09 December, 2019 By SJA Jafri WELLINGTON/ MELBOURNE: A volcano has erupted in New Zealand with 100 people in the vicinity – leaving some unaccounted for, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said. Tourists were seen walking inside the rim of the White Island crater just moments before the eruption. The …

By SJA Jafri + Agencies NEW DELHI: A large fire has swept through a bag factory in the Indian capital Delhi, killing 46 workers, officials said. The blaze broke out at the four-storey building in the city’s congested old quarter early on Sunday morning. At least 100 people were sleeping …

07 December, 2019 By SJA Jafri BAGHDAD/ MELBOURNE: Iraqi officials have raised Friday’s death toll to at least 20 after a bloody night of attacks by unidentified gunmen that targeted anti-government demonstrators near the main protest camp in Baghdad. More than 130 others were also wounded by gunfire and stabbings near Tahrir …

06 December, 2019 By SJA Jafri HYDERABAD DECCAN/ MELBOURNE: Indian police have shot dead four men suspected of raping and killing a young female vet in Hyderabad last week. The men were in police detention and were taken back to the scene of the crime in the early hours of …

06 December, 2019 By SJA Jafri NEW YORK/ MELBOURNE: Muhammad has, for the first time, broken into the top 10 names for baby boys the United States, according to data recently released by a parenting firm that tracks the information. Muhammad had long climbed in BabyCenter’s annual list, and its …

05 December, 2019 By SJA Jafri + Agencies NOUAKCHOTT/ MELBOURNE: At least 58 people, including women and children, were killed after a boat carrying dozens of migrants capsized in the Atlantic Ocean off the West African nation of Mauritania, the United Nations’ migration agency said on Wednesday. The perilous sea passage …

04 December, 2019 By SJA Jafri + Agencies BEIJING/ WASHINGTON/ MELBOURNE: China reacted angrily after the US House of Representatives passed a bill requiring the Trump administration to toughen its response to Xinjiang, where the more than one million Muslims, mostly ethnic Uighurs, are being held in “re-education” camps. In a …

04 December, 2019 By SJA Jafri + TNA WASHINGTON/ TEHRAN/ MELBOURNE: US House Democrats accused Donald Trump of abusing his office for political gain and trying to obstruct the Ukrainegate investigation, in a highly anticipated report that paves the way for articles of impeachment and a trial in the Senate. …

04 December, 2019 By SJA Jafri + Agencies CANBERRA/ MELBOURNE: Australia has repealed a medical evacuation law for asylum seekers and refugees detained in its so-called offshore processing centres in Papua New Guinea and Nauru citing concerns about security, and triggering an angry response from opposition politicians and refugee advocates. With the upper …

03 December, 2019 By SJA Jafri SANA’A/ MELBOURNE: Amnesty International says more than four million people living with disabilities in Yemen lack access to basic care. The rights group says disabled people are most at risk because of the war between Houthi rebels and the UN-recognized government, which is backed by …