30-12-2024 WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday sided with key supporter and billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk in a public dispute over the use of the H-1B visa, saying he fully backs the program for foreign tech workers opposed by some of his supporters. Trump’s remarks followed a series of …
Read More »India’s widening bank liquidity deficit warrants more measures
30-12-2024 Bureau Report NEW DELHI/ MUMBAI: India’s banking system liquidity deficit is set to widen further in the upcoming quarter, leading to more voices demanding durable liquidity injection. The banking system’s liquidity shortfall has jumped to its highest level in nearly seven months due to tax outflows and central bank’s …
Read More »Putin apologizes to Azerbaijan over ‘tragic’ plane crash
30-12-2024 MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev for what he called a “tragic incident” following the deadly crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane this week in Kazakhstan. The plane was flying on Wednesday from Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku to Grozny, the regional capital …
Read More »Afghan Taliban hit ‘several points’ in Pakistan
30-12-2024 Bureau Report KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: Afghan Taliban forces have targeted “several points” in neighboring Pakistan, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense said, days after Pakistani aircraft carried out aerial bombardments inside the country. The statement from the defence ministry on Saturday did not directly specify that Pakistan was hit, but said the …
Read More »Israel forcibly evacuates Gaza hospital, detains medical staff
30-12-2024 GAZA STRIP: Israeli forces have detained and interrogated medical staff after forcibly evacuating the last major hospital in northern Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry says. The director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, was among those taken for questioning by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which accused …
Read More »Thousands protest in Georgia ahead of political showdown
30-12-2024 TBILISI: Thousands of Georgian protesters have formed a human chain in the capital, Tbilisi, ahead of a political showdown as the new president prepares to be sworn in. The inauguration of a new president former Manchester City footballer Mikheil Kavelashvili, who is seen as an ally of the ruling …
Read More »S Korean plane crash; 181 except 2 are presumed dead
29-12-2024 SEOUL: Fire authorities have recovered 120 bodies from the Jeju Air crash site at Muan International Airport, with 59 people still missing, according to South Korea’s national fire agency. Officials say the death toll so far includes 54 men, 57 women, and nine victims whose gender could not be …
Read More »Driver in China car-ramming attack sentenced to death
29-12-2024 BEIJING: A court in China has sentenced a man to death for killing 35 people last month by driving into a crowd, in an attack that raised national concern about mass killings. Fan Weiqiu was venting his anger because he was unhappy with his divorce settlement, the court in …
Read More »India announces 7-day of mourning for Manmohan Singh
29-12-2024 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: India has announced seven days of mourning and a state funeral for former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was hailed as one of the architects of the country’s economic liberalization in the early 1990s. The government declared on Friday that mourning would be observed until …
Read More »70 more killed after boat capsizes en route to Spain
29-12-2024 MADRID: At least 69 people, including 25 Malians, died after a boat heading from West Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands capsized off Morocco, Malian authorities have said. The makeshift boat was carrying about 80 people when it capsized on December 19; only 11 people survived, the Ministry of Malians …
Read More »