International

17-12-2025 PARIS: France has urged the European Union to postpone a vote on a trade deal with the South American bloc Mercosur, saying conditions are not yet in place for an agreement. In a statement from Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s office on Sunday, Paris said that EU member states cannot …

16-12-2025 KYIV: More than a million households are without electricity in Ukraine after a barrage of overnight Russian strikes hit energy and industrial infrastructure, officials said. Ukraine’s internal affairs minister, Ihor Klymenko, said five regions were hit and at least five people were injured and work was under way to …

16-12-2025 Bureau Report NEW DELHI/ KOLKATA: Angry fans attending Lionel Messi’s tour of India ripped up seats and threw items towards the pitch after his appearance at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium. Thousands of adoring supporters had paid up to 12,000 rupees (£100; $133) to catch a glimpse of the football …

16-12-2025 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI/ PARIS: NEW DELHI: India and France have struck a deal to revise their 1992 treaty which will halve the tax on dividends paid by Indian units to French parents, potentially saving millions for companies with major operations in the South Asian nation, documents …

16-12-2025 UNITED NATIONS/ KHARTOUM: A drone attack has hit a United Nations facility in war-torn Sudan, killing six peacekeepers, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. The attack on Saturday hit the peacekeeping logistics base in the city of Kadugli, in the central region of Kordofan, Guterres said in a statement. Eight …

16-12-2025 WASHINGTON/ DAMASCUS: United States President Donald Trump has pledged to pursue “serious retaliation” against the armed group ISIL (ISIS) after an ambush in central Syria killed two US service members and one civilian interpreter, also from the US. The attack on US forces on Saturday was the first to …

16-12-2025 MINSK: Belarus has freed 123 prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski and leading opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova, in exchange for sanctions relief from the United States. John Coale, the US special envoy for Belarus, announced the lifting of sanctions on potash on Saturday after two days of …

16-12-2025 JERUSALEM/ GAZA STRIP: The Israeli military sets it has killed senior Hamas commander Raed Saad in a strike in Gaza City. The attack on Saturday killed five people and wounded at least 25, according to Gaza health authorities. Hamas in a statement did not confirm the death of Raed …

15-12-2025 Bureau Report + Agencies SYDNEY: New South Wales (NSW) Police say 11 people have been killed in a shooting at Bondi Beach targeting the Jewish community, with 29 taken to hospital – including a child. Eli Schlanger, a British-born rabbi, was among those killed in the attack, his family …

15-12-2025 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: India’s cabinet has approved sweeping changes to atomic energy laws and fully opened the insurance sector to foreign investors, two government sources said on Friday, key policy moves aimed at attracting billions of dollars in two critical sectors. India, which plans to expand nuclear power …