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03-01-2026 KABUL: Heavy rains and snowfall in Afghanistan have ended a prolonged dry spell but triggered flash floods in several areas, killing at least 17 people and injuring 11 others, according to authorities. The dead included five members of a family in a property where the roof collapsed on Thursday …

03-01-2026 TOKYO: Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is among some 60 female lawmakers petitioning for more women’s toilets in the parliament building to match their growing representation in the legislature. A record 73 women were elected into the 465-seat Lower House in October 2024, exceeding the previous high of 54 …

03-01-2026 DHAKA/ NEW DELHI/ ISLAMABAD: On December 31, the final day of 2025, India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar did what India’s men, women’s and Under-19 cricket teams had only recently refused to do. He shook hands with a Pakistani representative in public. Jaishankar and Ayaz Sadiq, the speaker of Pakistan’s …

03-01-2026 KHARTOUM: On the outskirts of Kosti, a city in south-central Sudan that has transformed into a giant way station for the desperate, Aziza sits with her children on the open sandy ground. There are no walls to protect them, and no roof to shield them from the sun or …

02-01-2026 Bureau Report + Agencies DHAKA/ NEW DELHI: A Hindu businessman had a narrow escape after he was beaten, stabbed and set on fire by a mob in Bangladesh in the fourth such attack on the minority community in the past two weeks. The youth, identified as Khokan Chandra, escaped …

02-01-2026 ISTANBUL: Hundreds of thousands of people joined a New Year’s Day rally for Gaza in Istanbul on Thursday, waving Palestinian and Turkish flags and calling for an end to violence in the war-torn territory. Demonstrators gathered in near-freezing temperatures under cloudless blue skies to march to the city’s Galata …

02-01-2026 TEHRAN: At least six people have been killed as demonstrations over the soaring cost of living in Iran spread to more parts of the country. At least three people were killed and 17 others were injured at protests in the city of Azna in Lorestan province, some 300km (185 …

02-01-2026 WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump has dismissed concerns about his health in a new interview with The Wall Street Journal, despite scrutiny of his sometimes-drowsy appearance and the patches of makeup that have recently appeared on his hand. The interview appeared in Thursday’s edition of the newspaper. In …

02-01-2026 DUBAI: The UAE says it rejects accusations of support for southern separatists (STC) and that it is committed to Saudi security, but that it will withdraw its “counterterrorism” units in Yemen. This comes after Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, cancelled a joint defence deal with the …

01-01-2026 GAZA STRIP: The New Year has been welcomed with celebrations across the globe watch the highlights in 90 seconds In New York City, its famous ball dropped to cheers, while fireworks lit up the world’s tallest building in Dubai, and London enjoyed a thunderous 12-minute spectacular In the Antarctic, …