UN panel snubs Russia on nuke treaty

A UN General Assembly panel rejected Friday Russia's proposal to debate its resolution on preserving the Intermediate-Range Nuclear
27 October 2018

Turkey hosts key Syria summit

The leaders of Turkey, Russia, France and Germany yesterday met to try to find a political solution to Syria's devastating civil war,
27 October 2018

France expels Iranian diplomat

France has expelled an Iranian diplomat in response to a failed plot to carry out a bomb attack at a rally near Paris organised by an exiled Iranian opposition group, diplomatic and security sources say.
26 October 2018

World's rich get even richer

China produced around two new billionaires a week last year as the fortunes of the world's ultra-rich soared by a record amount, a report said yesterday.
26 October 2018

Harry and Meghan don Tongan dress as they bid farewell to Pacific Islands

Meghan Markle's trend-setting dress sense usually drives frenzied shopping at her favoured designers, but her latest choice - traditional Tongan couture - might prove a little harder for fashionistas to track down.
26 October 2018

Spain SC orders trial of Catalan leaders

Spain's Supreme Court yesterday ordered 18 former Catalan leaders to stand trial over their role in last year's declaration of independence.
25 October 2018

New arms race is on the way

President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia would be forced to target any European countries that agreed to host US nuclear missiles following Washington's withdrawal from a landmark Cold war-era arms control treaty.
25 October 2018

Such murder unthinkable 'without US backing': Iran

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said yesterday that Saudi Arabia would not have murdered prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi without American protection, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
24 October 2018

UK PM fires back at party rebels

Britain's beleaguered Prime minister appealed to her increasingly mutinous party on Monday to back her Brexit strategy in the face of deep divisions at home and a tough negotiating stance from the EU.
23 October 2018

Mars likely to have enough oxygen to support life: study

Salty water just below the surface of Mars could hold enough oxygen to support the kind of microbial life that emerged and flourished on Earth billions of years ago, researchers reported Monday.
23 October 2018

UN rights body slams French 'burqa ban'

The UN Human Rights Committee yesterday criticised France's so-called burqa ban, saying the law "violated" the rights of two women who were fined in 2012 for wearing full-face veils in public.
23 October 2018

2 dead after migrant boat sinks off Turkey

Two people died yesterday after a boat carrying illegal migrants sank off Turkey's southwestern coast, the Turkish coastguard said. Seventeen others were rescued after the boat ran into trouble 50 metres off the coast of Bodrum district in Mugla province, it said in a statement.
22 October 2018

'Half million' rally in London for new Brexit referendum

EU flag waving Britons rejecting a future outside Europe packed the heart of London on Saturday for an anti-Brexit protest organisers said drew more than half a million people.
21 October 2018

Iran given February deadline

A global financial watchdog on Friday warned Iran to clamp down on terrorism financing by February or face a deeper squeeze on its
20 October 2018

Russia says it killed 88,000 Syria rebels in three years

Russia's defence minister yesterday said that almost 88,000 rebels had been killed in Syria in the three years since Moscow's
20 October 2018

Australia govt loses crucial by-election

Australia's embattled conservative coalition was dealt a spectacular defeat yesterday in a crucial by-election two months after it turfed
20 October 2018

EU court orders Poland to scrap SC retirements

The EU's top court yesterday ordered Poland to "immediately suspend" its decision to lower the retirement age of its Supreme Court judges. "Poland must immediately suspend the application of the provisions of national legislation relating to the lowering of the retirement age for Supreme Court judges," it said.
19 October 2018

Pope invited by Kim to visit North Korea

Pope Francis on Thursday received an invitation to visit North Korea and the pontiff indicated he would consider making what would be a landmark trip to a nation known for severe restrictions on religious practice. South Korean President Moon Jae-in relayed the invitation from Kim Jong Un to the Pope in the Vatican.
19 October 2018

Norway to free Russian spy suspect: agency

Norway will release a Russian suspected of spying, the country's intelligence agency announced yesterday. Mikhail Bochkarev, 51, was arrested on September 21 at Oslo airport after attending a seminar in Norway's parliament, accused of having collected data on the building and its network.
19 October 2018

Carrots could be key to greener buildings

Crunchy and tasty, yes, but could carrots also strengthen cement and cut carbon dioxide emissions for the building industry?
19 October 2018