21-03-2023 DUBAI/ DAMASCUS: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met on Sunday with Emirati leaders in Abu Dhabi, his second Gulf visit since last month’s earthquake in his country prompted renewed efforts to bring Damascus back into the Arab fold. The trip Assad’s second to the oil-rich United Arab Emirates (UAE) in …

21-03-2023 PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron said that he hoped his bitterly contested pension’s reform plan, forced through parliament without a vote, could complete “its democratic journey”, a day before crucial votes in parliament. The controversial legislation, which has led to months of protests in parliament and on the streets, …

20-03-2023 Bureau Report + Agencies OTTAWA/ NEW DELHI: More than 150 Indian students have been told to leave the country by the Canadian Border Security Agency (CBSA), which says they arrived in the country on forged college admission letters. The students say they were unaware of the forgeries and insist …

20-03-2023 Bureau Report + Agencies SYDNEY: Australia “absolutely” did not promise to support the US in any military conflict over Taiwan in return for a deal to acquire US nuclear-powered attack submarines, Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Sunday. Australia, the US and Britain unveiled the multi-decade AUKUS project …

20-03-2023 PYONGYANG: North Korea has fired a short-range ballistic missile towards the sea off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, according to South Korea and Japan, the latest in a barrage of weapons tests from the state. The missile, launched on Sunday from the Dongchang-ri site on the west …

20-03-2023 OUAGADOUGOU/ BAMAKO/ NIAMEY: The death toll in southeast Africa due to the exceptionally long-lasting Tropical Cyclone Freddy has risen to 522, according to authorities in Malawi, Mozambique and Madagascar. Disaster management authorities in Malawi, which has been hit the hardest by the cyclone, reported on Saturday that the death …

20-03-2023 OTTAWA: Amid calls to help people affected by the earthquakes in Turkiye and Syria, Canada took steps to ease procedures for migrants from those countries. On Saturday, officials announced that they would ease immigration procedures for Turkish and Syrian citizens already in the country, a month after an earthquake …

20-03-2023 BEIJING: President Xi Jinping heads to Russia on Monday hoping to deliver a breakthrough on Ukraine as China seeks to position itself as a peacemaker. Freshly reappointed for a third term in power, Xi is pushing a greater role for China on the global stage and was crucial in …

20-03-2023 MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to Mariupol, state media reported on Sunday, his first to the city since it was captured after a lengthy siege at the start of Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine. The trip comes after an arrest warrant was issued for Putin by …

20-03-2023 Bureau Report BRISBANE/ MELBOURNE: More than 11,000 Sikhs took part in the second phase of Khalistan Referendum voting at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre amid a massive wave of Indian cyber security mercenary attacks on the electronic voting machines. There was a disruption in the voting thrice as …