A picture shows a partial view of the damaged Temple of Bel, in Syria's Roman-era ancient city of Palmyra on February 7, 2021, in the country's central province of Homs. (LOUAI BESHARA / AFP) DUBAI / ANKARA / MOSCOW – Turkey, Russia and Qatar are making a joint attempt to promote a political solution to […]
A lawmaker in Brussels is warning that a free-trade deal being negotiated with Australia won’t be ratified by the European Union until it does more to reduce its emissions, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported Thursday. It cited Kathleen van Brempt as saying an agreement was contingent on “a clear vision” from Australia on “when and […]
Hindu devotees take a holy dip in the waters of the River Ganges on the Shahi snan (grand bath) on the occasion of Maha Shivratri festival during the ongoing religious Kumbh Mela festival in Haridwar, India on March 11, 2021. (PRAKASH SINGH / AFP) HARIDWAR, India – Tens of thousands of Hindu devotees plunged into […]
Riot police approach protesters' barricade in an attempt to disperse demonstration against the military coup in Naypyidaw, Myanmar on March 4, 2021. (STR / AFP) YANGON – Myanmar's Anti-Terrorism Central Committee Thursday issued an order of withdrawing the terrorist designation of Arakan Army (AA) under the approval of the State Administration Council. Last year, the […]
Japan's Emperor Naruhito (right) and Empress Masako bow in front of an altar for victims of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, at the national memorial service in Tokyo, Japan, March 11, 2021. (BEHROUZ MEHRI / POOL PHOTO VIA AP) IWAKI – With a moment of silence, prayers and anti-nuclear protests, Japan on Thursday […]
In this, Dec 19, 2016 photo, Andrei Karlov, then Russian Ambassador to Turkey, pauses during a speech at a photo exhibition in Ankara, moments before Mevlut Mert Altintas, seen background left, opened fire on him and killed him. (BURHAN OZBILICI / AP) A Turkish court on Tuesday sentenced five people to life in jail over […]
Saudi Arabia said it would guarantee global energy security and deter further attacks on its infrastructure, days after a missile and drone assault on the world’s largest oil-export terminal. The attack on the kingdom’s Ras Tanura port on Sunday caused a brief spike in oil prices and was claimed by Iran-backed Houthi fighters in neighboring […]
The Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is seen from the coast of Futaba town in Fukushima prefecture on March 10, 2021, on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the 9.0-magnitude earthquake which triggered a tsunami and nuclear disaster which killed over 18,000 people. (KAZUHIRO NOGI / AFP TOKYO-When […]
A woman looks at her phone while commuting on a train in Tokyo on March 5, 2021. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP) SEOUL / ANKARA / AMMAN / TOKYO – Japan's health ministry reported nine new incidents of people experiencing severe allergic reactions after receiving a coronavirus vaccine, with the minister in charge of vaccination efforts […]
Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan holds a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov (unseen) after their meeting in the capital Riyadh, on March 10, 2021. (FAYEZ NURELDINE / AFP) CAIRO – Saudi Arabia will take measures to ensure global energy security and deter attacks on its oil infrastructure, Foreign Minister Prince […]
A handout picture provided by Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation shows the head of the country's atomic agency Ali Akbar Salehi looking at Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) during a joint press conference in Tehran on Aug 25 2020. (PHOTO / AFP) TEHRAN – Iran does not seek nuclear weapons and is […]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference with US Presidential Adviser (not in frame) in Jerusalem on Dec 21, 2020. (RONEN ZVULUN / X90084 / AFP) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will fly to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, Army Radio reported, without saying where it got the information. It would […]
People look at a "Predator MQ-9" drone at the International Aerospace Exhibition (ILA) in Schoenefeld on May 30, 2016. (TOBIAS SCHWARZ / AFP) India plans to buy 30 armed drones from the US to boost its sea and land defenses, according to officials with knowledge of the matter. The South Asian nation will approve next […]
In a handout photo taken and released on Dec 29, 2020 by US Forces Korea, service members of the United States Forces Korea prepare to receive the first round of the Moderna vaccine at Osan Air Base, south of Seoul. (HADNOUT / US FORCES KOREA / AFP) SEOUL – The Republic of Korea (ROK) has […]
South Korean President Moon Jae-in, top right, watches a doctor receives a shot of AstraZeneca vaccine at a public health center in Seoul, South Korea, Feb 26, 2021. (PHOTO / AP) SEOUL – In a handful of South Korean hospitals, designated nurses are using specially designed syringes to squeeze extra doses of coronavirus vaccine out […]
