06-05-2026 TOKYO/ HO CHI MINH CITY: Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi says the country will boost ties with Vietnam, with a focus on energy and critical minerals. Takaichi met her Vietnamese counterpart, Le Minh Hung, on Saturday in Hanoi, where they signed six agreements on issues ranging from infrastructure to …
Read More »NATO seeks details of US troop withdrawal from Germany
06-05-2026 BRUSSELS: NATO says it is assessing the details of the United States’s decision to withdraw about 5,000 troops from Germany, a key partner in the Western security alliance, amid tensions over the war on Iran. In a statement on Saturday, NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said the bloc is “working …
Read More »Australia’s mice plague threatens food supply
05-05-2026 SYDENY: Multiple parts of Australia have been hit with large numbers of mice, with farmers being forced to either shoot the animals or burn damaged crops, according to multiple reports. According to 9 News, a number of videos posted to social media show massive swarms of mice along farmlands …
Read More »India antitrust body overstepping judicial authority: Apple
05-05-2026 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: Apple has accused India’s competition body of exceeding its powers by pushing the US tech company to submit its financials in an antitrust case related to the iPhone apps market, while Apple challenges the law governing penalties, documents show. An April 24 non-public Indian court …
Read More »Syria relies on Russia’s oil despite pivot to the West
05-05-2026 DAMASCUS/ BANIYAS: Russia has emerged as the main supplier of oil to Syria, Reuters reporting shows, despite the new government’s alignment with the West and widespread distrust of Moscow over its military support for fallen leader Bashar al-Assad. Oil shipments from Russia have jumped 75% to about 60,000 barrels …
Read More »WHO prequalifies world’s first antimalarial drug for newborns
05-05-2026 GENEVA: The first malaria treatment for babies has been approved by the World Health Organization, opening the door to widespread use around the globe. In parts of Africa, up to 18% of children under six months will be infected with malaria but there has historically been no safe treatment …
Read More »US withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany
05-05-2026 BERLIN/ WASHINGTON: The US is withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany, the Pentagon announced, as Donald Trump also threatened Italy and Spain for not helping to reopen the strait of Hormuz. The president’s move to reduce the number of personnel deployed in Germany came after the country’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, …
Read More »Soaring fuel prices in Pakistan threaten severe crises
05-05-2026 By SJA Jafri ISLAMABAD/ KARACHI: The most serious fuel price shock to hit Pakistan in more than half a century threatens to unleash a flood of cascading crises that could batter all aspects of the economy and undermine the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Earlier this week, Sharif …
Read More »‘61% Americans believe attacking Iran was a mistake’
05-05-2026 WASHINGTON: A new poll has found that a large majority of people in the United States believe that the decision to take military action against Iran was a mistake, as the war roils the global economy and fuels cost-of-living concerns in the US. A Washington Post-ABC-Ipsos poll released on …
Read More »Greek Churches decry attack by Jewish settlers on Christians
04-05-2026 ATHENS: The head of a Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem has condemned a brutal attack on a nun in the city earlier in the week and warned of growing concerns over the future for Christians living in the Holy Land. Archbishop Atallah Hanna said on Facebook that “the attack …
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