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24-12-2024 WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump has demanded Panama reduce fees on the Panama Canal or return it to US control, accusing the central American country of charging “exorbitant prices” to American shipping and naval vessels. “The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, highly unfair,” he told a crowd of …

24-12-2024 GAZA STRIP: At least 28 people, including children, have died in a wave of Israeli military strikes throughout the Gaza Strip, according to Gaza’s civil defence agency. A school sheltering displaced families was among the facilities struck, killing eight people including four children over the weekend, the agency said. …

24-12-2024 ROME: Rome’s world-famous Trevi Fountain has re-opened after a three-month restoration. Built in the 18th Century by Italian architect Nicola Salvi on the façade of the Poli Palace, the historic fountain is one of the city’s most visited spots. Between 10,000 and 12,000 tourists used to visit the Trevi …

24-12-2024 MAPUTO: Cyclone Chido has killed 94 people in Mozambique since it made landfall in the east African country last week, local authorities have said. The country’s National Institute of Risk and Disaster Management (INGD) said 768 people were injured and more than 622,000 people affected by the natural disaster …

23-12-2024 Bureau Report ISLAMABAD: Chinese enterprise ADM Group has announced an investment of $350 million in Pakistan’s electric vehicle (EV) sector, Pakistani state media reported on Saturday. As part of the initiative, the Chinese firm will establish more than 3,000 electric vehicle charging stations across the South Asian country, the …

23-12-2024 DAMASCUS: Syria’s new rulers have appointed Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency which toppled Bashar al-Assad, as defence minister in the interim government, an official source said on Saturday. Abu Qasra, who is also known by the nom de guerre Abu Hassan 600, is a senior …

23-12-2024 LONDON: Britain named Labour Party grandee Peter Mandelson as its ambassador to the United States on Friday, seeking to woo Donald Trump’s administration, avoid a trade war and ensure the countries remain aligned over Ukraine. A former European commissioner for trade and a key figure in Labour’s success under …

23-12-2024 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI/ IMPHAL: Indian militant groups that took refuge in Myanmar and fought in its civil war have been streaming back across the border to Manipur state this year, Indian security officers said, inflaming the bitter 19-month ethnic conflict there with weapons and battle-hardened cadres. …

23-12-2024 VATICAN CITY/ ISTANBUL: Pope Francis on Saturday condemned the recent Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, expressing sorrow over the bombing of children in the Gaza Strip the previous day. “Yesterday, children were bombed. This is not war. This is cruelty. I want to say this because it touches my heart,” …

23-12-2024 GENEVA/ KHARTOUM: More than 700 people have been killed in al-Fashir in Sudan’s North Darfur state since May, the UN human rights chief said on Friday, imploring the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces to halt a siege of the city. The siege and “the relentless fighting are devastating lives every …