Armenian opposition supporters rally to demand the resignation of the prime minister over his handling of last year's war with Azerbaijan, in Yerevan on March 9, 2021. (KAREN MINASYAN / AFP) MOSCOW – The Armenian government said the dismissal of a top army general at the centre of a political crisis had come into force on […]
Lebanese army personnel stand on one side while anti-government demonstrators and journalists stand on the other at a make-shift roadblock erected in the area of Jal el-Dib east of the Lebanese capital Beirut on March 8, 2021 during a protest against the dire economic and social conditions. (ANWAR AMRO / AFP) BEIRUT – The Lebanese […]
US President Joe Biden speaks to the press before a meeting in the Oval Office with lawmakers in the White House March 3, 2021, in Washington, DC. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP) WASHINGTON – US President Joe Biden on Friday will meet virtually with leaders of Japan, India, and Australia, the White House said on Tuesday. […]
Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei speaks during a news conference in the capital Tehran on July 22, 2019. (PHOTO / AFP) TEHRAN – Iran remains ready for exchanging all the prisoners with the United States, the Iranian government's spokesman said on Tuesday. The spokesman stressed that Iran's position has not changed, reiterating the fact that […]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during his visit to the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem on Sept 8, 2020. (ALEX KOLOMOISKY / POOL PHOTO VIA AP) DAMASCUS / ANKARA / JERUSALEM – The Japanese government decided to exclude overseas spectators from attending the Tokyo Olympics, Kyodo reported, citing officials with knowledge of the […]
Lebanese army soldiers stand next to a freight truck loaded with concrete slabs parked across the highway by anti-govt demonstrators to block the road in the town of Jiyeh, south of the Lebanese capital on March 8, 2021, during a protest against the deteriorating value of the local currency and dire economic and social conditions. […]
This file handout picture taken by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from the Air Photo Service on March 20, 2011 shows the stricken Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi No.1 nuclear power plant reactor number three (left) and four (right), with smoke rising from number three, in the town of Okuma in Fukushima prefecture. […]
Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Afghanistan Deborah Lyons delivers a statement during the 2020 Afghanistan donor conference hosted by the United Nations in Geneva on Nov 24, 2020. (FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP) DUBAI – The United Nation’s envoy for Afghanistan is due to arrive in Qatar on Tuesday to meet with Afghan government […]
A general view shows apartment buildings and the Seoul city skyline early on Dec 16, 2020. (ED JONES / AFP) SEOUL – Accusations that officials at South Korea’s state housing corporation tried to use insider information to cash in on runaway property prices has thrown new fuel on an issue that is draining support from […]
A general view shows apartment buildings and the Seoul city skyline early on Dec 16, 2020. (ED JONES / AFP) South Korea must act to sharpen its demographic and economic policies in the face of a stubbornly low fertility rate if the country is to stave off a crippling long-term trend of population shrinkage, analysts […]
Men watch from Tagaytay, Cavite province, south of Manila, as Taal Volcano continues to spew ash on Jan 14, 2020. Thousands of people fled the area through heavy ash as experts warned that the eruption could get worse and plans were being made to evacuate more.(AARON FAVILA / AP) The Philippines increased its alert level […]
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks to the media a day after her landslide election win, in Auckland on Oct 18, 2020. (MARTY MELVILLE / AFP) WELLINGTON – New Zealand is unlikely to stop having Queen Elizabeth as its head of state anytime soon, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said, in comments following Oprah Winfrey’s […]
This file photo taken in Canberra on March 22, 2020, captures the front entrance of Australia's Parliament House. (DAVID GRAY / AFP) SYDNEY – Hundreds of mostly female workers gathered outside government buildings in Sydney to condemn violence against women and call for greater gender equality in workplaces, amid growing scrutiny over the treatment of […]
A nurse fills a syringe with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination centre in Seoul on Feb 27, 2021. (PHOTO / AFP) BEIRUT / BAGHDAD / DOHA – Thailand moved a step closer to issuing vaccine certificates, with a panel of officials backing the proposal seen as a major milestone toward allowing the tourism-reliant […]
In this Dec 9, 2020 photo, security forces loyal to the Houthi group walk while on duty during a mass wedding for thousands of couples including the poor, handicapped, and wounded, in Yemen's capital Sanaa. (MOHAMMED HUWAIS / AFP) TEHRAN – Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday called for the cessation of war and […]