BAGHDAD – Iraq has condemned Israel’s use of its airspace to attack neighbouring Iran in a protest letter sent to United Nations chief Antonio Guterres and the UN Security Council, Baghdad said yesterday. A statement from government spokesman Bassim Alawadi said the letter condemns “the Zionist entity’s blatant violation of Iraq’s airspace and sovereignty by...
MANILA – Rescuers in the Philippines were diving into a lake and scouring isolated villages yesterday to locate dozens of missing people as the death toll from Tropical Storm Trami hit 100. Trami, which rammed into the Philippines on 24 October, was among the deadliest storms to hit the Southeast Asian country this year.According to...
JERUSALEM – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday said Israel’s air attack on Iran was “precise and powerful”, and achieved all its objectives. “We promised we would respond to the Iranian attack and on Saturday we struck. The attack in Iran was precise and powerful, achieving all of its objectives,” Netanyahu said in a speech marking...
MERZOUGA – In Morocco’s southeastern desert, a rare downpour has brought lakes and ponds back to life, with locals — and tourists — hailing it as a gift from the heavens. In Merzouga, an attractive tourist town some 600 kilometres southeast of the capital Rabat, the once-parched golden dunes are now dotted with replenished ponds...
MAPUTO – In a small neon-lit factory in Maputo, a dozen workers are hand-rolling premium cigars intended for the global market, seemingly undisturbed by the pungent tobacco smell. Sitting on wooden benches, men and women stack tobacco leaves in one hand — the components must be dry but soft, like the velvety texture of leather....
KAZAN – South African president Cyril Ramaphosa said Tuesday he considered Moscow a “valued ally” and friend during talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the BRICS summit in Kazan. Leaders from two dozen countries are expected to visit Russia for the three-day gathering, as Putin seeks to build an alliance of nations aimed at...
GAZA – Gaza’s civil defence agency yesterday said it can no longer provide first responder services in the north of the territory, accusing Israeli forces of threatening to “bomb and kill” its crews. Since 6 October, the Israeli military has mounted a sweeping air and land assault on north Gaza, initially focused on the Jabalia...
KOLKATA – At least 1.1 million people on India’s eastern coast are fleeing to storm shelters inland, hours before a powerful cyclone is expected to hammer the low-lying region, ministers said yesterday. Cyclone Dana was yesterday expected to hit the coasts of West Bengal and Odisha states – home to around 150 million people –...
JOHANNESBURG – Joyce Lakela runs a nursery in Tembisa, a Johannesburg township, but these days she spends most of her time trying to find water. “It’s been going on for five days,” she said, lamenting shortages affecting South Africa’s largest city where temperatures are rising with the beginning of summer. “This is a big challenge....
DHAKA – A protest outside the Bangladeshi president’s home demanding his resignation, ended when demonstrators clashed with riot police while trying to storm the compound, with 30 injured in the melee. President Mohammed Shahabuddin’s powers are largely ceremonial, but he played a pivotal role at the height of an August student revolution that ousted autocratic...