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05-01-2023 COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has announced its first nationwide elections since its president fled and resigned in the face of widespread protests, in what will be a test of popularity for his successor. Local government polls will be held before the end of February, officials said on Wednesday, after they …

05-01-2023 SEOUL: South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Wednesday he would consider suspending a 2018 inter-Korean military pact if the North violates its airspace again, his office said, amid tension over a recent intrusion by North Korean drones. Yoon made the comment after being briefed on countermeasures to North …

05-01-2023 WASHINGTON: For the first time in nearly a century, the United States House of Representatives has failed to elect a speaker in the first rounds of voting, as Republican Kevin McCarthy fell short of securing a majority in the chamber to succeed Democrat Nancy Pelosi. McCarthy was not able …

05-01-2023 BOGOTA: A leftist rebel group in Colombia, the National Liberation Army (ELN), says it is not part of a ceasefire with the government that had been announced by the president. On New Year’s Eve, President Gustavo Petro made a bold pronouncement on Twitter: Five of the country’s illegal armed …

05-01-2023 LONDON: Britain will officially declare Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, which has arrested seven people with links to the United Kingdom over anti-government protests, as a terrorist group, the Telegraph reported on Monday, citing sources. The move, which will be announced within weeks, is supported by Britain’s security minister, Tom Tugendhat, …

04-01-2023 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report ISLAMABAD/ KABUL: Pakistan’s defence minister has alleged that Afghanistan’s soil is being used by armed groups to launch attacks on his country, prompting a sharp response from Taliban government in Kabul which called the allegation “incorrect” and “regrettable”. “We have spoken to Afghanistan …

04-01-2023 Bureau Report + BBC NEW DELHI: The gruesome death of a 20-year-old woman in India’s capital Delhi on 1 January has shocked the country. News reports say the woman, who was an event manager, was returning from work in the early hours of New Year’s Day when her scooter …

04-01-2023 NEW YORK: As the United States struggles with persistent inflation, imprisoned people have reported rising prices for essential items they can ill afford on wages that are often less than a dollar a day. “The prices have increased dramatically,” Dortell Williams, a man imprisoned at Chuckawalla State Prison in …

04-01-2023 PARIS: France’s version of the Oscars has announced it will ban anyone facing a potential prison sentence for sexual assault from its 2023 ceremony. The César Awards, due to be held next month said it was acting out of respect for any possible victims. It means the ceremony will …

04-01-2023 MOSCOW/ KYIV: Russian nationalists and some lawmakers have demanded punishment for commanders they accused of ignoring dangers as anger grew over the killing of dozens of Russian soldiers in one of the Ukraine war’s deadliest strikes. In a rare disclosure, Russia’s defence ministry said 63 soldiers were killed on …