International

28-12-2022 BELGRADE: The Serbian army says it is at its “highest level of combat readiness” after weeks of escalating tensions between Serbia and Kosovo. President Aleksandar Vucic says he will “take all measures to protect our people and preserve Serbia”. The saber-rattling is louder than ever and follows media claims …

28-12-2022 SEOUL: South Korean officials have lifted an import ban on adult-sized sex dolls. The decision comes after years of debate over whether the government was interfering in people’s private lives. The revised guidelines allow adult-shaped dolls through customs, but child-like dolls resembling minors are still prohibited, the Korea Customs …

28-12-2022 TAIPEI CITY: Taiwan will extend mandatory military service from four months to one year, President Tsai Ing-wen has said. The decision comes amid growing tensions with China, which claims the self-ruled island as its territory. Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, President Tsai announced new plans to bolster …

27-12-2022 TEHRAN: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi decried the West and US’ hypocritical approach to the country, saying they demand to hold talks with Iran while trying to portray the Islamic Republic as weak. In an address at the funeral of 200 unidentified martyrs, held in Tehran on Tuesday, Raisi called …

27-12-2022 WASHINGTON: Winter storm this year in the United States is one of the deadliest in the country in the past three decades. The storm has left much of the eastern United States in a deep freeze and killed nearly 50 people. The nationwide toll of deaths related to the …

27-12-2022 TEHRAN: A hundred days after they began, the longest running anti-government protests in Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution have shaken the regime, but at a heavy cost to the people. More than 500 protesters, including 69 children, have been killed, according to the Human Rights Activists’ News Agency …

27-12-2022 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report ISLAMABAD/ KARACHI: The United States embassy in Islamabad has warned its staff of a possible attack on Americans at a top hotel as Pakistan’s capital is already on high alert two days after a suicide bombing. The US government has obtained information that …

27-12-2022 KATHMANDU: Nepal’s new government, led by a former Maoist rebel commander, will try to balance ties with its immediate neighbors China and India for the economic growth of one of the world’s poorest countries, officials of the ruling coalition told media. Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who still goes by his …

27-12-2022 BEIJING: The Chinese military has sent 71 planes and seven ships towards Taiwan, according to the Taiwanese defence ministry, marking the biggest daily incursion yet as Beijing protested against “collusion and provocation” by the self-ruled island and the United States. In a statement on Monday, the Taiwanese defence ministry …

27-12-2022 WASHINGTON: Busloads of migrants and refugees have been sent from Texas to Washington, DC and dropped off over the Christmas weekend near Vice President Kamala Harris’s residence, immigrant aid groups have said. The move may be part of a continued political effort by Republicans, such as Texas Governor Greg …