Category: World

KATHMANDU: Nepal’s newly appointed interim prime minister began work on Saturday by visiting young protesters wounded in the deadly anti-corruption rallies that ousted her predecessor. Sushila Karki, the 73-year-old former chief justice, was tasked a day earlier with restoring order and addressing protesters’ demands for a corruption-free future ahead of elections in six months. She… Continue reading Nepal’s first woman PM takes charge amid post-protest calm

DOHA: Qatar will host a summit of Arab and Muslim leaders to denounce Israel’s recent attack on Hamas officials within its capital. Monday’s meeting will consider a draft resolution on the Israeli attack on Qatar to be prepared during a ministerial meeting on Sunday. Foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari stated the summit reflects broad solidarity… Continue reading Arab and Muslim leaders to meet in Qatar to denounce Israeli attack

AIN AL-HILWEH: Palestinian factions initiated the surrender of weapons from Lebanon’s largest refugee camp on Saturday as part of a government-led disarmament campaign. A Palestinian official confirmed that non-state groups are participating in this effort to transfer arms to Lebanese authorities. Abdel Hadi al-Asadi of the Palestine Liberation Organisation stated that the umbrella group conducted… Continue reading Palestinian factions begin weapons handover in Lebanon refugee camps

LONDON: AstraZeneca has suspended a planned £200 million expansion of its Cambridge research facility in eastern England. This decision marks another setback for foreign investment in the United Kingdom following recent withdrawals by major pharmaceutical firms. The company previously abandoned plans for a £450 million vaccine manufacturing plant in northwest England earlier this year. US… Continue reading AstraZeneca pauses £200 million UK research site expansion in Cambridge

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited troubled Manipur state on Saturday for the first time since ethnic clashes killed more than 250 people there two years ago. Modi’s three-day tour also includes Assam, which borders Bangladesh, and Bihar, India’s third-most populous state with at least 130 million people. Bihar represents a key electoral… Continue reading Indian PM Modi visits Manipur after two years of ethnic clashes

JERUSALEM: The Israeli military announced that over 250,000 residents have evacuated Gaza City in recent weeks following an intensified assault on the territory’s largest urban centre. Military spokesman Colonel Avichay Adraee stated on social media platform X that these residents moved out for their own safety. The United Nations estimates approximately one million Palestinians reside… Continue reading Over 250,000 residents flee Gaza City amid intensified Israeli assault

KATHMANDU: Grieving families of those killed in Nepal’s anti-corruption demonstrations hope the deaths will not be in vain as the protesters’ chosen interim prime minister took charge. Among the dead was 30-year-old Santosh Bishwakarma, one of at least 51 people killed in two days of chaos marking the worst unrest since the end of Nepal’s… Continue reading Nepal mourners hope protest deaths will bring change and justice

BANGKOK: An ethnic minority armed group in Myanmar reported that a military junta air strike killed at least 19 students at two private high schools in Rakhine state. The Arakan Army (AA) stated the attack occurred in Kyauktaw township just after midnight on Friday, killing students aged between 15 and 21 and wounding 22 others.… Continue reading Myanmar air strike kills 19 students in Rakhine, says armed group

PESHAWAR: At least twelve soldiers lost their lives during an ambush by the Pakistani Taliban in northwest Pakistan on Saturday. Local government and security officials confirmed the attack occurred in South Waziristan district at approximately 4:00 am. A military convoy was passing through a town when armed militants opened fire from both sides using heavy… Continue reading Pakistani Taliban attack kills 12 soldiers in northwest ambush

ROME: Pope Leo XIV sent a message of thanks Friday to people on the Italian Mediterranean island of Lampedusa for the welcome they extend to the migrants regularly arriving there. “There is no justice without compassion, no legitimacy without listening to the pain of others,“ said the pope in a video message sent to an… Continue reading Pope Leo thanks Lampedusans for welcoming migrants

KATHMANDU: Nepal’s President Ramchandra Paudel dissolved parliament and called for fresh elections on March 5, his office said late on Friday, following a week of deadly violence that culminated in the appointment of the country’s first woman Prime Minister in the interim. The announcement came just hours after Paudel appointed former Chief Justice Sushila Karki… Continue reading Nepal sets March elections after naming interim prime minister

AN earthquake of magnitude 7.1 struck near the east coast of Russia’s Kamchatka region on Saturday, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) said. The quake was at a depth 10 km (6.2 miles), GFZ said. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) pegged the magnitude at 7.4, with a depth of 39.5 km (24.5 miles).… Continue reading Magnitude 7.1 earthquake strikes near east coast of Russia’s Kamchatka region, GFZ says

