13-05-2023 YEREVAN/ BAKU: Renewed border clashes have erupted between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces, according to Yerevan, a day after deadly fighting threatened to derail European Union-led weekend peace talks between the Caucasus arch-foes. Baku and Yerevan are locked in a decades-long territorial dispute over Azerbaijan’s Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh, over …
Read More »Ethiopia needs an all-inclusive peace process led by women
13-05-2023 ADDIS ABABA: Six months have passed since a cessation of hostilities agreement was reached to end the two-year war in northern Ethiopia. The deal, signed by the Ethiopian government and Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) under the auspices of the African Union, should be lauded for establishing a framework …
Read More »Violent incidents mark final days of Turkey’s election campaign
13-05-2023 ISTANBUL: The campaign leading up to Turkey’s elections this weekend has been marred by outbreaks of violence across the country. Incidents of stone-throwing, physical attacks on election workers and gunmen shooting up party offices have all been recorded in recent weeks as Turkey heads towards knife-edge polls in which …
Read More »Children in Gaza experience ‘trauma beyond their endurance’
13-05-2023 GAZA CITY: Toqa al-Dalo cries relentlessly in a state of shock after hearing about the death of her best friend in Israel’s first air attack on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. As the 10-year-old got ready for school that morning, she saw her parents crying quietly. They had received …
Read More »Two French citizens leave Iran after release from prison
13-05-2023 PARIS/ TEHRAN: Bernard Phelan, who also holds Irish nationality, and Benjamin Briere were freed from their prison in the northeastern city of Mashhad and are “on their way to France”, Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said. There had been grave concerns about the health of both men, both of whom …
Read More »Clouds gather over Sudan as battles rage next door
13-05-2023 KHARTUM: South Sudan is still recovering from years of a ruinous civil war, but now trouble next door risks fueling another descent into turmoil. Analysts said the fighting between Sudan’s army and a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) could upend the shaky peace process in neighboring …
Read More »Turkey’s opposition opens up to the hijab
13-05-2023 ISTANBUL: For Turkish women wearing the hijab, or Muslim headscarf, life in the public sphere was once impossible. Beginning in the 1980s, after decades of state-sanctioned efforts to discourage women from wearing hijabs, a ban on wearing them in state institutions was implemented, affecting university staff, students, lawyers, politicians …
Read More »Scotland to launch first self-driving bus service next week
13-05-2023 EDINBURGH: Scotland is set to launch the UK’s first driverless bus network next week, marking a significant milestone in transportation technology. The autonomous buses, equipped with advanced technology, will operate on a 14-mile route and aim to transport approximately 10,000 passengers per week. While there will be drivers onboard …
Read More »Israeli air strikes martyr 30 more Palestinians in Gaza
12-05-2023 GAZA: Israel and Palestinians traded more heavy fire Thursday, the third day of the worst escalation of violence in months that has resulted in the martyrdom of 26 people in the blockaded Palestinian enclave Gaza. Air strikes by the Israeli army since Tuesday have martyred freedom fighters as well …
Read More »‘India’s Russia oil imports jumped tenfold in 2022’
12-05-2023 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: India’s imports of Russian oil rose tenfold last year, according to Indian state-controlled lender Bank of Baroda. The figures show Asia’s third largest economy saved around $5bn (£4bn) as it ramped up crude purchases from Moscow. It comes as Western countries have been cutting their …
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