13-08-2023 JERUSALEM/ RAMALLAH: Palestinian officials welcomed their first Saudi Arabian ambassador, even as the kingdom mulls over establishing formal diplomatic relations with Israel. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s diplomatic adviser Majdi al-Khalidi received a copy of the credentials of Ambassador Nayef al-Sudairi as a non-resident envoy in Jordan on Saturday, according …

13-08-2023 ROME/ NEW YORK: More than 250 ancient artefacts have been handed back to Italy by the United States following a revelation that they were stolen. Italy’s art police unit uncovered that these treasures had been unlawfully acquired and then sold to US museums and private collectors during the 1990s. …

13-08-2023 Accra ACCRA/ NIAMEY: An emergency meeting between Wester African nations on the coup in Niger has been postponed indefinitely as concerns over the health of detained President Mohammed Bazoum increase. Members of the Economic Cooperation of West African Nations (ECOWAS) were due to meet in the Ghanaian capital Accra …

13-08-2023 LONDON: Brits and dog-walkers in particular have been warned over the country’s only venomous snake following several sightings in the same area. A total of 12 adder sightings have been reported in the North East so far this year. The reptiles are mostly harmless but can lash out when …

12-08-2023 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI: India’s government has moved three bills in the lower house of parliament aimed at overhauling some colonial-era criminal laws, ranging from the controversial sedition law to strengthening laws that protect women and minors. On the last day of the monsoon session of the …

12-08-2023 SALT LAKE CITY: US President Joe Biden has called China a “ticking time bomb in many cases” because of its economic challenges, saying the country was in trouble because of weak growth. The US president pointed to the country’s high unemployment and ageing workforce, saying: “China is in trouble.” …

12-08-2023 ATLANTA, GEORGIA: The United States recorded its highest number of suicides last year, with more than 49,000 people taking their own lives in 2022, according to newly released government data. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) posted new data on Thursday suggesting suicides were becoming more common …

12-08-2023 DAMASCUS: Gunmen have ambushed a bus carrying Syrian soldiers in the country’s east, killing at least 28 and wounding others, opposition activists have said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Friday that 23 Syrian soldiers were killed and 10 were wounded in the attack on a …

12-08-2023 MOSCOW: Russia has launched its first mission to the moon in nearly 50 years, pitting it in a space race with India, which is also aiming to land a lunar craft this month. The launch of the Luna-25 craft to the moon on Friday was Russia’s first since 1976 …

12-08-2023 HAWAII: Death toll from Hawaii wildfire in Maui’s Lahaina town killed at least 55 people leaving 80% of the town decimated 55 Thursday, according to Governor Josh Green, making it the deadliest wildfire in US history in which hundreds of firefighters are on the ground to contain the fire. …