30-06-2024 WASHINGTON/ CANBERRA: Adding partners to the AUKUS defense project would be “complicated,” a senior Australian diplomat said on Friday, saying he did not believe the US Congress is open to expanding the pact involving Australia, the US and Britain. AUKUS was formed in 2021 to counterbalance China’s growing power. …
Read More »Kenya’s protesters plot next moves after dramatic tax win
30-06-2024 NAIROBI: After their stunning success in forcing the government to shelve $2.7 billion in tax hikes, young Kenyan activists are setting their sights higher, taking aim at ingrained corruption and mis-governance. Protesters say the finance bill that President William Ruto abandoned on Wednesday was only a symptom of the …
Read More »Mauritanians vote as President Ghazouani seeks re-election
30-06-2024 NOUAKCHOTT: Mauritanians voted on Saturday in a presidential election that incumbent Mohamed Ould Ghazouani is widely expected to win with a pledge to boost investment in the West African country as it prepares to start producing natural gas. Ghazouani, 67, a former top soldier, has promised investor-friendly policies to …
Read More »‘US has sent Israel thousands of bombs since Oct. 7’
30-06-2024 WASHINGTON/ JERUSALEM: The Biden administration has sent to Israel large numbers of munitions, including more than 10,000 highly destructive 2,000-pound bombs and thousands of Hellfire missiles, since the start of the war in Gaza, said two US officials briefed on an updated list of weapons shipments. Between the war’s …
Read More »India opposition asks Modi to question Foxconn hiring practices
30-06-2024 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI: India’s opposition Congress urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on Saturday to question Foxconn about its hiring practices after Reuters reported that the Apple supplier rejects married women from iPhone assembly jobs in the country. The government has sought a detailed report from …
Read More »Iran’s Presidential Election moves to run-off after low turnout
30-06-2024 TEHRAN: Iran will hold a run-off election after hardline candidate Saeed Jalili and rival Massoud Pezeshkian, who is seen as reformist, both failed to secure a majority in the presidential race. Candidates need to win 50% of the vote but the pair both hovered around the 40% mark with …
Read More »Clashes break out near German far-right conference
30-06-2024 BERLIN: Police and protesters have clashed outside the annual conference of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Tens of thousands of people opposed to the AfD gathered in the city of Essen, local media reported, with police drafted in from around the country in a bid to prevent …
Read More »Biden vows to fight on in first speech after Trump debate
30-06-2024 WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden has hit back at criticism over his age, telling supporters in a fiery speech that he will win re-election in November after a poor debate performance fueled concern about his candidacy. “I know I’m not a young man, to state the obvious,” he told …
Read More »French PM in final appeal to stop far-right victory
30-06-2024 PARIS: France’s lightning-quick election campaign is over, and despite last-ditch appeals not to back the far right, voters appear ready to hand the National Rally party a historic victory in parliamentary elections. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal warned it would unleash “impulses of hate and aggression” but the party of …
Read More »Liberal MP calls on Canadian PM to step down
30-06-2024 OTTAWA: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faced new pressure Friday over his leadership of the Liberal Party, with one MP and a former member of his cabinet calling on him to resign, while another MP said party members should be given a say on whether he stays. Catherine McKenna, who …
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