03-01-2023 Bureau Report + Agencies MELBOURNE: Four people have died after a mid-air collision between two helicopters near Seaworld on Australia’s Gold Coast. Queensland Police say initial investigations suggest the crash happened as one aircraft was taking off and the other was landing. Those who died were travelling in the …
Read More »‘Party capital’ Dubai scraps 30% alcohol tax
03-01-2023 DUBAI: Dubai has scrapped its 30% alcohol tax in an apparent bid to boost tourism. It will also stop charging for personal alcohol licences, something residents who want to drink at home must have. Dubai has been relaxing laws for some time, allowing the sale of alcohol in daylight …
Read More »Ukraine claims hundreds of Russians killed in attack
03-01-2023 KYIV: Ukraine says around 400 Russian soldiers have died in a missile attack on the occupied Donetsk region. Russian officials have contested the figure, admitting to only 63 of their troops being killed in the blast. Neither claim has been verified. The attack hit a building in the city …
Read More »India’s top court upholds legality of 2016 currency ban
03-01-2023 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India has upheld the legality of the government’s decision in 2016 to demonetize 86 percent of the country’s cash in circulation, saying the decision was taken in consultation with the central bank and followed due process. A five-judge bench of the …
Read More »Lula sworn in as President of divided Brazil
02-01-2023 BRASILIA: Leftist leader Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva has pledged to “rebuild” Brazil “with the people” as he was sworn in as the new president of the fiercely polarized country for a historic third term. The inauguration ceremony in Congress began at 3pm (18:00 GMT) on Sunday under tightened …
Read More »‘Israeli raid shuts down Damascus airport’
02-01-2023 DAMASCUS/ JERUSALEM: Syria’s military says an Israeli air raid has killed at least two Syrian soldiers and put the country’s main international airport out of service. The air raid, which targeted the Damascus International Airport and its surroundings, took place at about 2am local time on Monday (23:00 GMT …
Read More »China’s top diplomat calls for ‘dialogue’ with US
02-01-2023 BEIJING/ SHANGHAI: China and the United States must pursue dialogue rather than confrontation and avoid the mistakes made during the Cold War, top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi said on Sunday in his first public comments since his appointment as head of the ruling Communist Party’s foreign affairs office. Wang …
Read More »Israel not bound by ‘despicable’ UN vote: Netanyahu
02-01-2023 JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday said a United Nations General Assembly vote asking the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to provide an opinion on Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories was “despicable.” “The Jewish people are not occupiers on their own land nor occupiers in our …
Read More »China accuses US of ‘slander, hype’ after aircraft clash
02-01-2023 BEIJING: China’s defence ministry has accused the United States of violating international law and of “slander and hype” following a confrontation between a Chinese fighter jet and an American reconnaissance plane over the contested waters of the South China Sea. The statement late on Saturday came days after the …
Read More »India, Pakistan exchange lists of nuclear facilities, prisoners
02-01-2023 Bureau Report ISLAMABAD/ NEW DELHI: Pakistan says it has handed a list of its nuclear installations and facilities to the Indian mission in Islamabad under a decades-old agreement between the two nuclear-armed rivals. Pakistan’s foreign office said in a statement on Sunday that India had simultaneously handed over a …
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