Saturday, 18 Jan, 2025

International

Ukraine war: Zelensky says 31,000 troops killed since Russia's full-scale invasion

Volodymyr Zelensky says 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed during Russia's full-scale invasion. The Ukrainian president said he would not give the number of wounded as that would help Russian military planning. Typically, Ukrainian officials do not make casualty figures

US airman sets himself on fire outside Israeli embassy in Washington

An active member of the US Air Force set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington on Sunday, officials said, as media reported he was protesting the war in Gaza. Emergency responders rushed to the scene just before 1:00 pm (1800 GMT) in response to a "call for

Belarusians vote in tightly controlled election amid boycott call

President Alexander Lukashenko has relied on subsidies and political support from his main ally, Russia, to survive the protests that followed his fraudulent re-election in 2020. Polls opened Sunday in Belarus' tightly controlled parliamentary and local elections that are set to

Navalny's body handed over to his mother

The body of leading Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny has been returned to his mother, his spokeswoman says. In a post on X, Kira Yarmysh thanked everybody who had demanded that the authorities hand over his remains. "The funeral is yet to take place," she wrote.

US and UK carry out fresh strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen

The Pentagon says US and UK fighter planes have carried out strikes on 18 Houthi sites in Yemen - the fourth such joint operation by the allies. The US says Saturday's strikes were directed against storage facilities, drones, air defence systems, radars and a helicopter of the

Trump wins South Carolina Republican primary: U.S. media projections

Donald Trump won the Republican primary in South Carolina on Saturday, U.S. media projections showed, defeating rival Nikki Haley and continuing his march toward the nomination ahead of November's presidential election. Within seconds of the polls closing, multiple U.S. media

Pakistan's Presidential Election likely on March 9

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is gearing up for the presidential election which is likely to take place on March 9. This development comes as the constitutional term of President Dr. Arif Alvi concluded on September 8, 2023. Despite the conclusion of his term, President

Hajj violators in Saudi Arabia to face fines, jail term

Saudi Arabia has warned visitors and residents against participating in the upcoming Hajj season 2024 without obtaining the necessary permits. To ensure the smooth operation of this system and to mitigate potential violations, stringent penalties have been introduced. Collaborating

Imran Khan’s party moves to SC against alleged results rigging

Jailed former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan’s party on Friday approached the Supreme Court challenging the outcome of the February 8 general elections alleging widespread rigging. Khan has already declared the entire process as the ‘Mother of All Rigging’ and

Ukraine 'downs' 2nd Russian A-50 spy plane in weeks

Ukraine says it has downed a Russian A-50 military spy plane - the second such claim in just over a month. The plane was hit between the Russian cities of Rostov-on-Don and Krasnodar, Ukrainian military sources said, over 200km (124 miles) from the front line. Emergency services

Trump calls on Alabama to protect IVF treatment after court ruling

Donald Trump has said he supports the availability of IVF treatment, joining a growing number of Republicans who are seeking to distance themselves from an Alabama court ruling on the issue. The state's top court ruled last week that frozen embryos have the same rights as children

Arms exports to Israel must stop immediately: UN experts

Any transfer of weapons or ammunition to Israel that would be used in Gaza is likely to violate international humanitarian law and must cease immediately, UN experts* warned today. “All States must ‘ensure respect’ for international humanitarian law by parties to an

Israel's PM Netanyahu lays out Gaza plan for after the war

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has laid out his vision for a post-war Gaza. Under his plan Israel would control security indefinitely, and Palestinians with no links to groups hostile to Israel would run the territory. The US, Israel's major ally, wants the West

Biden holds poignant meeting with Alexei Navalny’s widow, daughter

President Joe Biden had a private, emotional meeting with the widow and daughter of Alexei Navalny in California on Thursday, as his administration announced fresh sanctions against Russia over the death of the Kremlin opposition leader. The visit at a hotel in San Francisco came as

UK authorities seize 'biggest ever' cocaine shipment

British authorities said on Friday they had seized 5.7 tons of cocaine from a port in southern England, in what is believed to be the biggest ever seizure of Class A drugs in the UK. The haul, worth an estimated 450 million pounds ($570 million) based on UK street prices, was

Canadian white nationalist who killed Muslim family gets life sentence

A Canadian white nationalist who deliberately ran over and killed four members of a Muslim family in 2021 was given a life sentence on Thursday with no chance of parole for 25 years, domestic media reported. Nathaniel Veltman, 23, had been found guilty of first-degree murder last

Gaza death toll rises to 29,313, Rafah residents killed in strike

Israel stepped up its bombardment of the southern city of Rafah, residents said on Wednesday, as the death toll in the war across the devastated Palestinian strip rose to 29,313, according to the Gaza health ministry. In its daily summary of events in Gaza, the Israeli army said it had

At least 23 dead after open-pit gold mine collapses in Venezuela

At least 23 people have died in central Venezuela after a wall of earth collapsed at an illegally operated gold mine while dozens of people were at work. Yorgi Arciniega, a local official, told the AFP news agency on Wednesday that about 23 bodies had been recovered from the open-pit

Courting young voters, Biden announces new student debt relief

US President Joe Biden, elected in 2020 largely thanks to young voters, on Wednesday announced he was extending his student loan forgiveness program by canceling the loans of an additional 150,000 Americans. "While a college degree is still a ticket to a better life, that ticket

Brazil foreign minister says Israeli counterpart ‘lying’ in Gaza spat

Brazil’s foreign minister on Tuesday accused his Israeli counterpart of “lying” as a diplomatic spat escalated over President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s comparison of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza to the Holocaust. Mauro Vieira, whose country is