THE Chinese cine industry has been devastated by actor Yu Menglong’s sudden passing after a fall from a building on September 11 in Beijing. The 37-year-old actor’s agency has confirmed the news on Chinese blog Weibo. The post writes, “It is with great sadness that we inform everyone that our beloved Menglong fell to his… Continue reading ‘Eternal Love’ star Yu Menglong dies at 37 after a tragic fall

OREM: Anti-fascist slogans were inscribed on two of the unused bullet casings found after the fatal shooting of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, US authorities said Friday. One cartridge had written on it, “Hey, fascist! Catch!”, and another featured “Bella ciao,“ apparently a reference to a World War II-era Italian anti-fascist song, said Utah Governor Spencer… Continue reading Anti-fascist slogans were inscribed on Kirk killer’s ammunition: Authorities

OREM: The widow of prominent right-wing activist Charlie Kirk pledged Friday to carry on her husband’s work, after US authorities announced his alleged assassin had finally been captured. Investigators had appeared to be making slow progress in the hunt for whoever gunned down Donald Trump’s close ally, until they released security camera images of a… Continue reading Suspect in Charlie Kirk killing caught, widow vows to carry on fight

TRUMP health officials are planning to link COVID vaccines to the deaths of 25 children as they consider limiting access to the shots, the Washington Post reported on Friday, citing four people familiar with the matter. The findings appear to be based on information submitted to the federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, VAERS, that… Continue reading Trump officials to link child deaths to COVID shots, Washington Post reports

UNITED NATIONS: The UN General Assembly voted Friday to back the “New York Declaration,“ a resolution which seeks to breathe new life into the two-state solution between Israel and Palestine — without the involvement of Hamas. The text was adopted by 142 votes in favor, 10 against — including Israel and key ally the United… Continue reading UN General Assembly votes for Hamas-free Palestinian state

NEW DELHI: Seorang bekas ketua hakim Mahkamah Agung dilantik sebagai perdana menteri baharu Nepal ketika negara berpenduduk 30 juta itu berusaha kembali normal selepas berhari-hari dilanda tunjuk perasaan antikerajaan yang bertukar ganas. Sushila Karki, 73, dilantik sebagai perdana menteri interim pada Jumaat oleh Presiden Ram Chandra Poudel setelah beliau diterima oleh gerakan tunjuk perasaan yang… Continue reading Bekas ketua hakim negara dilantik Perdana Menteri baharu Nepal

JAKARTA: Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto arrived in Doha on Friday for talks with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, in a show of solidarity following an Israeli attack on the Gulf state earlier this week. Prabowo landed at Doha International Airport at 3.20 pm local time before proceeding to Lusail Palace for the meeting,… Continue reading Indonesia’s Prabowo visits Qatar after Israeli attack

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday backed the Philippines in protesting Beijing’s plan for a “nature reserve” on disputed Scarborough Shoal, saying it was part of a “coercive” strategy in the South China Sea. “The US stands with our Philippine ally in rejecting China’s destabilizing plans to establish a ‘national nature reserve’… Continue reading Rubio backs Philippines against ‘coercive’ sea nature reserve

KATHMANDU: Nepal’s former chief justice Sushila Karki was sworn in Friday as the country’s prime minister to lead a six-month transition to elections, after deadly anti-corruption protests ousted the government. The previous prime minister quit Tuesday as parliament was set ablaze. “I, Sushila Karki… take an oath in the name of the country and the… Continue reading Nepal ex-chief justice Karki becomes next PM after protests

KYIV: Russia said Friday that peace talks with Kyiv were on “pause” as President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin still wanted to capture the whole of Ukraine. US President Donald Trump meanwhile warned that he was running out of patience with Putin, and the NATO alliance said it would bolster its… Continue reading Russia says Ukraine peace talks frozen as NATO bolsters defences

WASHINGTON: China is preparing for war to take Taiwan, the island’s top China policymaker said in Washington on Friday, warning if Taiwan were to fall it would cause a regional “domino effect” that would threaten the security of the United States. Chiu Chui-cheng, the cabinet-ranked head of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, told the Washington-based Heritage… Continue reading In US, Taiwan minister warns of ‘domino effect’ if China takes island

