International

18-12-2022 TEHRAN: Iranian authorities arrested one of the country’s most famous actresses on charges of spreading falsehoods about nationwide protests that grip the country, state media said on Saturday. The report by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) said Taraneh Alidoosti, star of the Oscar-winning movie, The Salesman, was jailed …

18-12-2022 WASHINGTON/ NEW YORK: Elon Musk reinstated the Twitter accounts of several journalists that were suspended for a day over a controversy on publishing public data about the billionaire’s plane. The reinstatements came after the unprecedented suspensions evoked stinging criticism from government officials, advocacy groups and journalism organizations from several …

18-12-2022 LIMA: Authorities in Peru have held high-level talks to try to resolve a deepening political crisis triggered by the ousting of the former president. The Council of State, the body made up of representatives of all branches of power, and church leaders had a three-hour meeting in the capital, …

18-12-2022 Bureau Report + BBC NEW DELHI: On this day 10 years ago, a young woman was gang-raped and brutally assaulted on a bus in the Indian capital, Delhi. She died a few days later from her injuries. As she lay in a hospital bed, fighting for her life, the …

18-12-2022 WASHINGTON: The congressional inquiry into last year’s Capitol riot will reportedly recommend three criminal charges against former President Donald Trump. The House of Representatives select committee will seek an unprecedented charge of insurrection against a former US president, according to US media. The panel is expected to publish its …

18-12-2022 UNITED NATIONS: Oscar-winning US actress Angelina Jolie says she is stepping down from her role as an ambassador for the UN refugee agency UNHCR after more than 20 years. “I believe in many things the UN does, particularly the lives it saves through emergency relief,” Jolie, 47, said and …

18-12-2022 KYIV/ MOSCOW: Moldova has suspended the broadcast licenses of six television channels, accusing them of misinformation, inaccurate coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine, and “attempts to manipulate public opinion,” according to the authorities. Moldova’s Commission for Exceptional Situations, which was established after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, announced late on …

17-12-2022 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI/ CAMBRIDGE: A Sanskrit grammatical problem which has perplexed scholars since the 5th Century BC has been solved by a University of Cambridge PhD student. Rishi Rajpopat, 27, decoded a rule taught by Panini, a master of the ancient Sanskrit language who lived around …

17-12-2022 TOKYO: Japan has said it would begin a once-unthinkable $320bn military build-up that would arm it with missiles capable of striking China and ready it for a sustained conflict as regional tensions and Russia’s Ukraine invasion stoke war fears. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government worries that Russia has set …

17-12-2022 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report AUCKLAND/ MELBOURNE: After a nine-year ordeal in Australia’s immigration detention system, six refugees are preparing for a new life in New Zealand after being granted permanent residency. The six are among more than 4,000 people who travelled to Australia by boat to seek …