sir Keir Starmer has said any Ukraine peace deal would require a “US backstop” to deter Russia from attacking its neighbor again. Speaking after a hastily convened meeting with European leaders in Paris, the prime minister repeated that he would consider deploying UK troops to Ukraine in the …