International

18-02-2023 TEHRAN: Iran has seen its most widespread anti-government protests in weeks, after small crowds marched overnight in Tehran and a number of other cities. Videos showed people chanting “Woman, life, freedom” and “Death to Khamenei” – a reference to the Supreme Leader. It followed calls to mark the 40th …

18-02-2023 WELLINGTON: New Zealand’s prime minister says he expects there to be more deaths from a violent storm which killed eight people and cut off hundreds of communities. More than 4,500 people have yet to be contacted after Cyclone Gabrielle hit on Monday, causing significant flooding and landslides across the …

18-02-2023 BEIJING: China has declared a “decisive victory” over the COVID-19 pandemic, claiming the world’s lowest death rate, although experts have questioned Beijing’s data as the coronavirus surged across the country after largely being kept at bay for three years. The world’s most populated nation abruptly ended its zero-COVID policy …

18-02-2023 BEIJING/ MANILA: China has had an unusually busy and bizarre week. On Monday, as the saga over the alleged spy balloon dragged into its 11th day, a fresh spat erupted between Beijing and Manila. This one was over lasers. The Philippines accused China of using a “military grade” laser …

18-02-2023 WASHINGTON: Joe Biden, 80, remains healthy and “fit for duty”, the White House physician has said after the physical examination of the US president whose health has been in focus amid his expected run for a second term. “The president remains fit for duty and fully executes all of …

18-02-2023 DAMASCUS: In his first speech since the devastating earthquakes last week, Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad has thanked other Arab nations for aid and rescue efforts after years of broken relations. The giant quakes hit Turkey and Syria on February 6, killing nearly 44,000 people and injuring thousands more. “Amid …

18-02-2023 TAIPEI CITY: Taiwan says it has found the remnants of what appears to be a crashed Chinese weather balloon. Taiwan’s military said it had spotted an unidentified object drifting above Dongyin – a Taiwanese-controlled island off China’s coast – at 11:00 local time (03:00 GMT) on Thursday. It later …

18-02-2023 BOULDER, CO, USA: There is now less sea-ice surrounding the Antarctic continent than at any time since we began using satellites to measure it in the late 1970s. It is the southern hemisphere summer, when you’d expect less sea-ice, but this year is exceptional, according to the National Snow …

18-02-2023 COLOMBO: As far as many residents of Sri Lanka’s capital are concerned, the last thing their island nation needs in the midst of its worst-ever economic crisis is another beach, the island nation’s 1,340km coastline is blessed with some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Yet, Port …

18-02-2023 BEIJING: One of China’s most high-profile billionaire bankers has gone missing, his company has reported. Bao Fan, the chief executive of China Renaissance Holdings, had not been able to be reached in recent days, the firm said in a market update on Thursday. Bao is a leading deal broker …