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01-04-2023 WASHINGTON: Former US President Donald Trump will be charged over hush money payments made to a porn star just before the 2016 presidential election. The details of the case against him have not yet been released. A grand jury has voted to indict him after investigating a $130,000 pay-out …

01-04-2023 DAMASCUS/ JERUSALEM: Israel has carried out an air attack near Damascus, Syrian state media reported, the second attack near the capital in the last two days. Witnesses told media that they heard at least three big explosions over the city overnight. Citing a military source, state media reported that …

01-04-2023 PYANGYONG/ SEOL: North Korea executes people for sharing South Korean media, religious activities and drugs as the country stifles its citizens’ human rights and freedom, according to a report by its rival South Korea. South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, based the 450-page report on testimony collected …

01-04-2023 KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s top court refused Friday to review its 2022 decision to uphold former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s conviction for graft and 12-year jail sentence, saying he was “the author of his own misfortune.” A five-member Federal Court bench unanimously rejected his final appeal in August in a …

01-04-2023 BERN: Four bankers who helped a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin move millions of francs through Swiss bank accounts have been convicted of failing to perform due diligence in financial transactions. The Swiss government found the group guilty of helping Sergei Roldugin, a concert cellist who has …

01-04-2023 LONDON/ CANBERRA: Plans by the United Kingdom to detain and deport asylum seekers who arrive on its shores by unauthorized means, such as in small boats, is a replica of Australia’s notorious Operation Sovereign Borders, activists, lawyers and refugees in Australia say. The UK’s proposed Illegal Migration Bill, they …

01-04-2023 HAGUE: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered the United States to pay compensation to Iranian companies after ruling that Washington had illegally allowed courts to freeze their assets. The United Nations’ top court, also known as the World Court, did not specify the exact amount in its …

01-04-2023 ISTANBUL: Turkey’s parliament has approved a bill to allow Finland to join NATO, clearing the last major hurdle for Helsinki to join the defence alliance as war rages in Ukraine. All 276 legislators present on Thursday voted in favor of Finland’s bid, days after Hungary’s parliament also endorsed Helsinki’s …

01-04-2023 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: On the fifth day of the holy month of Ramadan, Matiullah Wesa, an advocate for girls’ and women’s education in Afghanistan, went to a neighborhood mosque in Kabul for asr (evening) prayers. As the 30-year-old left the mosque with his younger …

01-04-2023 Bureau Report CANBERRA/ MELBOURNE: Australia has expressed “deep concerns” over delays in the case of a Chinese-Australian journalist who has been detained in China for more than two and half years on national security charges. Cheng Lei, a former television anchor with Chinese state-run TV channel CGTN, has not …