ZURICH: Swiss watchmaker Swatch has begun selling a special edition watch with the numbers three and nine reversed on its face in a play on the 39% tariffs President Donald Trump imposed on U.S. imports from Switzerland last month. The tariffs – among the highest set by Trump worldwide – were met with shock and… Continue reading Swatch sells watch lampooning Trump’s 39% tariffs on Switzerland

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the country will present a policy of jointly advancing nuclear arms and conventional military might during an upcoming key meeting of its ruling party, state media KCNA reported on Saturday. While inspecting weapons research centres on Thursday and Friday, Kim said “the 9th Congress of the Workers’… Continue reading North Korea’s Kim says country to present nuclear policy in upcoming party meeting

WASHINGTON: Group of Seven nations’ finance ministers discussed in a call on Friday further sanctions on Russia and possible tariffs on countries that they consider “enabling” its war in Ukraine, as the U.S. called on its allies to impose tariffs on purchasers of Russian oil. Canadian Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne chaired the G7 meeting, which… Continue reading US calls on G7, EU to impose tariffs on China, India over Russian oil purchases

CHICAGO: A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed a man on Friday as officers attempted to detain him in a Chicago suburb, the Department of Homeland Security and local officials said. ICE officers were conducting a vehicle stop to arrest Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez when he drove his car at the officers, DHS said… Continue reading ICE officer kills man in Chicago suburb during arrest attempt

BOSTON: A federal appeals court rejected on Friday a challenge by immigrant rights advocates to the decision by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to revoke the temporary legal status of hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans living in the United States. The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a ruling… Continue reading Court rejects challenge to Trump ending thousands of migrants’ legal status

WASHINGTON: Eighteen-year-old Tyler Robinson seemingly had a bright future ahead of him. The Utah teen had scored in the top percentile on his college entrance exam and earned himself a four-year scholarship to Utah State University in Logan. His proud mother posted a video on Facebook in which her first-born son, the oldest of three,… Continue reading Who is Tyler Robinson, the suspect in Charlie Kirk’s murder?

OREM: A young Utah man suspected of killing the conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a university forum has been taken into custody, as U.S. leaders reacted with sorrow and frustration over the latest outbreak of political violence sweeping the country. “We got him,“ Utah Governor Spencer Cox told reporters at a briefing on Friday, expressing… Continue reading Suspect in Charlie Kirk murder captured after two-day manhunt

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will leave Saturday on a trip to Israel to offer support before French-led moves to recognize a Palestinian state, the State Department said. Rubio is going ahead with the visit despite President Donald Trump gently reprimanding Israel for a surprise attack on Hamas on Tuesday in Qatar, a… Continue reading US Secretary Rubio to visit Israel amid Gaza conflict and Qatar tensions

VATICAN CITY: American songwriter Pharrell Williams and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli will co-direct a free concert and light show for tens of thousands of people at the Vatican on Saturday. The event titled “Grace for the World” will be held in St Peter’s Square and feature US singer-songwriter John Legend, French-Beninese singer Angelique Kidjo and… Continue reading Pharrell Williams and Andrea Bocelli co-direct free Vatican concert

OREM: Charlie Kirk, a right-wing activist and close ally of President Donald Trump, was fatally shot during an event in the western US state of Utah. Authorities had failed to locate the gunman on Thursday, more than 30 hours later. Here is what we know and some of the main unanswered questions. The shooting Kirk,… Continue reading Charlie Kirk shooting: what we know about Utah assassination

KATHMANDU: Retired Nepali civil servant Dhruba Shrestha has lived through decades of turmoil from civil war to political upheaval but says nothing compared to this week’s violence. The 76-year-old told AFP he had seen violence since his student days but never such a riot as soldiers briefly lifted a curfew in the capital. Nepal plunged… Continue reading Nepal assesses damage after deadly protests leave 51 killed

KYIV: Prince Harry made a surprise visit to Ukraine on Friday to support soldiers wounded in the ongoing war with Russia. The Duke of Sussex arrived in Kyiv via overnight train early Friday morning according to Ukrainian Railways. Ukrainian Railways posted a video showing Harry being greeted on the platform in the capital city. “Prince… Continue reading Prince Harry makes surprise Ukraine visit to support wounded soldiers

BRUSSELS: The EU said Friday it had accepted Microsoft’s commitment to more clearly separate the Teams communications app from its Office products — sparing the US tech giant a hefty antitrust fine. The European Commission said the redress proposed by Microsoft answered the concerns at the heart of an antitrust probe launched in 2023, ending… Continue reading Microsoft avoids EU antitrust fine with Teams separation deal