KABUL: The Taliban on Thursday violently cracked down on a small women’s rights demonstration, firing shots into the air and pushing back protesters, AFP journalists witnessed. A group of six women gathered outside a high school in eastern Kabul demanding the right for girls to return to secondary school, after […]
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BERLIN: Germany is headed for weeks, if not months, of protracted coalition haggling as Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives insisted Monday on trying to form a government even after losing to the Social Democrats in a tight race. Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, who led the Social Democrats’ (SPD) campaign, said Europe’s […]
PORT-AU-PRINCE: Elections and a constitutional referendum scheduled for the coming months in Haiti have been postponed indefinitely after the Monday dismissal of members of the electoral administration, plunging the country into further uncertainty. Since their September 2020 appointment by late president Jovenel Moise, who was assassinated in July, the nine […]
UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations General Assembly in New York ends on Monday (Sep 27), but without speeches by those in power in Afghanistan and Myanmar, one of many quirks at this year’s diplomatic marathon that saw 100 leaders defy COVID-19 fears to meet in person. The UN representative of […]
BERLIN: Germany’s conservative chancellor candidate Armin Laschet was ridiculed on social media for a misstep on election day today, capping a campaign marred by embarrassing gaffes that hurt his popularity. Under German voting rules, voters must keep their choice confidential until they have left the polling station. But when casting […]
KABUL: The Taliban government in Afghanistan appealed today for international flights to be resumed, promising full cooperation with airlines and saying that problems at Kabul airport had been resolved. The statement from the foreign affairs ministry comes as the new administration has stepped up efforts to open up the country […]
BANGKOK: Myanmar’s junta has denied suspending the internet in conflict-wracked regions, blaming a recent spate of data blackouts on anti-coup protesters who had destroyed military-owned communications towers. The Southeast Asian country has been in chaos since the military toppled Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in February, triggering huge democracy protests […]
RAMALLAH: Israeli troops killed at least four Hamas soldiers in gun battles during raids today against one of the group’s cells in the occupied West Bank, an Israeli military spokesman said. Israeli officials have long voiced concern that Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, intends to gain strength in the […]
MANILA: The government of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte today said it will not cooperate with an International Criminal Court (ICC) probe into his notorious war on drugs, or allow any investigators into the country. Judges at the ICC yesterday approved a formal probe into Duterte’s bloody campaign, in which thousands […]
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the trio were “severely damaging regional peace and stability, intensifying an arms race, and damaging international nuclear non-proliferation efforts”. The United States, Britain and Australia announced a new security partnership for the Indo-Pacific in a move hailed by regional allies but denounced by […]