A handout picture provided by the Lebanese photo agency Dalati and Nohra on March 18, 2021, shows Lebanese prime minister-designate Saad Hariri addresses reporters following a meeting with President Michel Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of the capital. (DALATI AND NOHRA / AFP) BEIRUT – Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on […]
In this Jan 8, 2020 file photo, rescue teams are seen at the scene of a Ukrainian airliner that crashed shortly after take-off near Imam Khomeini airport in the Iranian capital Tehran. (AKBAR TAVAKOLI / IRNA / AFP) A Canadian agency on Thursday called for changes to global rules governing air accident investigations, following criticism […]
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan delivers a speech during a rally of his supporters at Republic Square in downtown Yerevan on March 1, 2021. (ARIS MESSINIS / AFP) YEREVAN – Armenia will hold an early parliamentary election on June 20, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Thursday. Pashinyan confirmed this on Facebook, adding that the […]
In this March 16, 2021 photo, migrant workers queue up to take coronavirus tests at a makeshift clinic in Seoul, South Korea. (LEE YOUNG-HWAN / NEWSIS VIA AP) WELLINGTON / AMMAN / RAMALLAH / SEOUL / SUVA / GAZA / BAKU / ISLAMABAD / PHNOM PENH / HANOI / MUSAT – Rules singling out foreign […]
Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai (far left) and Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar (second right) attend an international peace conference in Moscow, Russia, March 18, 2021. (ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO / AP) MOSCOW – Russia and the US are working together to persuade the Afghan government to share power with the Taliban even amid an angry response in […]
New South Wales state Police Commissioner Mick Fuller addresses the media during a press conference in Sydney, March 18, 2021 (DEAN LEWINS / AAP IMAGE VIA AP) One of Australia’s top police officers faced criticism on Thursday for suggesting an app that records sexual consent could be used to address a rise in sexual assault […]
The file photo dated Feb 21, 2021 shows storage tanks for contaminated water at the Tokyo Electric Power Company's (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant which was badly damaged in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Okuma, Fukushima prefecture. (PHILIP FONG / AFP) TOKYO – Japanese courts delivered conflicting rulings on two nuclear reactors on […]
Onlookers are seen near a damaged vehicle after a blast in Kabul on March 18, 2021. (WAKIL KOHSAR / AFP) KABUL – Four people were killed and nine wounded when a roadside bomb hit a bus carrying Afghan government employees in Kabul on Thursday, while nine Afghan security force members died in a helicopter crash […]
Then United Nations special envoy to Afghanistan, Jean Arnault addresses a press conference in Kabul, July 17, 2004. (PHOTO / AFP) NEW YORK – United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday appointed veteran French diplomat Jean Arnault as his personal envoy on Afghanistan and regional issues. The appointment comes a day before Russia, China, the […]
(From left) US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the Republic of Korea (ROK)'s Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and ROK Defense Minister Suh Wook pose for the media before the ROK-US Foreign and Defense Ministerial Meeting at ROK's foreign ministry in Seoul, March 18, 2021. (LEE JIN-MAN / AP) SEOUL – […]
Police use water cannons with chemical-laced water to disperse protesters during a rally near the Thai Parliament as lawmakers debate a charter amendment in Bangkok on Nov 17, 2020. (MLADEN ANTONOV / AFP) BANGKOK – Thailand's legislation on constitutional amendment was aborted by members of parliament (MP) and senators on Wednesday. In a third reading […]
Members of the pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) hold placards reading "HDP not since" during a protest against the detention of HDP members, in Istanbul, on Sept 25, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP) ANKARA – A top Turkish prosecutor filed a case with the constitutional court on Wednesday demanding the closure of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic […]
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (left) poses for a photo with the Republic of Korea's (ROK) Defense Minister Suh Wook during a meeting at ROK's defense ministry in Seoul, March 17, 2021. (PHOTO / AP) SEOUL – The Republic of Korea's (ROK) and the United States' defense chiefs reaffirmed the common goal of the complete […]
In this file photo a handout picture provided by the Iranian presidency on March 7, 2021, shows Iran's President Hassan Rouhani during a meeting with Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney (not pictured) in the capital Tehran. (IRANIAN PRESIDENCY / AFP) DUBAI – Iran’s pragmatist president accused hardline opponents on Wednesday of obstructing efforts […]
Rohingya refugees walk with their belongings in Chittagong on Jan 30, 2021 as they make their way to a Bangladeshi navy ship that will take them to be relocated to Bhashan Char island in the Bay of Bengal. (MUNIR UZ ZAMAN / AFP) DHAKA – A United Nations delegation will on Wednesday start a three-day […]
