International

01-03-2025 VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis, who has been battling pneumonia for two weeks, is showing signs of improvement, the Vatican has said in a medical update. He will remain in hospital due to a complex clinical picture, the Vatican said on Friday morning. It added the 88-year-old had another “peaceful …

01-03-2025 LONDON: At least 25 arrests have been made during a worldwide operation against child abuse images generated by artificial intelligence (AI), the European Union’s law enforcement organization Europol has said. The suspects were part of a criminal group whose members engaged in distributing fully AI-generated images of minors, according …

01-03-2025 WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has said he has a “lot of respect” for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on the eve of their talks at the White House. Asked by media if he would apologize for recently calling him a “dictator”, he said he could not believe he had …

01-03-2025 WELLINGTON: The owners of a New Zealand volcano that erupted in 2019, killing 22 people, have had their conviction over the disaster thrown out by the country’s High Court. Whakaari Management Limited (WML) was found guilty in 2023 of failing to keep visitors safe and fined just over NZ$1m …

01-03-2025 MEXICO CITY: Mexico has extradited 29 alleged drug cartel members to the United States including high-profile gang leaders. Those extradited include notorious drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero who has been wanted by the US for the murder of an American agent 40 years ago. The move considered to be …

28-02-2025 TOKYO: The number of babies born in Japan fell to a record low of 720,988 in 2024 for a ninth consecutive year of decline, the health ministry said on Thursday, underscoring the rapid ageing and dwindling of the population. Births were down 5% on the year, despite a range …

28-02-2025 LONDON: Britain granted far fewer visas to foreign workers last year than in 2023 after the introduction of stricter policies for health and social care workers, but asylum claims hit a record high, official data showed on Thursday. For years immigration has been one of the most contentious political …

28-02-2025 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: The Indian government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking to cut the federal tax revenues that states receive, three sources with the direct knowledge of the matter said. The suggestion will be made to the constitutionally-appointed Finance Commission of India, which makes recommendations on …

28-02-2025 MOSCOW: Russia rules out any negotiations involving five Ukrainian regions annexed since its invasion despite not fully controlling four of them. Russian and US diplomats meet in Turkiye to resolve disputes over the work of their respective embassies. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been invited to a special EU …

28-02-2025 TEHRAN: Iranian authorities have again been cracking down on cryptocurrencies and online exchanges as the value of the national currency plummets in an economy in turmoil. Last month, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) suddenly stopped rial payments in all cryptocurrency exchanges, leaving more than 10 million crypto users …