24-09-2024 UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a “Pact for the Future”, which UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described as a landmark agreement that is a “step-change towards more effective, inclusive, networked multilateralism”. The pact, which also includes an annex on working towards a responsible and sustainable digital …

23-09-2024 BEIRUT/ HAIFA: Israel and Hezbollah exchanged heavy fire into Sunday, with Israeli warplanes carrying out the most intense bombardment in almost a year of conflict across Lebanon’s south and Hezbollah firing rockets deep into northern Israel. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said strikes would continue until it was safe …

23-09-2024 MEXICO CITY: At least 10 more people have reportedly been killed in Mexico’s northwestern state of Sinaloa, bringing the number of people killed or missing to more than 100, as rival cartel factions’ clash, with gruesome violence showing no signs of abating soon. The latest violence, reported by officials …

23-09-2024 WASHINGTON: Iran did not include mobile launchers with the close-range ballistic missiles that Washington last week accused Tehran of delivering to Russia for use against Ukraine, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter. The sources, a European diplomat, a European intelligence official and a US official said …

23-09-2024 BEIRUT/ JERUSALEM: Rescue workers in Beirut searched on Saturday for people still missing in rubble a day after an Israeli airstrike, targeting Hezbollah commanders, killed at least 37 people in a suburb of the Lebanese capital, according to authorities. Hezbollah, a powerful Iran-backed group, said 16 members including senior …

23-09-2024 PORT-AU-PRINCE/ NAIROBI: Kenyan President William Ruto has landed in the Haitian capital to assess a Kenya-led security mission in the Caribbean nation, a day after a United Nations expert warned that Haiti faced deepening violence and insecurity. In a statement on Saturday, a spokesperson for Ruto said the Kenyan …

23-09-2024 COLOMBO: An overnight curfew has been imposed across Sri Lanka after voting ended in the presidential election as the island nation seeks to recover from an unprecedented economic crisis that triggered mass protests and forced then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee. Police announced the eight-hour curfew in “view of the …

23-09-2024 JERUSALEM/ WEST BANK: Israel’s military launched 400 attacks on Lebanon on Saturday and Hezbollah fired rockets at the Ramat David base near the city of Haifa, in their largest exchange of fire since the war on Gaza began. Heavily armed, masked Israeli troops raided Al Jazeera’s bureau in Ramallah …

23-09-2024 WASHINGTON: Former US President Donald Trump has said he will not take part in a second TV debate ahead of November’s presidential election. While Vice-President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s candidate, accepted an invitation to the CNN debate on 23 October, Republican nominee Trump told a rally it was …

23-09-2024 PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron has unveiled his new government almost three months after a snap general election delivered a hung parliament. The long-awaited new line up, led by Prime Minister Michel Barnier; marks a decisive shift to the right, even though a left-wing alliance won most parliamentary seats. …