13-01-2026 TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi may call an early general election, the head of her party’s coalition partner said on Sunday, after media reported she was considering a February vote. It would be the first time for the conservative Takaichi, Japan’s first female prime minister and a fan …

13-01-2026 BEIJING: China will investigate cutthroat competition among food delivery platforms operated by tech firms such as Meituan and Alibaba, aiming to rein in price wars that have eroded profits and contributed to deflationary pressures plaguing the economy. The State Council has decided to launch the investigation to ensure fair …

13-01-2026 SANA’A/ ADEN: Thousands of people took to the streets of Aden in southern Yemen on Saturday in support of the country’s main separatist group, the Southern Transitional Council, which denied it was planning to disband. Some held up photos of STC leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi, who has fled the country, …

13-01-2026 PALM BEACH, FLORID: The Norwegian Nobel Institute on Friday clarified the rules regarding the Nobel Prize amid recent suggestions by Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado that she would share her award with President Trump. The prize cannot be “revoked, shared, or transferred to others” once announced, the institute …

13-01-2026 TEHRAN: The Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has announced the arrest of a foreign national responsible for espionage on behalf of the Israeli regime’s Mossad spy agency. The organization reported the information in a statement on Saturday, saying the detention had come amid heightened efforts …

13-01-2026 NEW YORK: Kristy Hallowell had just lost her job when her energy bill unexpectedly tripled to $1,800 a month. Unable to pay, her gas and electricity were cut off and she, her two children and her mother spent six months of last year relying on a generator to light …

12-01-2026 CARACAS/ WASHINGTON: US forces have seized another tanker in the Caribbean Sea, officials say, as the Trump administration continues its efforts to control exports of Venezuelan oil. The tanker, the Olina, is on multiple countries’ sanctions lists and the fifth vessel to be seized by the US in recent …

12-01-2026 DAMASCUS: The Syrian city of Aleppo once again became the site of fighting on Friday after Kurdish groups rejected government demands to abandon their positions. Syrian forces hit the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiya neighborhoods that have been held by Kurdish forces since the early days of the war that …

12-01-2026 JOHANNESBURG: China, Russia and Iran began a week of joint naval exercises in South Africa’s waters on Saturday in what the host country described as a BRICS Plus operation to “ensure the safety of shipping and maritime economic activities”. BRICS Plus is an expansion of a geopolitical bloc originally …

12-01-2026 Bureau Report NEW DELHI/ HOUSTON: India’s Reliance Industries, opens new tab is seeking US approval to resume purchases of Venezuelan crude, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, as the private refiner looks to secure supplies amid Western pressure on India to cut Russian oil imports. Reliance’s …