06-01-2024 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI: India is likely to project higher economic growth estimates of around 7% for the 2023/24 fiscal year ending in March, compared with earlier government forecasts when the National Statistical Office releases its first advance GDP estimates on Friday. An increased estimate of annual …
Read More »Slain Hamas leader buried in Palestinian camp in Beirut
06-01-2024 BEIRUT: The slain deputy chief of Hamas, Saleh al-Arouri, was buried in the Palestinian camp of Shatila in Beirut on Thursday, amid throngs of mourners launching volleys of gunfire. Arouri was killed in a drone strike on Tuesday on the southern suburb of Beirut, a stronghold of allied Lebanese …
Read More »UK PM fires starting gun on election
06-01-2024 LONDON: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak fired the starting gun on Britain’s next election on Thursday, saying his “working assumption” was it would take place in the second half of the year, all but ruling out an earlier vote opposition parties had called for. With his governing Conservatives heavily trailing …
Read More »‘US strike kills militia leader blamed for Iraq attacks’
06-01-2024 BAGHDAD/ WASHINGTON: The US military launched a retaliatory strike in Baghdad on Thursday that killed a militia leader it blames for recent attacks on US personnel, the Pentagon said, a move condemned by Iraq’s government. The US strike took place at about 0900 GMT and targeted Mushtaq Jawad Kazim …
Read More »Islamic State claims responsibility for deadly Iran attack
06-01-2024 TEHRAN/ DUBAI: Islamic State claimed responsibility on Thursday for two explosions in Iran that killed nearly 100 people and wounded scores at a memorial for top commander Qassem Soleimani. In a statement posted on its affiliate Telegram channels, the militant Sunni Muslim group said two IS members had detonated …
Read More »Trump made millions from foreign gov’ts during presidency
06-01-2024 WASHINGTON: Donald Trump made millions from foreign governments during his presidency, according to a report by House Democrats on the Committee on Oversight and Accountability. Ranking member Rep Jamie Raskin wrote that the information obtained from the former president’s accountant “allows America to glimpse the rampant illegality and corruption …
Read More »Iran blames Israel & US for twin bomb blasts
05-01-2024 TEHRAN: Iran blamed Israel and the United States on Wednesday for twin bomb blasts that killed at least 84 people in the country’s south, ripping through a crowd commemorating Revolutionary Guards general Qasem Soleimani four years after his death in a US strike. The two explosions labelled a “terrorist …
Read More »Vatican addresses Bishops’ concerns on same-sex blessings
05-01-2024 CATICAN CITY: In response to the disquiet among Catholic bishops, particularly in certain African countries, following the approval of blessings for same-sex couples last month, the Vatican issued a five-page statement on Thursday to assuage concerns. The statement from the Vatican’s doctrinal office emphasized that the measure is neither …
Read More »Bangladesh deploys army to keep peace ahead of Sunday’s election
05-01-2024 DHAKA: Troops deployed across Bangladesh on Wednesday amid fears of violence ahead of a national election which the main opposition party is boycotting. Soldiers travelled in armoured vehicles to temporary camps set up across the capital Dhaka to help the civil administration maintain peace and security. The Bangladesh Nationalist …
Read More »UN Security Council calls for Houthis to stop attacks on shipping
05-01-2024 UNITED NATIONS: Members of the UN Security Council on Wednesday called on Yemen’s Houthis to halt their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, saying they are illegal and threaten regional stability, freedom of navigation and global food supplies. Addressing the council’s first formal meeting …
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