17-03-2025 BELGRADE: Hundreds of thousands of people descended on Serbia’s capital on Saturday to protest over the deaths of 15 people in a railway station collapse. While the government put attendance at 107,000 across Belgrade, an independent monitor said 325,000, if not more had gathered, making it Serbia’s largest protest …
Read More »A fashion show sparks a row in Kashmir
17-03-2025 Bureau Report NEW DELHI/ SRINAGAR: A fashion show held last week in a picturesque, snow-clad town in Indian-administered Kashmir has sparked a major controversy that is still simmering. The show, by the well-known fashion brand Shivan & Narresh, was held last Friday at a ski resort in Gulmarg to …
Read More »First mission to Mars will launch next year: Musk
17-03-2025 WASHINGTON: SpaceX founder Elon Musk has said his Starship rocket will head to Mars by the end of next year, as the company investigates several recent explosions in flight tests. Human landings could begin as early as 2029 if initial missions go well, though “2031 was more likely”, he …
Read More »BBC witnesses the battle for Khartoum
17-03-2025 KHARTOUM: The BBC has heard evidence of atrocities committed by retreating fighters in a battle raging for control of Sudan’s capital city Khartoum. The city has been held by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since the start of the country’s brutal civil war nearly two years ago but …
Read More »Trump blocked from using wartime law for deportations
16-03-2025 WASHINGTON: A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump from using a 227-year-old law meant to protect the US during wartime to carry out mass deportations of Venezuelans. Trump on Saturday proclaimed immigrants belonging to the Venezuelan crime gang Tren de Aragua were “conducting irregular warfare” against the US …
Read More »SpaceX rocket docks as astronauts prepare return after 9 months
16-03-2025 WASHINGTON: A SpaceX rocket carrying a new crew has docked at the International Space Station (ISS) as part of a plan to bring astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams home. The pair were due to be on the ISS for only eight days, but because of technical issues with …
Read More »UK PM’s ad hoc alliance could still struggle to materialize
16-03-2025 LONDON: UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer says a “huge amount” has happened since his “coalition of the willing” idea first surfaced at his Lancaster House summit a fortnight ago. He is not wrong; US-Ukrainian relations have been on a rollercoaster since then, culminating in the meeting in Riyadh …
Read More »Lawyers for detained Columbia student ask for his release
16-03-2025 NEW YORK: A Columbia University student detained over his pro-Palestinian activism is not a flight risk and should be allowed to return home for the birth of his first child, his lawyers argued in a motion for bail on Saturday. Mahmoud Khalil, a 30-year-old permanent US resident of Palestinian …
Read More »‘India’s 2036 Games bid a chance to boost infrastructure’
16-03-2025 Bureau Report NEW DELHI/ BENGALURU: India’s bid to host the 2036 Olympic Games is a massive opportunity to “turbo-charge” investment in its infrastructure but it must ensure the benefits are shared across local communities, a sports governance expert said. The world’s most populous nation has never hosted the Olympics, …
Read More »34 dead as tornadoes tear through southern US
16-03-2025 TOPEKA: At least 34 people have died in the US including 12 in Missouri alone after deadly tornadoes tore through several southeastern states, flipping cars and flattening homes. In Kansas, at least eight people died after more than 55 vehicles were involved in a crash due to a dust …
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