13-01-2024 GENEVA: Get ready for a scorching year ahead as El Nino gears up to turn 2024 into a potential heatwave nightmare, surpassing the record-breaking temperatures of 2023. The United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization issues a stern warning, urging the world to brace for the impact of this climate phenomenon …
Read More »US launches new missile strike on Houthi target in Yemen
13-01-2024 WASHINGTON/ SANA’A: The United States launched new strikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen for a second straight day after the Iran-aligned group warned it would retaliate for a series of attacks on its facilities. The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Saturday that Tomahawk missiles were fired …
Read More »Former NZ PM Jacinda Ardern marries her long-term partner
13-01-2024 WELLINGTON: New Zealand’s former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her longtime partner Clarke Gayford finally tied the knot in a private ceremony on Saturday after cancelling their wedding plans due to the strict COVID-19 controls imposed by the government. Ardern, 43, and Gayford, 47, had scheduled their wedding for …
Read More »Back-to-back avalanches in US kill 2 skiers
13-01-2024 NEW YORK: Two skiers were killed and at least two were left injured in two different snow-related accidents that hit regions across the West and Northwest last week. A skier, Corey J Zalewski’s body was recovered during a recovery mission on Friday after an avalanche hit a backcountry area …
Read More »India cuts pay for 21,000 teachers at Muslim religious schools
12-01-2024 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI: Authorities in India’s most populous state halted some payments this week to teachers of subjects such as mathematics and science in Muslim religious schools, known as madrasas, after the end of a federal government scheme. The funding halt, affecting more than 21,000 teachers …
Read More »Iran navy says seized oil tanker off Oman
12-01-2024 TEHRAN/ DUBAI: Iran seized a tanker with Iraqi crude destined for Turkey on Thursday in what appeared to be a retaliation for the seizure last year of the same vessel by Tehran’s arch foe the United States, Iranian media reported. The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker St Nikolas, which last year …
Read More »Ecuador declares ‘war’ with criminal gangs amid soaring violence
12-01-2024 QUITO: Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa says his country is “at war” after drug gangs took more than 130 prison guards and other staff hostage and briefly captured a TV station during a live broadcast. “We are at war, and we cannot cede in the face of these terrorist groups,” …
Read More »Britain vows to overturn wrongful convictions amid public outcry
12-01-2024 LONDON: Following the broadcast of the TV docudrama “Mr Bates vs the Post Office,” the British government, led by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, declared its intention to reverse the convictions of hundreds of postal workers wrongly accused due to a flawed computer system. The announcement aims to rectify what …
Read More »South Africa takes Israel to ICJ claiming genocide in Gaza
12-01-2024 THE HAGUE: South Africa’s application to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) seeking to have the court declare Israel’s military assault on Gaza a genocide will be heard starting on Thursday in The Hague. Israel has called the allegations “baseless” and accused South Africa of “cooperating with a terrorist …
Read More »Al-Shabab captures UN helicopter in central Somalia
12-01-2024 MOGADISHU: A helicopter belonging to the United Nations mission in Somalia has been captured by al-Shabab after it landed in territory held by the armed group. Several passengers were reportedly seized in Galmudug state on Wednesday by the al-Qaeda-linked group which has wreaked violence in the Horn of Africa …
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