International

11-03-2025 DAMASCUS: Syria’s interim leader has appealed for unity, as violence and revenge killings continued in areas loyal to ousted former leader Bashar al-Assad on Sunday. Hundreds of people have reportedly fled their homes in the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus strongholds of Assad support. Local residents have described …

10-03-2025 Bureau Report + Agencies DUBAI/ NEW DELHI: India won the Champions Trophy title on Sunday to confirm their status as the world’s premier white-ball side even though their latest achievement could well be branded with an asterisk. Skipper Rohit Sharma led by example as reigning Twenty20 World Champions India …

10-03-2025 BERLIN: German election winner Friedrich Merz’s conservatives and the Social Democrats (SPD) concluded preliminary talks on forming a coalition government on Saturday, promising to get tough on illegal migration, support industry and boost the economy. Chancellor-in-waiting Merz wants to form a coalition by Easter, which falls on April 20 …

10-03-2025 Bureau Report + Agencies SYDNEY: Hundreds of thousands of people in Australia’s Queensland state were without power on Sunday after ex-tropical cyclone Alfred brought damaging winds and heavy rains, sparking flood warnings. Some 316,540 people were without power in Queensland’s southeast where the Gold Coast city was the worst-hit …

10-03-2025 TEHRAN: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday that Iran will not be bullied into negotiations, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had sent a letter to the country’s top authority urging Tehran to negotiate a nuclear deal. In an interview with Fox Business, Trump …

10-03-2025 JERUSALEM/ CAIRO: Israel and Hamas signaled on Saturday they were preparing for the next phase of ceasefire negotiations, as mediators pushed ahead with talks to extend the fragile 42-day truce that began in January. Hamas said there were “positive indicators” for the start of the ceasefire’s second-phase talks but …

10-03-2025 UNITED NATIONS/ JUBA: South Sudan has seen an “alarming regression” as clashes in recent weeks in the country’s northeast threaten to undo years of progress towards peace, the United Nations commission on human rights for the country has warned. The statement on Saturday from Yasmin Sooka, chairperson of the …

10-03-2025 DAMASCUS: Syria’s interim government has sent reinforcements to coastal cities in the country’s northwest where security forces have been engaged in heavy battles with fighters loyal to former ruler Bashar al-Assad. The violence, which has reportedly killed hundreds of people, including many civilians, presents the most serious challenge yet …

10-03-2025 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI/ HAMPI, KARNATAKA: Two women were gang-raped and a man was killed in an attack near a popular UNESCO World Heritage site in southern India, according to police. The two women, an Israeli tourist and an Indian homestay operator were stargazing with three male …

10-03-2025 VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis, who has been battling pneumonia and bronchitis for more than three weeks, has shown a “good response” to treatment, the Vatican has said. “The clinical condition of the Holy Father in recent days has remained stable and, consequently, indicates a good response to the treatment,” …