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15-01-2025 Bureau Report SYDNEY: When Racheal Clayton was attending primary school in Sydney, Australia at the height of the 2007-2009 Global Financial Crisis, the Australian economy was the envy of governments around the world. Unlike every other major developed economy, Australia emerged from the worst economic downturn since the Great …

15-01-2025 DOHA/ JERUSALEM: Talks are resuming in Doha on a deal for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages, as key mediator Qatar says an agreement is “very close”. A Palestinian official familiar with the negotiations tells media that, for the first time in the war, delegations …

15-01-2025 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI/ PRAYAGRAJ: Tens of thousands of naked Hindu ascetics and millions of pilgrims took dips in freezing water at the confluence of sacred rivers in northern India on Tuesday, in the first of a series of major baths in the Maha Kumbh festival, the …

15-01-2025 MADRID: Spain is planning to impose a tax of up to 100% on the value of properties bought by non-residents from countries outside the EU, such as the UK. Announcing the move, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the “unprecedented” measure was necessary to meet the country’s housing emergency. “The …

15-01-2025 PRETORIA: Disturbing videos have emerged showing the dire situation at a disused gold mine in South Africa where scores of illegal miners have reportedly been living underground for months. They have been there since police operations targeting illicit mining started last year across the country. In one of the …

14-01-2025 ABUJA: Over 40 Shia farmers have been killed in an attack by armed groups in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno State, according to government officials. Fighters from the Boko Haram group and ISIL (ISIS) affiliate in West Africa Province (ISWAP) were suspected of carrying out the attack, Borno State Governor Babagana …

14-01-2025 ISLAMABAD/ KABUL/ NEW DELHI: When the Taliban took over Kabul in August 2021, then-Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan famously said the Afghan group had “broken the shackles of slavery” as they returned to power for the first time since 2001. Taliban’s ascension was seen as a boost to …

14-01-2025 BEIJING: China’s exports hit a record high in 2024, state media has reported, a welcome boost for the world’s second-largest economy as United States President-elect Donald Trump’s promised tariffs threaten to dampen growth. Exports rose 10.7 percent year-on-year, customs data showed on Monday, comfortably beating economists’ forecasts. Imports, which …

14-01-2025 TEHRAN/ BERLIN: Iran has released a dual German national as its diplomats held more consultations with European counterparts on sanctions and how to manage ramped-up tensions. Iranian-German rights activist Nahid Taghavi was released from prison in Iran and is back in Germany, according to her daughter Mariam Claren, who …

14-01-2025 CARACAS: The Venezuelan government has petitioned the International Criminal Police Organization, known as Interpol, to seek the arrest of leading opposition figure abroad. Attorney General Tarek Saab announced on Monday that his office has requested an arrest warrant for Leopoldo Lopez, a former mayor and leader of the Voluntad …