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10-02-2025 COLOMBO: An intruding monkey at a Sri Lankan electrical grid sub-station caused a general island-wide blackout on Sunday, government officials said. The power outage, which began around 11:30am (0600 GMT), had yet to be fully restored after three hours. “A monkey has come in contact with our grid transformer …

10-02-2025 BEIRUT: An Israeli air raid has killed six people and wounded two in eastern Lebanon amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that a drone targeted the Shaara area, near the town of Jennata, in the eastern Bekaa region on Saturday. The Israeli …

10-02-2025 Bureau Report NEW DELHI/ MUMBAI: India’s top opposition leader questioned the country’s main election body on Friday over what he said were suspect electoral rolls in the richest Indian state. Rahul Gandhi, the scion of India’s Congress party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s main opponent, alleged that more than 3.9 …

10-02-2025 WASHINGTON/ JERUSALEM: Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly gave Donald Trump a “golden pager” during their meeting in Washington DC this week, in an apparent reference to Israel’s deadly attack against Hezbollah in Lebanon last year. In photos circulating online, the golden pager can be seen mounted on a piece of wood, …

10-02-2025 TEHRAN: Iran has said it is ready to negotiate with the United States but not under the “maximum pressure” strategy by Donald Trump. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a statement on Saturday that “the lifting of sanctions requires negotiations, but not within the framework of a ‘maximum …

10-02-2025 JERUSALEM/ CAIRO/ GAZA: Hamas has freed three Israeli hostages in Gaza, while Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners in the latest exchange as part of an internationally brokered ceasefire deal. The three hostages Eli Sharabi, Ohad Ben Ami and Or Levy were handed over to the Red Cross on Saturday …

10-02-2025 WASHINGTON/ NEW YORK: A federal judge has blocked Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) from accessing the personal financial data of millions of Americans in Treasury Department records, according to court documents. US District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued a preliminary injunction on Saturday to prohibit access, ordering …

10-02-2025 KINSHASA: Leaders from east and southern Africa have called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire to end the deadly fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo. At a crisis summit in Tanzania, the Southern African Development Community and East African Community (EAC) blocs urged all warring parties to hold …

09-02-2025 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party will form the government in Indian capital Delhi for the first time in 27 years as it scripted an impressive election victory. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won or is leading in 48 seats in the 70-member legislative assembly, …

09-02-2025 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI/ SALEMPURA/ WASHIGTON: It took Daler Singh six months and $45,000 to reach the United States last month without paperwork. Within three weeks of his arrival, he was sent back to his native India on a military plane, his hands and legs cuffed throughout …