International

03-10-2025 GAZA STRIP: A senior Hamas figure has told the BBC that the group is likely to reject Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza, saying it “serves Israel’s interests” and “ignores those of the Palestinian people”. The figure said that Hamas is unlikely to agree to disarming and handing over …

02-10-2025 GAZA STRIP: The Israeli navy has intercepted boats carrying aid to Gaza and detained the activists aboard, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg. Israel’s Foreign Ministry said several vessels that form part of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) had been “safely stopped” and that those aboard were being transferred …

02-10-2025 CANBERRA: BRUSSELS: Australia is willing to sell shares in its new strategic reserve of critical minerals to allies including Britain, two sources familiar with the matter told media, as Western governments scramble to end their reliance on China for rare earths and minor metals. Critical minerals such as lithium …

02-10-2025 WASHINGTON: US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth slammed “fat generals” and diversity initiatives that he said led to decades of decay in the military and told a rare gathering of commanders on Tuesday they should resign if they don’t support his agenda. “Foolish and reckless political leaders set the wrong …

02-10-2025 Bureau Report BENGALURU/ HYDERABAD: Donald Trump’s H-1B visa crackdown, opens new tab will hasten US firms’ shift of critical work to India, turbocharging the growth of global capability centres (GCCs) that handle operations from finance to research and development, economists and industry insiders say. The world’s fifth-largest economy is …

02-10-2025 RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, an investment company run by the son-in-law of the United States president, and a California-based private equity firm have bought gaming industry giant Electronic Arts (EA) in the largest leveraged buyout in history worth $55bn. Public Investment Fund (PIF), the $1 trillion Saudi …

02-10-2025 DOHA: Representatives from Turkiye plan to join a meeting of the Gaza mediation team in Doha amid diplomatic movement created after United States President Donald Trump presented a 20-point plan to end the devastating war. “Turkiye now stands as part of the US initiative” and is collaborating closely on …

02-10-2025 LONDON: How much trouble is Keir Starmer in? How long has the UK prime minister got to turn things around? That those questions are being reasonably asked is sort of extraordinary. Little more than a year ago, in July 2024, Starmer led Labour to a landslide victory. Labour became …

02-10-2025 GAZA STRIP/ CAIRO: Hamas’s negotiating team is studying US President Trump’s 20-point plan to end Israel’s war on Gaza, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman has confirmed. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he agreed to the plan in a news briefing with Trump at the White House, as Israeli …

01-10-2025 LONDON: A pro-Palestine activist has interrupted the United Kingdom’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves’ speech during the annual Labour Party conference in Liverpool to call out the country’s ongoing complicity in Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza. The protester, later named as Sam P, stood up less than 10 …