Kurds find mass grave of ‘IS victims’ in Iraq

Kurdish forces in northern Iraq yesterday found a mass grave containing the bodies of at least 11 Iraqi policemen presumed killed by jihadists, a peshmerga security official said.
16 December 2021

UN says hunger on the rise in the Arab world

A third of people in the 420-million-strong Arab world do not have enough to eat, the United Nations said yesterday, highlighting that 69 million suffered from malnutrition last year.
16 December 2021

EU mulling new sanctions against Russian ‘surprises’

European Union leaders were to consider yesterday what economic sanctions they could impose on Russia if Moscow were to launch a new attack on Ukraine, Slovenia’s prime minister said, warning that the bloc was prepared for Russian “surprises”.
16 December 2021

This day in history

1903 - Wilbur and Orville Wright made the first successful controlled flight in a powered aircraft, the Wright “Flyer”, on the beach at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. They made four flights in all, the longest lasting almost a minute.
16 December 2021

British PM faces crucial vote in party heartland

Under-fire British Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday faced a crucial test of his leadership as polls opened in a by-election in a constituency his party has never lost, where defeat would intensify calls for a new leader.
16 December 2021

Hundreds flee as junta, KNU rebels clash

Hundreds of Myanmar villagers have fled to Thailand after junta troops clashed with an ethnic rebel group, officials told AFP yesterday.
16 December 2021

US Congress votes to set up commission

The US Congress yesterday voted to set up a commission to assess the failures of the 20-year war in Afghanistan following the Taliban’s victory.
16 December 2021

US releases trove of secret files on Kennedy assassination

US authorities released 1,491 files of secret documents Wednesday on president John F. Kennedy’s assassination, a case that still fuels
16 December 2021

US lawmakers urge sanctions against spyware firms

A group of US lawmakers is asking the Treasury Department and State Department to sanction Israeli spyware firm NSO Group and three other
16 December 2021

Blinken cuts short Asia trip due to Covid case in delegation

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday cut short a trip to Southeast Asia after a member of his delegation contracted the
16 December 2021

Muslims worldwide can now touch Kaaba’s Black Stone virtually

Saudi Arabia has launched a new initiative that will allow Muslims all around the world to touch the Black Stone at the Kaaba in Makkah virtually.
16 December 2021

US builds software that can predict Chinese reactions

US military commanders in the Pacific have built a software tool to predict how the Chinese government will react to US actions in the region like military sales, US-backed military activity and even congressional visits to hotspots like Taiwan.
16 December 2021

US ready to sell F-35s, drones after UAE threatens to pull out of $23bn deal

The United States said on Wednesday it was ready to move forward with the sale of F-35 fighter jets and drones to the United Arab Emirates after Abu Dhabi told Washington it would suspend talks on the $23-billion deal that also includes munitions.
15 December 2021

Death toll in Haiti truck blast rises to 75

The death toll from a fuel truck explosion in Haiti rose to 75 on Wednesday as doctors scrambled to treat the wounded from an incident that officials say was made more deadly by residents approaching the vehicle in a desperate search for fuel.
15 December 2021

Defying West, Putin, Xi cement ties

Russia and China should stand firm in rejecting Western interference and defending each other’s security interests, presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping agreed in a video call yesterday.
15 December 2021

Germany vows to ‘defend itself’ as police raid anti-vaxxers

Germany yesterday vowed to “defend itself” against radicalised anti-vaccination groups after police launched raids in response to death threats against a top politician backing decisive measures to fight the pandemic.
15 December 2021

Cross-border aid to Syria rebel bastion vital: UN chief

Cross-border humanitarian aid to Syria remains vital, the United Nations Secretary-General said in an internal report Tuesday, as a UN authorization allowing aid into rebel-held areas in the country’s northwest without approval from Damascus is set to expire.
15 December 2021

EU unveils part two of climate plan

European Union policymakers yesterday set out a second set of proposals to cut emissions across its economy this decade and to put it on track for net zero greenhouse gas output by 2050.
15 December 2021

Half of Brits can’t cook traditional Xmas dinner

Nearly half of adults in Britain cannot cook a full Christmas dinner that includes all the traditional trimmings, according to a survey unveiled yesterday.
15 December 2021

US to add more China firms to blacklists: FT

Shares in Chinese healthcare and technology firms tumbled yesterday after a report that the United States would add more Chinese firms, including the largest commercial drone maker and biotech firms, to investment and export blacklists this week.
15 December 2021