22-01-2023 Bureau Report SYDNEY: Several popular beaches in Sydney have been closed after sharks attacked a dolphin in waters near the city. At least two bull sharks were spotted in the Shelly Beach area, in northern Sydney, after the attack and authorities closed all nearby beaches as a precaution. The …
Read More »Macron proposes big rise in French defence budget
22-01-202 MONT-DE-MARSAN: France will boost military spending by more than a third in coming years, President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday, as he unveiled ambitions to transform the French army to deal with the great “perils” of this century. Acknowledging the end of the “peace dividend” of the post-Cold War …
Read More »Chris Hipkins set to replace Jacinda Ardern as NZ PM
22-01-2023 WELLINGTON: Chris Hipkins, who played a significant role in New Zealand’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, is set to replace Jacinda Ardern as prime minister after emerging on Saturday as the only candidate to lead the ruling Labour Party. Hipkins, 44, is expected to be confirmed as the new …
Read More »India orders YouTube to remove Modi’s BBC documentary
22-01-2023 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: India’s government has allegedly ordered Twitter and YouTube to remove links to a BBC documentary about the 2002 Gujarat riots and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reported local Indian media. On the microblogging and video-sharing networks, several tweets and YouTube videos from the documentary “India: The …
Read More »60 women & children freed in Burkina Faso after kidnapping
OUAGADOUGOU: Sixty-six women and children kidnapped by armed assailants in northern Burkina Faso last week have been freed, national broadcaster Radiodiffusion Television du Burkina (RTP) said on Friday. The mass kidnapping was unprecedented in Burkina Faso, which is facing a violent terrorist insurgency that spread from neighboring Mali in 2015. …
Read More »Turkey cancels Sweden visit over planned protest
22-01-2023 ISTANBUL: Turkey on Saturday called off a visit by Sweden’s defence minister over a planned demonstration by right-wing activists in Stockholm. Turkey has been angered by permission obtained by Rasmus Paludan, a Swedish-Danish politician whose anti-Islam actions sparked riots across Sweden last year, to stage a protest in front …
Read More »Canada unveils goal to support domestic rocket launches
22-01-2023 WASHINGTON: Canada on Friday announced a multi-year plan to support the first privately built rocket launches in the country and develop new launch regulations, as global demand for space-based services soars. The goal, presented at the Canadian Space Agency’s headquarters by transportation minister Omar Alghabra, is aimed at significantly …
Read More »13,000 new COVID-related deaths during 7 days in China
22-01-2023 BEIJING: China reported almost 13,000 deaths related to COVID-19 in hospitals between January 13 and 19, adding to the nearly 60,000 in the month or so before that, as its experts say the wave of infections across the country has already peaked. The death toll update, from China’s Center …
Read More »BBC film on Modi’s role in Gujarat riots ‘propaganda’: India
21-01-2023 Bureau Report NEW DELHI/ LONDON: India’s foreign ministry has dismissed as “propaganda” a BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi that questions his leadership during the deadly 2002 Gujarat riots. Modi was the chief minister of the western state of Gujarat when it was gripped by communal riots that …
Read More »Gender debate divides United Kingdom
21-01-2023 LONDON: What is a Woman? Wasn’t this question already settled? Didn’t the fight for women’s equality end with protections being enshrined in law, in the case of the UK, in the 2010 Equality Act that covers women’s sex-based protections? Apparently not. This week, the UK has witnessed an explosion …
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