25-03-2023 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI/ TASHKENT: India has cancelled the manufacturing licence of a firm whose cough syrups been linked to 18 child deaths in Uzbekistan. The WHO in January had warned against the use of two cough syrups made by Marion Biotech, saying they were substandard. Marion …

25-03-2023 RIYADH: Six prominent Saudi judges and four former judges have been charged with “high treason” and now face the death penalty, Democracy for the Arab Now (DAWN) has warned. Sources told DAWN that the government has denied the defendants legal counsel and held them incommunicado since their detention on …

25-03-2023 RIYADH/ TEHRAN/ DAMASCUS: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will soon resume work at its consulate in the Syrian capital, Damascus, Sputnik reported. The sources indicated that Russian-Emirati mediation led to the removal of obstacles between the two Arab countries. The reopening of the Saudi consulate in Damascus is expected …

25-03-2023 TEHRAN: Iran on Friday urged France to listen to protesters and avoid violence after more than 450 people were arrested and nearly as many police were injured in demonstrations against pension reforms. Protesters clashed with French security forces on Thursday in the most serious violence yet of a three-month …

25-03-2023 Bureau Report + Agencies CANBERRA/ MELBOURNE: Australian police are investigating after a senator was allegedly thrown to the ground at a protest outside parliament in Canberra. Senator Lidia Thorpe was attempting to confront British activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, who was holding an event outside the building. Footage showed Ms Thorpe …

25-03-2023 JERUSALEM/ LONDON: The beachside highway beside the British embassy in Tel Aviv descended into a scene of bitter division between Israelis a week ago, and blood was spilled on the tarmac. The crowd started to block traffic, by now a frequent tactic of protesters when a driver attacked one …

25-03-2023 OTTAWA/ WASHINGTON: The US and Canada have reached a deal to reject asylum seekers at unofficial border crossings, officials say. Large numbers of migrants have been making unsanctioned crossings on Roxham Road at the US-Canada border. The move closes a loophole created by a 2004 asylum agreement with the …

25-03-2023 CITY OF VICTORIA: A digital billboard artwork in Hong Kong which included secret references to local dissidents has been removed. The No Rioters piece by US artist Patrick Amadon had been displayed the past week on the side of a department store in central Hong Kong. The artist revealed …

25-03-2023 BEIJING/ WASHINGTON: China’s defence ministry has said that it had for a second time monitored and driven away the US Navy guided missile destroyer USS Milius after it entered what Beijing claims as its territorial waters in the South China Sea near the Paracel Islands. Friday marked the second …

25-03-2023 PARIS/ LONDON: A planned visit to France from Sunday by King Charles III has been postponed due to ongoing protests over pension reform, the French presidency announced. “Given the announcement yesterday of another national day of protests against pension reform on Tuesday March 28, the visit of Charles III, …