12-01-2023 VIENNA: “Terrorism” charges against an Austrian academic, Farid Hafez, have been dropped after documentary revealed the case was based on false evidence and fabricated accusations. In an interview, Hafez said he was relieved to be no longer living in “limbo” more than two years after officers barged into his …
Read More »Iraq’s ‘Arabian Gulf Cup’ name sparks anger in Iran
12-01-2023 TEHRAN/ BAGHDAD: Iran has summoned the ambassador of neighboring Iraq to protest against its use of the “Arabian Gulf Cup” name for a regional football tournament as part of a long-standing dispute over the waterway’s name. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Wednesday that Tehran had communicated its …
Read More »China warns Taiwan independence will be ‘punished’
12-01-2023 BEIJING/ TAIPEI: China has renewed its longstanding threat to attack Taiwan and warned that foreign politicians who interact with the self-governing island are “playing with fire”. A spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said on Wednesday that Beijing was recommitted in the New Year to “safeguarding sovereignty and territorial …
Read More »Crackdown on YouTubers in Yemen
12-01-2023 SANAA: The last upload on Ahmed Hajar’s YouTube channel, which has almost 250,000 subscribers and millions of views, was on December 22. On the same day, Hajar was dragged into a bus in broad daylight on a busy street in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa. Witnesses said armed individuals, believed …
Read More »India approves proposals for defence equipment over $500m
12-01-2023 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI: India’s government said on Tuesday it has approved three proposals worth Rs42.76 billion rupees ($523.03m) to purchase equipment for its army and navy. The country has long been building and modifying its conventional arsenal as a Sweden-based institute Stockholm International Peace Research Institute …
Read More »Tens of thousands evacuate California storms with 17 dead
12-01-2023 MONTECITO: Tens of thousands of people were under evacuation orders in California on Tuesday as the state was ravaged by the latest in a barrage of storms that have left at least 17 people dead. Torrential downpours caused flash flooding, closed key highways, toppled trees and swept away drivers …
Read More »Australian Cardinal acquitted of child sex abuse dead at 81
12-01-2023 ROME/ SYDNEY: Australian Cardinal George Pell, a leading Roman Catholic conservative and former top Vatican official who was acquitted in 2020 of sexual abuse accusations, died on Tuesday at the age of 81, his private secretary said. Fr. Joseph Hamilton told Reuters Pell died in a Rome hospital on …
Read More »This canine is the world’s most ‘intelligent dog’
11-01-2023 Brussels BRUSSELS: In a study of 13 different breeds, the Belgian malinois was discovered to be the most intelligent dog, reported Daily Mail. By giving 1,000 dogs three behavioral and seven cognitive tasks, researchers evaluated the canines. Tests included determining if the animals could navigate a transparent V-shaped barrier …
Read More »Rescuers who saved migrants go on trial in Greece
11-01-2023 ATHENS: A group of 24 volunteers have gone on trial on the Greek island of Lesbos more than four years after they were arrested for carrying out migrant rescue missions off Greece. Their case was denounced in a European Parliament report as Europe’s “largest case of criminalization of solidarity”. …
Read More »Myanmar jails 112 Rohingya who tried to leave country
11-01-2023 NAYPYIDAW: Myanmar has jailed 112 people, including 12 children, from the minority Rohingya after they were caught attempting to leave the country. The court in Bogale in the southern Ayeyarwady region of Myanmar sentenced the group on January 6, the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar reported on Tuesday, …
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