International

08-03-2023 ANKARA: Turkey’s bickering opposition leaders ended months of fierce debate Monday and agreed to name the head of the main secular party as their joint candidate against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May 14 polls. A last-ditch deal aimed at averting a split of the opposition vote will see …

08-03-2023 UNITED NATIONS: The number of pregnant women and nursing mothers suffering from undernutrition has increased by 25% since 2020 in 12 countries at the epicenter of the world food crisis, the UN children’s agency warned Monday, stressing the impact it is having on children’s health. The UNICEF report, based …

08-03-2023 WASHINGTON: The United States said an investigation into the recent poisoning of school girls in protest-hit Iran could fall under the mandate of the United Nations. Several hundred cases of gas poisoning have been reported in more than 52 schools across Iran since the end of November, according to …

08-03-2023 RIYADH: Saudi Arabia said Monday it was depositing $5 billion in Turkey’s central bank, a potentially major boost as the country grapples with inflation and damage from last month’s earthquake ahead of presidential elections. Ahmed Al-Khateeb, the Saudi tourism minister and board chairman of the Saudi Fund for Development, …

08-03-2023 DOHA: Worn down by growing debt and a barrage of crises, leaders of the world’s poorest countries have stepped up calls for the rules governing handouts of billions of dollars to be rewritten. Western nations gave out more than $185 billion in grants and cheap loans in 2021, according …

07-03-2023 MOSCOW: The head of Russia’s Wagner private army has said it is not getting the ammunition it needs from Moscow, as it seeks to gain control of Bakhmut. Russian troops from Wagner and regular Russian forces are trying to seize the eastern city from Ukraine but Wagner boss Yevgeny …

07-03-2023 BAGHDAD: Christian politicians in Iraq are attempting to overturn legislation banning the import and sale of alcohol. Customs officials were given orders on Saturday to enforce the ban. It became law last month despite opposition. The group, which has five seats in Iraq’s parliament, filed a lawsuit saying it …

07-03-2023 DHAKA: Bangladesh authorities are investigating the cause of a massive fire in a Rohingya refugee camp which has left 12,000 people without shelter. No casualties have been reported, but the fire on Sunday razed 2,000 shelters after spreading quickly through gas cylinders in kitchens, officials said. Police are investigating …

07-03-2023 ISTANBUL: Songul Yucesoy carefully washes her dishes, soaping the plates and cutlery before rinsing off the bubbles and laying them out to dry. An unremarkable scene, except she’s outdoors, sitting in the shadow of her ruined house. It tilts at an alarming angle, the window frames are hanging out …

07-03-2023 KUALA LUMPUR: A cleanup is under way in parts of Malaysia after days of rain-triggered flooding forced thousands from their homes and killed at least four people. Nearly 50,000 people had been affected by the floods as of Monday morning at 8am (00:00 GMT), state news agency Bernama reported. …