01-01-2024 KYIV: Russia unleashed its biggest air attack of the war on Ukraine on Friday, killing 31 civilians, wounding more than 160 others and hitting cities and infrastructure across the country, officials said. NATO member Poland said a Russian missile appeared to have flown into its airspace for some 40 …
Read More »Europe-bound fuel cargoes divert from Red Sea
01-01-2024 DUBAI/ LONDON: At least four tankers transporting diesel and jet fuel from the Middle East and India to Europe are taking the longer route around Africa to avoid the Red Sea, ship tracking data show. Diversions around the Cape of Good Hope can lengthen tanker voyages to Europe by …
Read More »China calls Taiwan President frontrunner a destroyer of peace
31-12-2023 BEIJING: China’s government called the frontrunner for Taiwan’s next president “confrontational” and a destroyer of peace after he spoke at a presidential debate and said the island’s sovereignty and independence belong to its people. The Jan. 13 presidential and parliamentary elections are happening at a time of fraught relations …
Read More »UK post-Christmas shopping provides some cheer for retailers
31-12-2023 LONDON: British shopper numbers at stores on Boxing Day rose from a year earlier, especially in London, research data showed on Wednesday, marking a strong start to the post-Christmas bargain-hunting spree. Research group MRI Software said footfall rose 4% across all UK retail destinations on Dec. 26. Known in …
Read More »Massive waves on California coast cause force evacuations
31-12-2023 SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA: Massive waves and coastal flooding are wreaking havoc for a third day in many of California’s coastal communities, where extreme conditions have forced water rescues, washed away cars and injured a handful of enthralled onlookers. The unusually large surf often towering over 20 feet has prompted beach …
Read More »Israeli bombardments leave 1.5 million homeless in Gaza
31-12-2023 GAZA CITY: Israeli bombardments have destroyed 70 percent of Gaza homes, says the government’s media office. The Israeli war cabinet will meet to discuss captive-prisoner exchanges as Netanyahu vows to continue the war. US President Joe Biden’s administration again bypasses Congress on weapons sales to Israel. In Gaza, at …
Read More »India formally asks Pakistan to extradite Mumbai attacks suspect
31-12-2023 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI/ ISLAMABAD: India has formally requested that Pakistan extradite the 2008 Mumbai attacks suspect Hafiz Saeed for trial in India, according to New Delhi’s Ministry of External Affairs. “We have conveyed a request along with relevant supporting documents to the government of Pakistan,” ministry …
Read More »South Africa files ICJ case accusing Israel of ‘genocidal acts’
31-12-2023 CAPE TOWN/ THE HAGUE: South Africa has filed a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing it of crimes of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza after nearly three months of relentless Israeli bombardment has killed more than 21,500 people and caused widespread destruction in the …
Read More »Google settles $5 billion consumer privacy lawsuit
30-12-2023 MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA: Alphabet’s Google (GOOGL.O) has agreed to settle a lawsuit claiming it secretly tracked the internet use of millions of people who thought they were doing their browsing privately. US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, put a scheduled Feb. 5, 2024 trial in the …
Read More »India’s Nifty, Sensex post second-best year since 2017
30-12-2023 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI/ BENGALURU: India’s blue-chip Nifty 50 (.NSEI) and BSE Sensex (.BSESN) rose around 20% in 2023, their second-best year since 2017 and were among the top-performing stock indexes globally. The rally was driven by sustained domestic mutual fund inflows, return of foreign buying, better-than-expected …
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