International

02-01-2023 BRASILIA: Leftist leader Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva has pledged to “rebuild” Brazil “with the people” as he was sworn in as the new president of the fiercely polarized country for a historic third term. The inauguration ceremony in Congress began at 3pm (18:00 GMT) on Sunday under tightened …

02-01-2023 DAMASCUS/ JERUSALEM: Syria’s military says an Israeli air raid has killed at least two Syrian soldiers and put the country’s main international airport out of service. The air raid, which targeted the Damascus International Airport and its surroundings, took place at about 2am local time on Monday (23:00 GMT …

02-01-2023 BEIJING/ SHANGHAI: China and the United States must pursue dialogue rather than confrontation and avoid the mistakes made during the Cold War, top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi said on Sunday in his first public comments since his appointment as head of the ruling Communist Party’s foreign affairs office. Wang …

02-01-2023 JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday said a United Nations General Assembly vote asking the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to provide an opinion on Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories was “despicable.” “The Jewish people are not occupiers on their own land nor occupiers in our …

02-01-2023 BEIJING: China’s defence ministry has accused the United States of violating international law and of “slander and hype” following a confrontation between a Chinese fighter jet and an American reconnaissance plane over the contested waters of the South China Sea. The statement late on Saturday came days after the …

02-01-2023 Bureau Report ISLAMABAD/ NEW DELHI: Pakistan says it has handed a list of its nuclear installations and facilities to the Indian mission in Islamabad under a decades-old agreement between the two nuclear-armed rivals. Pakistan’s foreign office said in a statement on Sunday that India had simultaneously handed over a …

02-01-2023 Bureau Report KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: An explosion outside the military airport in Kabul has caused multiple casualties, a spokesman for the Taliban-run interior ministry said. “Today morning an explosion took place outside Kabul military airport, due to which a number of our citizens were martyred and injured,” spokesman Abdul Nafi …

02-01-2023 CARACAS: Venezuela’s opposition has voted to dissolve its parallel government and remove its leader, Juan Guaido. The move comes four years after Guaido declared himself president following the re-election of Nicolas Maduro in disputed polls. He was recognized by many Western countries, including the US, but failed to oust …

02-01-2023 TEHRAN/ KABUL: In the wake of the Taliban’s move to suspend education for girls, Iran is ready to host Afghan girl university students, MP Mehdi Esmaeili has said. In line with philanthropic values, if the Afghan government does not reconsider its decision, the Islamic Republic of Iran will accept …

02-01-2023 ZAGREB: Croatia on Sunday switched to the euro and entered Europe’s passport-free zone, two major milestones for the country after joining the European Union nearly a decade ago. At midnight, the Balkan nation bid farewell to its kuna currency and became the 20th member of the eurozone. It is …