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21-09-2024 COLOMBO: Whoever Sri Lanka’s next president is, Muthuthevarkittan Manohari isn’t expecting much to change in her daily struggle to feed the four children and elderly mother with whom she lives in a dilapidated room in a tea estate. Both leading candidates in Saturday’s presidential election are promising to give …

21-09-2024 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI: A recent report, which details poor working conditions and rampant sexual harassment faced by women in Malayalam-language cinema, is causing seismic upheavals in the entertainment industry in India but the messages of solidarity and support have come largely from women and critics say …

21-09-2024 BRASILIA: Brazil has fined Elon Musk’s companies after some users in the country were able to briefly access the social media platform X, despite a ban imposed last month. Brazilian users swarmed the site on Wednesday after X updated how its servers within the country were accessed. The platform’s …

21-09-2024 PARIS: A team of student volunteers on an archaeological dig in northern France has had a surprise communication from the past. Sifting through the remains of a Gaulish village on cliff-tops near Dieppe on Monday, they uncovered an earthenware pot containing a small glass flask. “It was the kind …

21-09-2024 (Warning: This report contains graphic details) BERUIT: A Lebanese surgeon has described how the sheer volume of severe wounds from two days of exploding device attacks forced him to act “robotic” just to be able to keep working. Surgeon Elias Jaradeh said he treated women and children but most …

21-09-2024 BEIJING/ WUHAN: A team of scientists say it is “beyond reasonable doubt” the COVID pandemic started with infected animals sold at a market, rather than a laboratory leak. They were analyzing hundreds of samples collected from Wuhan, China, in January 2020. The results identify a shortlist of animals including …

20-09-2024 BERIUT: Hezbollah’s leader has said bomb attacks using thousands of the Lebanese armed group’s pagers and radios “crossed all red lines”, and accused Israel of what he said represented a declaration of war. In a much-anticipated speech, Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged Hezbollah had suffered an “unprecedented blow”, but he vowed …

20-09-2024 JERUSALEM: An Israeli citizen has been arrested on suspicion of being involved in a plot by Iran to assassinate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials, Israel’s security services say. Israeli police and domestic intelligence said the man was twice smuggled into Iran and received payment to carry …

20-09-2024 SRINAGAR: Voters have begun casting their ballots in regional elections in Indian-administered Kashmir. Kashmiris lined up outside polling stations on Wednesday morning to vote in a local government election for the first time since the disputed territory lost its semi-autonomous status in 2019. Nine million registered voters will choose …

20-09-2024 BEIJING: China has imposed sanctions on nine US defence firms over sales of military equipment to Taiwan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing announced the measures on Wednesday. The move comes as China continues to raise the pressure on Taiwan and demands that Washington end support for its …