South Africa

Syrian insurgent group seeks to move away from Al-Qaida

15 May 2023 05:17 AM IST

The leader of an insurgent group that rules much of northwest Syria rose to notoriety over the past decade by claiming deadly bombings, threatening revenge against Western “crusader” forces and dispatching Islamist religious police to crack down on women deemed to be immodestly dressed. Today the man known as Abu

Russia, China military synergy raises Japanese security blues

15 May 2023 05:16 AM IST

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi expressed concern on Saturday about Russian and Chinese military cooperation in Asia and said the security situation in Europe could not be separated from that in the Indo-Pacific region since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Speaking at a meeting of European and Indo-Pacific foreign ministers

Thailand counts votes in key election with opposition favoured to conquer

15 May 2023 05:15 AM IST

Vote counting was underway on Sunday in Thailand’s general election, touted as a pivotal chance for change nine years after incumbent Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha first came to power in a 2014 coup. He is now running against the daughter of the politician who is the military’s top nemesis. The

Afghanistan facing catastrophic food crisis: World Bank

15 May 2023 05:14 AM IST

Afghanistan is among one of the seven countries which face a catastrophic level of food crisis, the World Bank highlighted in its report, Khaama Press reported. According to the report, the seven food crisis-hit countries include Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Haiti, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen. The number of people

NYC converts hotels to shelters as pressure mounts to accommodate asylum seekers

15 May 2023 05:13 AM IST

The historic Roosevelt Hotel in midtown Manhattan shuttered three years ago, but it will soon be bustling again — reopening to accommodate an anticipated influx of asylum seekers just as other New York City hotels are being converted to emergency shelters. Mayor Eric Adams announced Saturday that the city will

Israel-Palestine Ceasefire Holds, Temporarily Easing Tensions

15 May 2023 05:10 AM IST

A tense ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Gaza appeared to hold Sunday morning following sporadic rocket assaults from the Gaza Strip late Saturday night and retaliatory Israel Defence Forces (IDF) airstrikes after the 10 pm ceasefire went into effect, reported The Times of Israel. The

Erdogan’s leadership in the balance as Turkiye votes in pivotal elections

15 May 2023 05:09 AM IST

Turkiye is voting Sunday in landmark parliamentary and presidential elections that are expected to be tightly contested and could be the biggest challenge President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has faced in his two decades in power.The vote will either grant the increasingly authoritarian Erdogan a new five-year term in office or

Serbia: 13,500 weapons collected in amnesty, including rocket launchers

15 May 2023 05:09 AM IST

Serbian authorities on Sunday displayed many of around 13,500 weapons they say people have been handed over since this month’s mass shootings, including hand grenades, automatic weapons, and anti-tank rocket launchers. The authorities have declared a one-month amnesty period for citizens to hand over unregistered weapons or face prison sentences

Biden’s Indo-Pacific Trip amid Debt default

15 May 2023 05:08 AM IST

President Joe Biden has an ambitious agenda when he sets off this week on an eight-day trip to the Indo-Pacific. The three-country trip also presents the 80-year-old Biden, who recently announced he’s running for re-election, with the opportunity to demonstrate that he still has enough in the tank to handle

mran Khan slams Pak Army for jumping into politics

15 May 2023 05:07 AM IST

Pakistan’s former Prime minister Imran Khan hit out at the country’s powerful army in his first address after an Islamabad court set him free, saying it should be ashamed of jumping into politics and could form its own political party. Addressing the nation from his Lahore home on Saturday, Khan

Ukrainian president says ‘counteroffensive’ does not aim to attack Russian territory

15 May 2023 05:06 AM IST

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that his country is preparing a counteroffensive designed to liberate areas occupied by Russia, not to attack Russian territory.Speaking during a news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s goal is to free the territories within its internationally recognised

How can we hold talks with terrorists?’ Pak FM on vandalism by Imran Khan’s supporters

15 May 2023 05:06 AM IST

Commenting on the episodes of violence and vandalism in protests sparked after the arrest of former Prime minister Imran Khan, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Saturday termed his party “political terrorists” and asked how could talks be held with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), reported Dawn. At a rally — where