International

29-12-2023 SEOUL: North Korea leader Kim Jong Un has ordered his country’s military, munitions industry and nuclear weapons sector to accelerate war preparations to counter what he called unprecedented confrontational moves by the US, state media said on Thursday. Speaking on the policy directions for the new year at a …

29-12-2023 SEOUL: The Israeli embassy in South Korea has removed a video showing an imaginary scenario in which Koreans are attacked by masked assailants in Seoul, a reference to Hamas, Seoul’s foreign ministry said Thursday. The ministry said in a statement sent to media that the video was deemed “inappropriate” …

29-12-2023 MONROVIA: At least 40 people have died after a gas tanker exploded in northcentral Liberia, the country’s Chief Medical Officer Francis Kateh said on Wednesday. Late Tuesday, a fuel truck crashed in Totota, Lower Bong Country, about 130km (80 miles) from the capital, Monrovia after exploding, the blast killed …

28-12-2023 Bureau Report + Agencies PARIS/ MUMBAI: A plane carrying suspected victims of human trafficking was rerouted to India while on its way to Nicaragua after being detained in France. It has now landed in Mumbai. While no evidence of trafficking was found, the inquiry gave way to concerns of …

28-12-2023 KINSHASA: Opposition candidates in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s presidential election in which early results show the incumbent with a large lead, plan to march in the capital on Wednesday, despite authorities banning the protest. Five opposition presidential candidates informed the governor of Kinshasa in a letter published …

28-12-2023 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI: An explosion near the Israeli Embassy in New Delhi on Tuesday did not kill or wound any staff members, authorities said, adding that investigations into its cause were ongoing. Officials were still inspecting the area but it had been reopened to the general …

28-12-2023 TOKYO : Japan’s nuclear power regulator on Wednesday lifted an operational ban it imposed on Tokyo Electric Power’s massive Kashiwazaki-Kariwa power plant two years ago, clearing the path for it to resume a process towards a restart. Tepco has been eager to bring the world’s largest atomic power plant …

28-12-2023 BEIJING: The Chinese government on Wednesday threatened to place further trade sanctions on Taiwan if the ruling party “stubbornly” adheres to supporting independence, in a further escalation of the war of words as Taiwanese elections approach next month. Taiwan’s Jan. 13 presidential and parliamentary elections are taking place as …

28-12-2023 VILLA COMALTITLAN: Thousands of migrants and asylum seekers moved slowly north across the southern Mexican state of Chiapas on Tuesday in a caravan hoping to reach the US border, one day before top US officials planned to visit Mexico to discuss migration. On Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken …

28-12-2023 JERUSALEM: Israel’s government agreed to give Intel (INTC.O) a $3.2 billion grant for a new $25 billion chip plant it plans to build in southern Israel, both sides said on Tuesday, in what is the largest investment ever by a company in Israel. The news comes as Israel remains …