International

18-05-2024 BEIJING/ HONG KONG: China announced “historic” steps on Friday to stabilize its crisis-hit property sector, with the central bank facilitating 1 trillion yuan ($138 billion) in extra funding and easing mortgage rules, and local governments set to buy “some” apartments. Investors hoped the measures marked the beginning of more …

18-05-2024 THE HAGUE/ JERUSALEM: Israel has accused South Africa of distorting reality in its attempt to get the UN’s top court to force it to stop its military campaign in the town of Rafah in southern Gaza. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) began two days of hearings on Thursday, …

17-05-2024 PARIS/ SYDENY: The French government sent more police to the Pacific island of New Caledonia on Thursday and said it would crack down on rioters, hoping to restore order after three nights of upheaval in which four people have been killed. Rioters angry with an electoral reform have burnt …

17-05-2024 WASHINGTON/ BEIJING: The US would be better served by maintaining its open trade system rather than imposing new punitive duties on Chinese goods, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday, adding that Washington and Beijing should work together to resolve their trade tensions. IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack told a …

17-05-2024 SINGAPORE CITY: Singapore’s first prime minister in 20 years held an initial cabinet meeting on Thursday after taking office with a pledge to sustain what he called the miracle of the wealthy city state amid an uncertain global environment. After being sworn in on Wednesday night, attending a party …

17-05-2024 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI: An AI video shows an ecstatic Narendra Modi sporting a trendy jacket and trousers, grooving on a stage to a Bollywood song as the crowd cheers. The Indian prime minister reshared the video on X, saying “such creativity in peak poll season is …

17-05-2024 JERUSALEM/ GAZA CITY: Israel’s military says five soldiers have been killed by Israeli tank fire in northern Gaza, in one of the deadliest incidents of its kind since the war against Hamas began in October. An initial probe found that two tanks fired at a building in Jabalia refugee …

17-05-2024 BRUSSELS/ NEW YORK: The European Union is investigating Facebook and Instagram over whether they are so addictive that they are having “negative effects” on the “physical and mental health” of children. It will also scrutinize if have done enough to check whether users are old enough to use them, …

17-05-2024 ALGIERS: A man who vanished almost 30 years ago at the age of 17 following an alleged kidnapping has been found alive in his neighbor’s house in a hole in the ground in a sheep pen underneath stacks of hay. Named as Omar Bin Omran (or Imran) and said …

16-05-2024 JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to present a highly contested bill that seeks to conscript ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military to a ministerial committee on Thursday. His office said on Wednesday that Netanyahu sought to bridge societal and political divisions and that he was calling on …