Category: World

WASHINGTON: The US nominee to lead the World Bank, former Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga, returns to his native India on Thursday, capping a three-week global tour to drum up support and discuss development and climate needs with donor and borrowing countries. The Treasury said Banga will visit New Delhi on March 23 and 24, where […]

The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Iran have agreed to meet soon in preparation to reopen embassies and consulates between the two countries. Saudi top diplomat Faisal bin Farhan and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian talked by phone late Tuesday, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said. “At the beginning of the call, the two […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that proposals by China could be utilized as the basis for the peaceful settlement of the Ukraine war. Many provisions correspond to Russia’s vision and may serve as a draft when the West and Kyiv are ready for peace, Putin said at a news conference following a meeting with […]

DUBAI: At least 10 soldiers were killed in renewed fighting in Yemen, military sources told AFP, despite diplomatic efforts to halt the long-running war in the Arab world’s poorest country. The clashes took place in oil-producing Marib province, one of the main battlegrounds and the scene of sporadic fighting even during a lull in hostilities […]

ISTANBUL: China’s President Xi Jinping on Monday said that Beijing will work with Russia to “promote a multi-polar world.” On his ninth trip to Russia since being first elected as president in 2013, Xi said: “China will work with Russia to uphold true multilateralism, promote a multi-polar world and greater democracy in international relations, and […]

NEW DELHI: Tensions have escalated between India and Australia over the upcoming Khalistan Referendum organised by the pro-secessionist group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) on Monday in the city of Brisbane. The Indian government has demanded a ban on voting, which seeks to create an independent Khalistan state for Sikhs in India, citing its potential to […]

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has said that religious freedom in India had “significantly worsened” during 2021 as approximately one-third of India’s 28 states limit or prohibit religious conversion, in violation of global human rights treaties. “In 2021, religious freedom conditions in India significantly worsened. During the year, the Indian government […]

The Saudis are talking to the Iranians. Yemen’s Houthi rebels are talking to the Saudis. And the Yemeni government? Well, it does not seem to be talking to anyone. Or at least that is the impression as months-long negotiations between Saudi officials and the Houthis are rumoured to be bearing fruit. This notion gained new […]

Saudi Arabia announced on March 12 the creation of a new national airline, part of a plan to turn Riyadh into a global aviation hub rivalling regional leaders like Dubai and Doha. “Riyadh Air “aims to launch flights to more than 100 destinations around the world by 2030,” the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. […]

BEIJING: China warned on Tuesday that Australia, Britain and the United States were treading a “path of error and danger” after they unveiled a nuclear-powered submarines deal. Australia announced on Monday it would buy up to five US nuclear-powered submarines, then build a new model with US and British technology under an ambitious plan to […]