01-12-2024 STOCKHOLM: Sweden has formally asked China to co-operate with an investigation into damage to two cables in the Baltic Sea after a Chinese ship was linked to the incidents. The cables one linking Sweden to Lithuania and the other between Finland and Germany were damaged in Swedish territorial waters …
Read More »Crypto entrepreneur eats banana artwork bought for $6.2m
01-12-2024 NEW YORK: A Chinese-born cryptocurrency entrepreneur has followed through on his promise to eat the banana from a $6.2m (£4.9m) artwork he bought last week. Justin Sun outbid six others to claim Maurizio Cattelan’s infamous 2019 work Comedian, a banana duct-taped to a wall at Sotheby’s auction house in …
Read More »1000s return to streets of Georgia after gov’t suspends EU bid
01-12-2024 TBILISI: Thousands of protesters have returned to the streets of Tbilisi to protest against the government’s decision to suspend accession talks with the European Union. Demonstrators were seen shouting “traitors” and holding photographs of journalists who they say were beaten by police in Thursday night’s protests. For the second …
Read More »Syrian rebels take control in parts of Aleppo
01-12-2024 DAMASCUS: Rebel forces in Syria have taken control of several neighborhoods in the country’s second-largest city, Aleppo, according to the UK-based monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). As of Friday evening, SOHR said rebels were in control of more than half of the city. The move is …
Read More »Hitman offered $71,000 for Canadian reporter’s assassination
01-12-2024 MONTREAL: Political leaders and press freedom groups on Friday were left shell-shocked after Montreal news outlet La Presse revealed that a hit man had offered $100,000 to have one of its crime reporters assassinated. Convicted killer Frederick Silva, who turned police informant in 2022, had confessed to issuing the …
Read More »Chinese ships gather near island disputed with Philippines
30-11-2024 HONG KONG/ MANILA: Satellite images obtained by Reuters on Thursday show a build-up of Chinese civilian vessels near contested Thitu Island, Manila’s key outpost in the South China Sea, but a senior Philippine navy officer said they are “not a cause for concern”. One of the images taken by …
Read More »Iran plans new uranium-enrichment expansion: IAEA
30-11-2024 VIENNA: Iran has informed the UN nuclear watchdog that it plans to install more than 6,000 extra uranium-enriching centrifuges at its enrichment plants and bring more of those already in place online, a confidential report by the watchdog said on Thursday. The International Atomic Energy Agency report seen by …
Read More »Israel & Hezbollah trade accusations of ceasefire violations
30-11-2024 JERUSALEM/ BEIRUT: The Israeli military said its air force struck a facility used by Hezbollah to store mid-range rockets in southern Lebanon on Thursday, after both sides accused each other of breaching a ceasefire that aims to halt over a year of fighting. Israel said it also opened fire …
Read More »Indian banks review Adani exposure after bribery allegations
30-11-2024 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: Indian banks are reviewing their Adani exposure and whether they need to tighten due diligence, eight bankers said on Thursday, after the group’s billionaire founder Gautam Adani was indicted by US authorities over an alleged $265 million bribery scheme. Adani Group’s listed stocks, which at …
Read More »Australia approves social media ban on under-16s
30-11-2024 Bureau Report CANBERRA: Australia will ban children under 16 from using social media, after its parliament approved the world’s strictest laws. The ban, which will not take effect for at least 12 months, could see tech companies fined up to A$50m ($32.5m; £25.7m) if they don’t comply. Prime Minister …
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