International

24 August, 2019 BRASILIA: Brazil’s president has ordered the armed forces to help fight a record number of forest fires in the Amazon. A decree issued by President Jair Bolsonaro authorizes the deployment of soldiers in nature reserves, indigenous lands and border areas in the region. The announcement comes after …

23 August, 2019 BIARRITZ/ BRASILIA: French President Emmanuel Macron has said the record number of fires in the Amazon rainforest is an “international crisis” that needs to top the agenda at this weekend’s G7 summit. “Our house is burning,” he tweeted. Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro responded by accusing Macron of …

By SJA Jafri + Al-Jazeera 23 August, 2019 MELBOURNE/ DOHA/ RIYADH: It is not only a normal practice in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) that anyone, anywhere, anytime, any-age and any-gender can easily be murdered, beheaded kidnapped, missed or arrested across the country but also this self-made, self created, so-called, …

23 August, 2019 CITY OF VICTORIA: Multiple protests planned on Friday including a march by accountants and the so-called ‘Baltic Chain’ protests. Hong Kong is bracing for further demonstrations and a “stress test” of the city’s international airport at the weekend, as nearly three months of pro-democracy protests showed no …

22 August, 2019 WELLINGTON: The speaker of New Zealand’s parliament has attracted international attention for babysitting a legislator’s newborn child while keeping order during a vigorous debate. On Wednesday, speaker Trevor Mallard tweeted a photo of himself giving Labour Party MP Tamati Coffey’s newborn boy his bottle, calling the infant, Tutanekai Smith-Coffey, a …

22 August, 2019 ISLAMABAD/ NEW YORK: Amid rising tension over occupied Kashmir, Prime Minister Imran Khan has said there is “no point” talking to Indian officials, adding that his overtures for peace and dialogue with New Delhi so far have proven futile. In an interview with The New York Times journalists Salman Masood …

By SJA jafri + Agencies 22 August, 2019 MELBOURNE/ WASHINGTON: Migrant families who cross the southern border of the US illegally could be detained indefinitely under a new regulation announced by the Trump administration. It replaces an agreement that set a limit on how long the government could hold migrant …

22 August, 2019 BEIJING/ MOSCOW: Russia and China have asked the United Nations Security Council to meet on Thursday over “statements by US officials on their plans to develop and deploy medium-range missiles.” Moscow and Beijing want to convene the 15-member council under the agenda item “threats to international peace …

22 August, 2019 BAGHDAD: Iraq’s paramilitary groups backed by Iran have blamed a series of recent blasts at their weapons depots and bases on the United States and Israel, vowing to defend themselves against any future attack. The statement on Wednesday came from the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), or Hashd …

21 August, 2019 DAMASCUS/ ISTANBUL: Militants have left a key rebel town in Idlib province as Syrian troops push in following intense bombardment and air strikes, in a blow to the opposition. The main insurgent group in the Syrian province of Idlib has pulled out of a key rebel town …