International

15-03-2025 KINSHASA: Southern African leaders have announced they will pull their troops out of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where they have been helping the government fight rebel forces. The troops were sent two years ago to support the Congolese army fight the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels, which has seized control …

15-03-2025 WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has threatened a 200% tariff on any alcohol coming to the US from the European Union (EU) in the latest twist of an escalating trade war. The threat is a response to the EU’s plans for a 50% tax on imports of US-produced whiskey …

15-03-2025 WASHINGTON: Russian President Vladimir Putin said he agreed with the idea of a ceasefire in Ukraine, but that “questions” remained about the nature of a truce as he set out a number of tough conditions. The Russian president was responding to a plan for a 30-day ceasefire, which Ukraine …

15-03-2025 DAMASCUS: Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has signed a constitutional declaration covering a five-year transitional period, three months after his Islamist group led the rebel offensive that overthrew Bashar al-Assad. The document says Islam is the religion of the president, as the previous constitution did, and Islamic jurisprudence is …

14-03-2025 MOSCOW: The Kremlin said on Wednesday it was awaiting details from Washington about a proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine before responding, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hoped a deal would be struck within days. As Moscow considered the plan, President Vladimir Putin visited Russia’s Kursk …

14-03-2025 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI: Apple has successfully blocked its opponents in India, Tinder-owner Match, opens new tab and a group of startups, from accessing its commercially sensitive information which was part of antitrust findings against the US firm, a confidential order shows. An investigation by the Competition …

14-03-2025 LUANDA/ BRAZZAVILLE/ KIGALI: The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels will hold talks next week, mediator Angola has announced. A statement from President Joao Lourenco’s office on Wednesday said the two parties would begin “direct peace negotiations” in the Angolan capital Luanda …

14-03-2025 NEW YORK: Hundreds of people have rallied outside a New York City courtroom to demand the release of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, whose arrest over the weekend sparked condemnation and fears of a crackdown on free speech in the United States. The demonstrators gathered on Wednesday outside Manhattan’s federal …

14-03-2025 TEHRAN: Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has rejected the idea of negotiations with the US over its nuclear program, as Tehran confirmed receiving a letter from President Donald Trump. Last week, Trump said the letter proposed talks on a deal that would prevent Iran acquiring nuclear weapons and …

14-03-2025 MARSEILLE: Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a 71-year-old former mafia boss on a motorway near Grenoble in south-eastern France. Jean-Pierre Maldera, described by French media as a “godfather” of the local mafia in the 1980s, was reportedly chased in his car and shot as he travelled up …