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27-01-2022 DAMASCUS: Kurdish-led forces in Syria say another 250 militants have surrendered as they work to clear the last part of a prison seized by the Daesh (Islamic State/ IS) group. At least 300 handed themselves in on Monday as Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commandos moved into the facility in …

27-01-2022 TEHRAN: Following a period of relative calm, Iran is once again experiencing an alarming rise in the number of COVID-19 infections, fuelled by the spread of the Omicron variant across the country. After 47 days, the country’s colour-coded COVID-19 map saw a spot of red again on Wednesday as …

27-01-2022 WASHINGTON/ MOSCOW: Western leaders have stepped up preparations for any Russian military action in Ukraine, with the United States focusing on how to protect energy supplies and US President Joe Biden saying he would consider imposing direct sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin. Tensions remained high after NATO said …

26-01-2022 FLORIDA: Rescuers from the United States Coast Guard are searching the waters off Florida’s Atlantic coast for 39 people reported missing for several days after a boat believed to be used for human smuggling capsized. A Good Samaritan alerted the Coast Guard early on Tuesday after rescuing a man …

26-01-2022 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report CANBERRA/ MELBOURNE: Thousands of people are gathering in ‘Invasion Day’ rallies across the country, in protest of Australia’s national holiday. Crowds have taken to the streets of capital cities across Australia, asking for the date of Australia Day to be changed. Many First …

26-01-2022 Bureau Report BEIJING/ SRINAGAR/ NEW DELHI: China is building a bridge across the Pangong Lake in the frontier region of Ladakh in Indian-administered Kashmir, raising fresh security concerns in India. The 400-metre-long and 8-metre-wide bridge being constructed near the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de facto border between …

26-01-2022 GENEVA: The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Monday that it was dangerous to assume the Omicron variant would herald the end of COVID-19’s acutest phase, exhorting nations to stay focused to beat the pandemic. “It’s dangerous to assume that Omicron will be the last variant …

26-01-2022 LONDON: A young Pakistani entrepreneur has become the first in Britain to start a “Chai Ada” café which accepts multiple cryptocurrencies as a form of payment. Tayyab Shafiq, 26, has established the Chai Ada coffee shop outside Westfield in Shepherds Bush, West London, to sell a variety of Pakistani …

26-01-2022 TEHRAN/ PARIS: A French tourist has been jailed for eight years for spying by a court in Iran, his lawyer in Paris has said. Benjamin Briere, 36, was arrested in May 2020 after flying a drone near the Iran-Turkmenistan border. The lawyer, Philippe Valent, said his client “did not …

25-01-2022 PYONGYANG/ UNITED NATIONS: North Korea has fired what appeared to be two cruise missiles into the sea off its east coast, Yonhap news reported, citing military sources, following a series of banned ballistic missile tests earlier this month. South Korea’s military is assessing Tuesday’s launches to determine the nature …