International

14-01-2026 WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump says no more Venezuelan oil or money will go to Cuba, and he has suggested the communist-run island should strike a deal with Washington, ramping up pressure on the longtime US nemesis. Venezuela is Cuba’s biggest oil supplier, but no cargo has departed …

14-01-2026 TEHRAN: President Masoud Pezeshkian has pledged to overhaul Iran’s struggling economy, saying his government is “ready to listen to its people” after two weeks of increasingly violent nationwide demonstrations. Pezeshkian adopted a conciliatory approach during an interview on state television on Sunday, saying his embattled administration was determined to …

14-01-2026 KHARTOUM: Sudan’s Prime Minister Kamil Idris has announced the government’s return to Khartoum, after nearly three years of operating from its wartime capital of Port Sudan. In the early days of the civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April …

14-01-2026 PRETORIA: South Africa has defended weeklong naval drills with Russia, Iran, China and other countries as “essential”, describing the manoeuvres off its coast as a vital response to rising maritime tensions globally. The “Will for Peace 2026” exercises that began on Saturday off the coast of Cape Town come …

13-01-2026 TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi may call an early general election, the head of her party’s coalition partner said on Sunday, after media reported she was considering a February vote. It would be the first time for the conservative Takaichi, Japan’s first female prime minister and a fan …

13-01-2026 BEIJING: China will investigate cutthroat competition among food delivery platforms operated by tech firms such as Meituan and Alibaba, aiming to rein in price wars that have eroded profits and contributed to deflationary pressures plaguing the economy. The State Council has decided to launch the investigation to ensure fair …

13-01-2026 SANA’A/ ADEN: Thousands of people took to the streets of Aden in southern Yemen on Saturday in support of the country’s main separatist group, the Southern Transitional Council, which denied it was planning to disband. Some held up photos of STC leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi, who has fled the country, …

13-01-2026 PALM BEACH, FLORID: The Norwegian Nobel Institute on Friday clarified the rules regarding the Nobel Prize amid recent suggestions by Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado that she would share her award with President Trump. The prize cannot be “revoked, shared, or transferred to others” once announced, the institute …

13-01-2026 TEHRAN: The Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has announced the arrest of a foreign national responsible for espionage on behalf of the Israeli regime’s Mossad spy agency. The organization reported the information in a statement on Saturday, saying the detention had come amid heightened efforts …

13-01-2026 NEW YORK: Kristy Hallowell had just lost her job when her energy bill unexpectedly tripled to $1,800 a month. Unable to pay, her gas and electricity were cut off and she, her two children and her mother spent six months of last year relying on a generator to light …