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01-01-2023 VATICAN CITY/ LONDON/ PARIS/ NEW YORK: World leaders are mourning the passing of former Pope Benedict XVI, praising his “devotion to the Church”. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died on Saturday morning in the Mater Ecclesia Monastery in the Vatican. Benedict was the first pope in 600 years to resign …

01-01-2023 RAMALLAH/ GAZA: The United Nations General Assembly has passed a resolution calling on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to give an opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territories. The General Assembly voted 87 to 26 with 53 abstentions on the resolution, with Western …

01-01-2023 WELLINGTON/ MELBOURNE/ LONDON/ PARIS/ NEWYORK: New Year celebrations are in full flow in many parts of the world where 2023 has already arrived. The Pacific nation of Kiribati was the first to welcome in the New Year, followed by New Zealand an hour later – and thousands gathered in …

31-12-2022 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI/ TASHKENT: India has suspended production at a pharmaceutical company based near New Delhi whose cough syrup was linked to the death of 19 children in Uzbekistan, India’s health minister said on Friday. Uzbekistan said this week that at least 18 children had died …

31-12-2022 Bureau Report + Agencies LONDON/ KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: A former Afghan woman MP who fled to Britain after the Taliban takeover in 2021 on Thursday called on the world to hold the Taliban accountable for its attempt to erase women from public life. Fawzia Koofi, a former vice-president of the …

31-12-2022 Bureau Report CANBERRA/ MELBOURNE: The Australian Attorney-General’s Department has approved a request to extradite a former US Marine Corps fighter pilot to the United States where he faces charges of breaking US arms control laws by engaging in the training of Chinese pilots. Arrested in Australia in October, Daniel …

31-12-2022 WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden has said he looks forward to working with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, ignoring concerns about the inclusion of far-right Israeli politicians accused of racism in the new cabinet. Biden called Netanyahu his “friend for decades” in a statement on Thursday, saying that …

31-12-2022 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI: India has launched an investigation into the death of 18 children in Uzbekistan after they consumed an Indian-manufactured cough syrup, as one of the world’s biggest drug exporters faces increasing scrutiny over the quality of medicines it produces. In a statement on Thursday, …

31-12-2022 BRASILIA: Football fans were united in mourning on Thursday after the death of Pele at the age of 82, with tributes pouring in for the Brazil great who defined his sport and inspired generations. Brazil’s government declared three days of mourning and the arch at football’s cathedral, Wembley Stadium, …

31-12-2022 WASHINGTON: A Chinese military plane came within 10 feet (3 metres) of a US air force aircraft in the contested South China Sea last week and forced it to take evasive manoeuvres to avoid a collision in international airspace, the US military said on Thursday. The close encounter followed …