International

19-04-2023 DOHA: Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will restore diplomatic ties and reopen embassies soon, more than two years since the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt lifted a blockade on Qatar, ending a rift in diplomatic relations that began in 2017, according to Qatar’s International Media Office …

19-04-2023 TOKYO: The foreign ministers of G7 have pledged to intensify sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine and criticized China for its actions in the Taiwan Strait and disputed South China Sea, urging Beijing “to act as a responsible member of the international community”. The comments, issued on …

19-04-2023 DAMASCUS: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has met with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in the most significant step yet towards ending Syria’s decade-long regional isolation. Prince Faisal landed in Damascus on Tuesday, Syrian state media reported, a week after his Syrian counterpart visited Saudi Arabia. …

19-04-2023 ROME: Italian police on Monday seized two tons of cocaine found floating off the east coast of Sicily. With an estimated street value of more than 400 million euros, Italy’s Guardia di Finanza [Financial Police] hailed it as a “record” seizure for the force. The police released video (below) …

19-04-2023 LONDON: A London-listed company has been mining gold in the Amazon rainforest without approval from the Brazilian land agency or the consent of nearby Indigenous communities, according to an investigation by the Guardian and partners. Serabi Gold has been blasting 4.5 metre-wide tunnels and trucking ore from the Coringa …

19-04-2023 KHARTOUM: A major aid organization says it is nearly impossible to provide humanitarian services in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, where fighting between rival political factions has trapped millions of people in their homes. “The truth is that at the moment it is almost impossible to provide any humanitarian services …

19-04-2023 BEIJING: China’s foreign minister told his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts his country is ready to help facilitate peace talks, state media reported. The separate phone calls between Chinese foreign minister, Qin Gang, and the Israeli and Palestinian top diplomats comes amid recent moves by Beijing to position itself as …

18-04-2023 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: India’s Supreme Court will start hearing final arguments on a number of petitions seeking to legalize same-sex marriage from today. The court has said the hearing will be “livestreamed in public interest”. With same sex couples and LGBTQ+ activists hoping for a judgement in their …

18-04-2023 Bureau Report MELBOURNE/ SYDNEY: Melbourne has overtaken Sydney as Australia’s most populous city for the first time since the 19th Century gold rush, following a boundary change. Sydney has proudly held the title for more than 100 years but with populations rapidly growing on Melbourne’s fringe, the city limits …

18-04-2023 KANSAS: Protests erupted in Kansas City, Missouri, over the weekend after a homeowner shot a black teenager who rang their doorbell by mistake. Ralph Yarl, 16, was trying to pick up his brothers from a friend’s house on 13 April, but went to the wrong address. The suspect opened …