06-09-2025 BEIJING: When Chinese leader Xi Jinping organized his first parade to mark the anniversary of the end of World War Two, in 2015, he placed his two predecessors by his side in a show of respect and continuity of leadership. Ten years on and having eliminated domestic opposition as …
Read More »Heavy rains causes fresh flooding in India & Pakistan
06-09-2025 Bureau Report NEW DELHI/ ISLAMABAD: Heavy rain in the Himalayas continued to lash northern India and neighboring Pakistan on Thursday with flooding of homes and highways worsening as major rivers overflowed. Although weather officials in India forecast some respite from downpours later in the day, Pakistan has warned that …
Read More »Trump to rebrand Pentagon as Department of War
06-09-2025 WASHINGTON: Donald Trump is to rebrand the US Department of Defense as the “Department of War”, according to the White House. The president will today sign an executive order allowing it to be used as a secondary title for the US government’s biggest organization It also means defence secretary …
Read More »Third quake strikes Afghanistan as deaths rise
06-09-2025 KABUL: A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck Afghanistan’s remote south-eastern region on Thursday night, the third quake in six days, as the death toll from the first continued to rise. The shallow quake hit at 20:56 local time (15:36 GMT) and sent people in Nangarhar and Kunar provinces scampering out …
Read More »Ebola outbreak kills dozens in DR Congo
06-09-2025 BRAZZAVILLE: Dozens people have died in a new outbreak of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the country’s health ministry has said. The presence of the virus had been confirmed in a 34-year-old pregnant woman who was admitted to hospital last month after showing symptoms that …
Read More »Moscow rejects Western security guarantees for Ukraine
06-09-2025 MOSCOW/ PARIS: The Kremlin has rejected any situation where foreign troops would be stationed in Ukraine to provide security guarantees, according to Russian state media. It follows a pledge by Emmanuel Macron that 26 Western allies had formally committed to deploying troops “by land, sea or air” to Ukraine …
Read More »Sudanese journalist returns to newsrooms decimated by war
05-09-2025 KHARTOUM: When journalist Shamael Elnoor left Sudan at the outbreak of war in 2023, Sudanese newspapers were already suffering under an economic crisis and the worldwide shift to digital news. Then the fighting brought presses to an immediate standstill, leaving busy newsrooms in Khartoum empty and ransacked. “Since the …
Read More »India’s higher tax threatens setback for global fashion brands
05-09-2025 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: India’s overhaul of consumer tax stands to make everything from soaps to luxury SUVs cheaper but global fashion brands such as Zara, Levi Strauss, opens new tab and Lacoste have been spooked by higher levies on all apparel priced at more than $29. The premium …
Read More »North Korea’s Kim vows full support for Russia
05-09-2025 PYONGYANG/ SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country would “fully support” Russia’s army as a “fraternal duty”, and Russian President Vladimir Putin called the two countries’ ties “special”, state media KCNA reported on Thursday. Kim and Putin held a meeting on Wednesday on the sidelines of …
Read More »Nepal moves to block Facebook, X & YouTube
05-09-2025 KATHMANDU: Nepal’s government has said it will shut off access to major social media platforms, including Facebook and X, after they failed to comply with authorities’ registration requirements. The move, announced on Thursday, is part of what the government says is an effort to curb online hate, rumors and …
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