In this July 20, 2015 file photo, a US-made Iraqi air force F-16 fighter jet prepares to take off at Balad air base in Iraq. (PHOTO / IC) TIKRIT – At least five rockets hit the Iraqi military air base of Balad north of Baghdad on Monday, without causing casualties, Iraqi security officials said. The […]
People wearing face masks take pictures at Odaiba area of Tokyo during the evening hour on July 12, 2020. (PHILIP FONG / AFP) TOKYO – A Japenese district court on Wednesday ruled that not allowing same-sex couples to marry is “unconstitutional”, setting a new precedent in the only G7 nation not to fully recognise same-sex partnership, […]
A battery of Israel's Iron Dome, designed to intercept and destroy incoming short-range rockets and artillery shells, is pictured in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights near the border with Syria, on Nov 18, 2020. (JALAA MAREY / AFP) JERUSALEM – Israel said on Tuesday it has upgraded its anti-rocket Iron Dome system to intercept additional kinds […]
A demonstrator participates at a rally "Love Our Communities: Build Collective Power" to raise awareness of anti-Asian violence outside the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, March 13, 2021. (DAMIAN DAVARGANES / AP) LOS ANGELES – Asian Americans in the United States reported nearly 3,800 hate-related incidents in less than a […]
This handout satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies on Jan 8, 2020 shows an overview of Iran's Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP), northeast of the Iranian city of Qom. (SATELLITE IMAGE ©2021 MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES / AFP) VIENNA – Iran has started enriching uranium at its underground Natanz plant with a second type of advanced centrifuge, […]
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (right) welcomes his Israeli counterpart Reuven Rivlin at the presidential Bellevue palace in Berlin, Germany, on March 16, 2021. (ODD ANDERSEN / AFP) JERUSALEM – Israeli President Reuven Rivlin departed on Tuesday for Europe to lobby leaders against the International Criminal Court (ICC) decision to open an investigation into alleged crimes […]
A dog sits as residents walk at a village under lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in Manila, Philippines, March 15, 2021. (AARON FAVILA / AP) SYDNEY / JERUSALEM / AMMAN / KABUL / HANOI / ULAN BATOR / KUALA LUMPUR / TEHRAN – The Philippines will limit foreign arrivals in its main […]
Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga attends a press conference in Tokyo in March 5, 2021. (YUICHI YAMAZAKI / POOL / AFP) TOKYO – A senior government official with Japan's communications ministry who was close to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga resigned on Tuesday after being embroiled in a wining and dining scandal involving a telecom giant […]
Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim attends a press conference at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on March 16, 2021. (MOHD RASFAN / AFP) Malaysia’s opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said no more lawmakers will leave the party for the ruling government, adding that members remain steadfast in the wake of defections. Our party members will […]
In this March 15, 2021 photo, security personnel inspect the site of a bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, amid a surge in attacks on civilians. On March 16, unidentified gunmen carried out two separate attacks in different parts of Afghanistan, killing at least five people. (RAHMAT GUL / AP) KABUL – Gunmen ambushed a bus […]
This file photo taken on April 26, 2017 shows South Korean and US soldiers watching from an observation post during a joint live firing drill between South Korea and the US at the Seungjin Fire Training Field in Pocheon, 65 kms northeast of Seoul. (JUNG YEON-JE / AFP) PYONGYANG – The Democratic People's Republic of […]
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends a virtual meet and greet with US embassy staff at the US Ambassador's residence in Tokyo on March 16, 2021. (KIM KYUNG-HOON / POOL / AFP) TOKYO – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday called for deeper economic ties with Japan, as he and Defense Secretary […]
South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks during a ceremony to mark the March First Independence Movement Day, the anniversary of the 1919 uprising against Japanese colonial rule in Seoul, March 1, 2021. (JEWON HEON-KYUN / POOL PHOTO VIA AP) South Korean President Moon Jae-in apologized over allegations of a land speculation scandal that has rattled […]
This undated photo shows shipping containers at Bandar Imam Khomeini (BIK) port in Bandar Imam Khomeini, Iran. (ALI MOHAMMADI / BLOOMBERG) Iran said Israel was likely behind an explosion that damaged an Iranian container ship in the Mediterranean last week, as the longtime foes trade accusations of attacks at sea. The geographical location of the […]
A woman receives a shot of China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine during a mass vaccination for people above the age of 60 at Adam Malik Hospital in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, March 8, 2021. (BINSAR BAKKARA / AP) ANKARA / AMMAN / JERUSALEM / KUALA LUMPUR / DHAKA / HANOI / TASHKENT / BISHKEK / JAKARTA […]