14-12-2024 DAMASCUS: On a painted wall outside Damarcus’s Mustahed Hospital are photographs of the faces of dead men. A constantly changing crowd of people examine them, squinting against the low winter sun at men who look as if they died in great pain. Noses, mouths and eye sockets are twisted, …

14-12-2024 SINGAPORE: Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju has become the youngest-ever world chess champion after beating defending champion China’s Ding Liren in a dramatic turn on Thursday. Dommaraju, 18, is four years younger than the former record-holder, Russian grandmaster Garry Kasparov, who was 22 when he won the title in 1985. …

14-12-2024 PARIS: President Emmanuel Macron will wait until Friday before announcing his choice for France’s next prime minister, according to the Elysee palace, in a bid to end months of political turmoil. Eight days after French MPs ousted Michel Barnier as prime minister in a no-confidence vote, Macron cut short …

13-12-2024 NEW YORK: Time Magazine has named Donald Trump as their person of the year for the second time. “For marshaling a comeback of historic proportions, for driving a once-in-a- generation political realignment, for reshaping the American presidency and altering America’s role in the world, Donald Trump is TIME’S 2024 …

13-12-2024 QUEENSLAND: The Australian state of Queensland has passed laws which will see children as young as 10 subject to the same penalties as adults if convicted of crimes such as murder, serious assault and break-ins. The government says the harsher sentencing rules are in response to “community outrage over …

13-12-2024 JERUSALEM/ CAIRO: Israelis and Palestinians are signaling new efforts to forge a ceasefire deal, even a limited one, for the first time in a year that would pause the fighting in Gaza and return to Israel some of the hostages still held in the Palestinian enclave. Israel Defence Minister …

13-12-2024 CANBERRA/ SYDNEY: Australia’s centre-left government on Thursday will unveil new rules that could impose fines on Big Tech companies if they refuse to continue to pay Australian media firms for news content hosted on their platforms, local media reported. Under the proposed new rules, any internet company that refuses …

13-12-2024 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI/ MUMBAI: The Indian rupee weakened to its all-time low on Wednesday, pressured by heightened dollar bids in the non-deliverable forwards (NDF) market, while likely intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) helped limit losses, traders said. The rupee fell to 84.86 in …

13-12-2024 WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump is now considering tapping Richard Grenell, his former intelligence chief, to be a special envoy for Iran, according to two people familiar with the transition plans. “He’s definitely in the running,” said a person familiar with transition deliberations, who asked not to be identified. No …

13-12-2024 UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly to demand an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and expressed support for the work of the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). The assembly on Wednesday passed a resolution demanding an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, …