05-10-2024 EHRAN/ JERUSALEM: Iranians have been expressing a mixture of pride, uncertainty and fear since their country launched a large-scale ballistic missile attack on Israel on Tuesday night. Within minutes of the attack starting, Persian social media feeds were filled with shaky videos showing the flashes of the missiles flying …

05-10-2024 PARIS: The world’s longest treasure hunt appears to have come to an end, after an announcement in France that a buried statuette of a golden owl has finally been unearthed after 31 years. “We confirm that the replica of the golden owl was dug up last night, and that …

05-10-2024 JERUSALEM/ BEIRUT: Fresh explosions are heard in Hezbollah’s stronghold in southern Beirut, as Israel says it has struck the group’s “intelligence headquarters”. Overnight Israeli air strikes on central Beirut killed nine people, officials there say; our correspondent in the Lebanese capital says any feeling of safety is vanishing. Meanwhile, …

04-10-2024 BEITUT: Apparent Israeli bombing has caused large explosions just outside Beirut’s international airport during a further night of air strikes targeting Hezbollah in the city. It is not clear what the target was, but the airport borders the Dahieh area Hezbollah’s stronghold in the capital. Elsewhere, the Lebanese army …

04-10-2024 TEHRAN/ WASHINGTON/ BEIRUT: Iran’s message sent to the US via Qatar seems to be a response to what US President Joe Biden said yesterday. Biden said Israel has the right to retaliate for the recent Iranian strikes, unlike what happened in April when Iran targeted Israel and the White …

04-10-2024 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI/ KOLKATA: Last week, authorities in the Indian city of Kolkata announced plans to eliminate trams entirely, retaining only a small heritage loop. In response, a group of activists is fighting to ensure that trams remain a vital mode of transport rather than mere …

04-10-2024 SANTO DOMINGO: The Dominican Republic says it plans to deport up to 10,000 undocumented migrants a week to combat uncontrolled migration. The plan was announced by President Luis Abinader’s spokesman, Homero Figueroa, who blamed the international community’s slow response to months of gang violence in neighboring Haiti and its …

04-10-2024 LONDON: The UK has announced it is giving up sovereignty of a remote but strategically important cluster of islands in the Indian Ocean after more than half a century. The deal reached after years of negotiations will see the UK hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in a …

04-10-2024 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI/ ISLAMABAD: The release of a blockbuster Pakistani film has been put on hold in India after officials in Delhi refused to give permission for its screening, media has learnt. A remake of a 1979 Punjabi film, The Legend of Maula Jatt, is the …

04-10-2024 UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations secretary general has condemned Iranian strikes on Israel, after earlier being banned from the country for his initial response. Speaking to the UN Security Council, Antonio Guterres said it was high time to stop what he called the “deadly cycle of tit-for-tat violence” in …