16-11-2024 BEIRUT: An Israeli airstrike flattened a building near one of Beirut’s busiest traffic junctions on Friday, shaking the Lebanese capital as Israel kept up its intensified bombardment of Hezbollah-controlled areas of the city. One of several airstrikes on Friday morning, the attack struck near the Tayouneh junction in an …
Read More »Left-leaning leader’s coalition claims victory in Sri Lanka
16-11-2024 COLOMBO: The left-leaning alliance of Sri Lanka’s new leader has secured a landslide victory in the country’s snap parliamentary elections. Official results show President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s National People’s Power (NPP) coalition scored a two-thirds majority in parliament, with 159 seats. Dissanayake, who was elected in September, needed a …
Read More »The missing puzzle piece in India’s child stunting crisis’
16-11-2024 NEW DELHI: Decades of caste discrimination have contributed to India having higher levels of child stunting rates than across Sub-Saharan Africa, new research has revealed. The two regions together are home to 44% of the world’s under-five population but account for about 70% of stunted children globally – a …
Read More »UN climate talks ‘no longer fit for purpose’: Key Experts
16-11-2024 BAKU: The United Nations’ COP climate talks are “no longer fit for purpose” and need an urgent overhaul, key experts including a former UN secretary general and former UN climate chief have said. In a letter to the UN, senior figures say countries should not host the talks if …
Read More »Trump picks vaccine sceptic RFK Jr as Health Secretary
16-11-2024 WASHINGTON: Donald Trump has chosen vaccine sceptic Robert F Kennedy Jr as his new health secretary and said he will do “unbelievable things”. The news was announced by Donald Trump Jr on X, before the president-elect confirmed the appointment just moments later. Former Democrat RFK Jr, the nephew of …
Read More »Israel presses airstrikes as Beirut awaits truce ideas
15-11-2024 BEIRUT/ JERUSALEM: Israeli airstrikes pounded Beirut’s Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs for a second consecutive day on Wednesday, as Lebanon waited to hear Washington’s latest ceasefire proposals after a US official expressed hope a truce could be reached. More than seven weeks since Israel went on the offensive against Iran-backed Hezbollah, …
Read More »Sri Lankan President seeks increased parliamentary strength
15-11-2024 COLOMBO: Sri Lanka holds a snap election on Thursday which will determine if the South Asian island nation wants to empower its new, leftist President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to push his anti-poverty policies as it recovers from a financial meltdown. A little over 17 million Sri Lankans are eligible …
Read More »European powers pushing for resolution against Iran at IAEA
15-11-2024 PARIS/ VIENNA: European powers are pushing for a new resolution against Iran by the UN atomic watchdog’s board next week to pressure Tehran over its poor cooperation, as the world awaits the return of US President-elect Donald Trump, diplomats say. Such resolutions risk further diplomatic tension with Iran. It …
Read More »Concerns grow as Israel strikes new areas of Lebanon
15-11-2024 JERUSALEM/ BEIRUT: The rescue workers had just left when we arrived at the scene of an Israeli air strike on a building in Aramoun, south-west of Lebanon’s capital Beirut. It was supposed to have been cleared. They had found eight bodies including three children and three women – and …
Read More »Deadly car attack sparks questions in China
15-11-2024 BEIJING: A car attack that killed 35 people in China has sparked questions about a recent spate of public violence, as officials continue to censor discussion on the incident. On social media, many are discussing the social phenomenon of “taking revenge on society”, where individuals act on personal grievances …
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