13-02-2026 LOS ANGELES: The world’s largest social media companies have been accused of creating “addiction machines” as a landmark trial began in California examining the mental health effects of Instagram and YouTube. In his opening argument before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl and a jury, Mark Lanier …

12-02-2026 SYDNEY: Australian leaders on Tuesday urged calm and called for protests to remain peaceful after clashes between police and demonstrators opposing President Isaac Herzog’s visit to Australia erupted in Sydney. Police said 27 people were arrested, including 10 for allegedly assaulting officers, after violence broke out on Monday evening …

12-02-2026 PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron has urged Europe to assert itself on the world stage, saying it is time to start acting like a “power”. In the face of growing threats from China, Russia and now the US, he told a group of European newspapers that the continent faced …

12-02-2026 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: India’s government said social media companies would have to take down unlawful content within three hours of being notified about it, tightening on Tuesday an earlier 36-hour timeline in what could be a compliance challenge for Meta, YouTube and X. The changes amend India’s 2021 …

12-02-2026 TEHRAN/ MUSCAT: Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, has met with Oman’s ruler, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, in the wake of nuclear talks held in the country between Tehran and Washington, Omani state media reported. The two leaders “discussed the latest developments in the …

2-02-2026 Bureau Report ISLAMABAD/ NEW DELHI: After more than a week of deadlock, negotiations and meetings, Pakistan has agreed to end its boycott of the match against India at the T20 World Cup, bringing an end to one of the biggest crises in cricket’s history. Barring the final, the India-Pakistan …

12-02-2026 GAZA STRIP: Medical sources said Israeli soldiers killed seven Palestinians, including a child and a woman, and injured many others in several parts of the devastated and besieged Gaza Strip. Three Palestinians, including one woman, were killed and several others injured near Deir al‑Balah in central Gaza. According to …

12-02-2026 WELLINGTON/ CHRISTCHURCH: A white supremacist who killed 51 people at two New Zealand mosques has appeared in court to try and withdraw his guilty plea. Australian Brenton Tarrant is serving a life sentence with no parole after admitting to murdering the 51 people and attempting to murder another 40 …

11-02-2026 WASHINGTON: Survivors of late sex offender Jeffrey’s Epstein have appeared in an advert calling for the release of more files related to him. In the 40 second video from the World Without Exploitation group, released in the US on Super Bowl Sunday, survivors held up photographs of their younger …

11-02-2026 TOKYO: Japanese stocks surged to a record high on Monday, as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) basked in a historic election victory. The LDP secured 316 out of 465 seats in Sunday’s election, the first time a single party has won a two-thirds lower house majority …