15-03-2023 NEAR KREMINNA: Ukraine’s future hinges on the outcome of battles in the east, including in and around Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, with both sides describing brutal fighting in the small city as Russia intensifies a winter campaign to capture it. The ruined mining town of Bakhmut has become …

15-03-2023 PARIS: Police use of rubber bullets and other projectiles against peaceful protesters has become increasingly routine worldwide, leading to many eye injuries and even deaths, Amnesty International warned on Tuesday. The London-based group called for better global regulation of the trade and use of such policing equipment, also called …

15-03-2023 BEIJING: China will reopen its borders to foreign tourists for the first time in three years since the COVID-19 pandemic erupted by allowing all categories of visas to be issued from Wednesday. The removal of this last cross-border control measure imposed to guard against COVID-19 comes after authorities last …

15-03-2023 PYONGYANG/ SEOL: yongyang North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast on Tuesday, South Korea’s military said, the latest of several weapons tests as the South and the United States conduct their largest joint military drills in years. The missiles were fired about …

15-03-2023 JERUSALEM: The Israeli parliament has advanced a bill that would allow it to overrule Supreme Court rulings and enact laws that had been struck down, despite months of protests against it. The Knesset took until the early hours of Tuesday morning to pass the first reading of the bill, …

15-03-2023 MAPUTO/ LILONGWE: More than 100 people have been killed in Malawi and Mozambique after Cyclone Freddy, packing powerful winds and torrential rain, returned to Southern Africa’s mainland. Freddy barreled through Southern Africa at the weekend for the second time in a few weeks, making a comeback after it first …

14-03-2023 Bureau Report KABUL/ NEW DELHI/ ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MoMP) said that the Islamic Emirate (Taliban Government) is fully prepared to launch the practical work on the Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India (TAPI) pipeline project. A spokesman for the MOMP, Homayoun Afghan, called said existing challenges in …

14-03-2023 WASHINGTON: US authorities have taken emergency measures to shore up the banking system after a string of bank failures raised concerns about financial stability. The government has taken over Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, saying it will guarantee all deposits. The moves aim to stop the rush of …

14-03-2023 LOS ANGELES: Michelle Yeoh became the first Asian woman to win best actress, as Everything Everywhere All at Once dominated at the Oscars. The dazzling multiverse adventure won seven awards including best picture, director and original screenplay. Accepting her statuette, Yeoh said: “For all the little boys and girls …

14-03-2023 BEIJING/ DUBAI/ TEHRAN: China is planning to host an unprecedented summit attended by senior officials from Iran and its six Arab neighbors of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), according to the Wall Street Journal. The summit would take place in Beijing later this year, after Iran and Saudi Arabia …