International

03-05-2024 HONIARA: Solomon Islands lawmakers selected a new prime minister in a secret ballot on Thursday, choosing foreign minister Jeremiah Manele, who has pledged to continue the Pacific Island nation’s foreign policy that saw it grow close to China. Governor General Sir David Vunagi announced outside parliament house that Manele …

03-05-2024 LOS ANGELES/ NEW YORK: Mounting tensions on US campuses boiled over on Wednesday when pro-Israel supporters attacked an encampment of pro-Palestinian protesters at UCLA, hours after police arrested activists who occupied a building at Columbia University and cleared a tent city from its campus. Eyewitness videos from the University …

03-05-2024 BOGOTA: Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Wednesday he will break diplomatic relations with Israel over its actions in Gaza. Petro has already heavily criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and requested to join South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice. “Here in …

03-05-2024 WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden’s administration faced renewed pressure on Wednesday from his fellow Democrats to influence Israel not to launch a full-scale invasion of Rafah, the city where almost half of the Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million people have taken refuge. Fifty-seven of the 212 Democrats in the House of …

02-05-2024 CANBERRA/ NEW DELHI: The Australian government has talked up its close ties with Delhi despite reports that two Indian spies were expelled from the country in 2020. In 2021, Australia’s intelligence chief said that foreign agents had been operating locally in the previous year but he did not say …

02-05-2024 BEINING: New rules that tighten restrictions on China’s internet companies have come into effect today. The expanded State Secrets Law compels firms including social media giants Tencent, ByteDance and Weibo to take action if users post sensitive information. It requires “network operators” to monitor information being shared by users. …

02-05-2024 LONDON: Scientists are trying to create a new type of bread that is just as healthy as whole-meal but looks and tastes like its white counterpart. Aimed at lovers of white bread, the project has been funded by the government to improve the health benefits of UK food. The …

02-05-2024 MELBOURNE: Australian airline Qantas says it is investigating a privacy breach on its app that left customers with access to others’ personal details. Some users reported seeing several boarding passes and flight details belonging to strangers, including their names and frequent flyer information. Qantas said it fixed the problem …

02-05-2024 NEW YORK: Police officers in riot gear arrested dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Columbia University in Manhattan on Tuesday night and cleared a building that protesters had seized about 20 hours earlier. Columbia said it had called the police to campus for the second time in less than two …

02-05-2024 LONDON/ DUBAI: “Tens of millions” of people are using technical workarounds to secretly access WhatsApp in countries where it is banned, the messaging platform’s boss has said. “You’d be surprised how many people have figured it out,” Will Cathcart told media. Like many Western apps, WhatsApp is banned in …