International

30-12-2023 CARACAS/ LONDON: Venezuela has ordered the armed forces to hold military exercises in response to the UK’s decision to send a warship to support neighboring Guyana. Military leaders said 5,600 soldiers would take part in “defensive” exercises on Venezuela’s eastern Caribbean and Atlantic coasts. Earlier this month, Venezuelan voters …

29-12-2023 KATHMANDU: A Yeti Airlines crash in Nepal that killed 72 people almost a year ago was caused by the pilot’s mistakenly cutting power leading to an aerodynamic stall, a report issued by a government-appointed investigation panel on Thursday said. The ATR 72, operated by privately owned Yeti Airlines, crashed …

29-12-2023 JERUSALEM: Israel’s military will act to remove Hezbollah from the border with Lebanon if its attacks continue, an Israeli minister has warned. Benny Gantz said the military would intervene if militants do not stop firing on northern Israel. Time for a diplomatic solution was running out, he added. Meanwhile, …

29-12-2023 WASHINGTON/ MADRID/ ROME: US President Joe Biden hoped to present a firm international response to Yemen’s Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping by launching a new maritime force, but a week after its launch many allies don’t want to be associated with it, publicly, or at all. Two of …

29-12-2023 Bureau Report + Agencies LONDON/ NEW DELHI: India’s government has used the highly invasive Pegasus spyware to target high-profile journalists, according to a new investigation by Amnesty International and The Washington Post. The findings, published on Thursday, noted India’s repeated use of Pegasus against journalists, including one who was …

29-12-2023 GENEVA: The United Nations on Thursday said the human rights situation in the occupied West Bank was rapidly deteriorating and urged Israel to “end unlawful killings” against the Palestinian population. A report released Thursday demanded an immediate end to the use of military weapons and means during law enforcement …

29-12-2023 SEOUL: North Korea leader Kim Jong Un has ordered his country’s military, munitions industry and nuclear weapons sector to accelerate war preparations to counter what he called unprecedented confrontational moves by the US, state media said on Thursday. Speaking on the policy directions for the new year at a …

29-12-2023 SEOUL: The Israeli embassy in South Korea has removed a video showing an imaginary scenario in which Koreans are attacked by masked assailants in Seoul, a reference to Hamas, Seoul’s foreign ministry said Thursday. The ministry said in a statement sent to media that the video was deemed “inappropriate” …

29-12-2023 MONROVIA: At least 40 people have died after a gas tanker exploded in northcentral Liberia, the country’s Chief Medical Officer Francis Kateh said on Wednesday. Late Tuesday, a fuel truck crashed in Totota, Lower Bong Country, about 130km (80 miles) from the capital, Monrovia after exploding, the blast killed …

28-12-2023 Bureau Report + Agencies PARIS/ MUMBAI: A plane carrying suspected victims of human trafficking was rerouted to India while on its way to Nicaragua after being detained in France. It has now landed in Mumbai. While no evidence of trafficking was found, the inquiry gave way to concerns of …