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06-01-2026 DAMASCUS: Syria is still facing numerous challenges a year after the toppling of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Among the key priorities for the new government is rebuilding its national army and security forces. For decades, Syria’s security apparatus and the military were considered by many as a brutal force to …

06-01-2026 DHAKA: Bangladesh will request the International Cricket Council (ICC) to shift its team’s T20 World Cup fixtures from India to Sri Lanka over concerns about its players’ safety, following the removal of a top Bangladeshi player from the Indian Premier League (IPL), a government official has said. Amid growing …

06-01-2026 GAZA STRIP: Crammed in a tiny tent at a United Nations-run school in central Gaza City, Alaa Alzanin, along with his wife, five children, his 71-year-old mother and younger sister, are taking shelter after they lost their home in Beit Hanoon during Israel’s war. They have been displaced eight …

05-01-2026 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: Shares of Indian tobacco companies slumped after the government imposed a new tax on cigarettes, making them costlier for an estimated 100 million smokers in the world’s most populous country. ITC, opens new tab, maker of Gold Flake and the market leader, fell 9.2%, while …

05-01-2026 TEHRAN: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed not to yield after US President Donald Trump threatened to come to the aid of protesters, as rights groups reported a sharp rise in arrests following days of unrest sparked by soaring inflation. Speaking in a recorded appearance on Saturday, Khamenei …

05-01-2026 SANA’A/ RIYADH: Yemen’s southern separatists welcomed on Saturday a call for dialogue by Saudi Arabia to end a recent military escalation, a potential sign that an unusually public confrontation between the kingdom and the United Arab Emirates may be easing. The fast-moving crisis in Yemen has opened a major …

05-01-2026 PARIS/ DAMASCUS: Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have joined French aircraft in a joint strike on an underground arms cache in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), the UK Ministry of Defence says. The facility, identified by intelligence, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the …

05-01-2026 WASHINGTON: Since coming down the escalator in 2015 to announce his first presidential run, Donald Trump has presented himself as a break from the traditional hawkish foreign policy in the United States. The US president has even criticized some of his political rivals as “warmongers” and “war hawks” but …

05-01-2026 RIYAZ: Saudi Arabia has called for Yemen’s southern factions to attend a “dialogue” in Riyadh, after deadly air strikes and a surprise independence bid by UAE-backed separatist militia. In a statement posted to social media early on Saturday, the Saudi foreign ministry urged “a comprehensive conference in Riyadh to …

05-01-2026 MOSCOW: Russia finished 2025 with what Ukraine described as an information operation designed to avoid engaging in peace talks and continue its war, despite suffering staggering casualties for meagre territorial gains this year. On 29 December, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Ukraine of attempting to assassinate Russian President …