BEIJING: China today said it will continue to “modernise” its nuclear arsenal and called on the United States and Russia to reduce their stockpiles a day after global powers pledged to prevent such weapons spreading. In a rare joint statement setting aside rising West-East tensions, the United States, China, Russia, […]
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WASHINGTON: US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said he tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday with mild symptoms and would attend meetings virtually as he quarantined at home for the next five days. News of Austin’s positive test comes after the Pentagon last week tightened restrictions at its headquarters over concern about […]
SEOUL: South Korean President Moon Jae-in vowed today to use his last months in office to press for a diplomatic breakthrough with North Korea, despite public silence from Pyongyang over his attempts for a declaration of peace between the two sides. “The government will pursue normalisation of inter-Korean relations and […]
GAZA: Israel targeted Hamas positions in southern Gaza late Saturday (Jan 1) night after rockets were fired from the Palestinian enclave, security sources and the army said. The Israel Defense Forces said in a brief message to the press that they were “currently carrying out strikes” in Gaza, the Palestinian […]
In the months since the attack at Kabul Airport, US intelligence analysts and military officials say they have focused on learning more about the ISIS-K strike cell and any future attacks it may be plotting against the West. Four months after an Islamic State suicide bomber killed scores of people, […]
The funeral mass for South African anti-apartheid campaigner Archbishop Desmond Tutu is set to take place on Saturday morning in Cape Town. Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who helped end the racist regime in South Africa, died last Sunday aged 90. His death prompted an outpouring of grief among […]
PARIS: France takes over the rotating presidency of the European Union today, affording President Emmanuel Macron the chance to pose as the EU’s de facto leader in the run-up to national elections in April. The 44-year-old has never made any secret of his ambitions to be the motor for further […]
TAIPEI: Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen marked the new year with a message for China: military conflict is not the answer. “We must remind the Beijing authorities to not misjudge the situation and to prevent the internal expansion of ‘military adventurism’,” Tsai said today in her New Year’s speech broadcast live […]
SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un capped off his 10th year in power with a speech that made more mention of tractor factories and school uniforms than nuclear weapons or the United States, according to summaries by state media today. North Korea’s main goals for 2022 will be jump starting […]
WILMINGTON: President Joe Biden said yesterday he told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that a move on Ukraine will draw sanctions and an increased US presence in Europe, where tensions are high after Russia’s military buildup at the border. The US and Russian leaders exchanged warnings over Ukraine in a […]