Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II has appointed Liz Truss as the new prime minister a day after the former foreign secretary won the ruling party’s leadership race. Truss, 47, on Monday won the ruling Conservative Party’s leadership contest, gaining the parliamentary majority to become the country’s next prime minister and replacing …
Read More »China’s Chengdu enforces strict lockdown despite fatal earthquake
Authorities in the southwestern China province of Chengdu have maintained a strict Covid lockdown, after an earthquake that has killed at least 65 people in surrounding areas. Footage circulating online showed workers wearing protective gear preventing some of the city’s 21 million residents from exiting their apartments. Buildings in Chengdu …
Read More »Karbala finalizing preparations for the Arbaeen, local official says
Karbala’s local government is working out the final touches on the preparations for the annual Arbaeen pilgrimage, first deputy governor Jasem al-Fatlawi said on Monday. Millions of Shiite Muslims are flocking to the holy city of Karbala to participate in the Arbaeen anniversary, a religious observance that takes place forty …
Read More »Liz Truss winning vote to be next British prime minister
Liz Truss will become Britain’s next prime minister after winning a leadership race for the governing Conservative Party on Monday, vowing to press ahead with promised tax cuts and action to tackle the deepening energy and cost of living crisis. After weeks of an often bad-tempered and divisive leadership contest, …
Read More »Oil prices jump nearly 4% as OPEC+ agrees small oil output cut
Oil prices rose about 4% on Monday, extending gains as OPEC+ members agreed to a small production cut to bolster prices. Brent crude futures for November delivery rose $3.53 to $96.55 a barrel, up 3.8%, by 11:07 a.m. ET (1507 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up $3.08, or …
Read More »Two Russian embassy staff dead, four others killed in suicide bomb blast in Kabul
Two Russian embassy staff in Kabul were among six people killed when a suicide bomber detonated explosives near the entrance of the embassy, in a blast that injured at least 10 others, the Russian Foreign Ministry and Afghan officials said on Monday. Police said the attacker was shot dead by …
Read More »Ukraine PM asks EU for missile and air defence, offers gas supplies
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal urged the European Union on Monday to supply Kyiv with more weapons and equipment while offering to help out with gas deliveries to reduce the bloc’s dependence on Russia. “We need more modern weapons, such as air defence, missile defence and ship defence,” Shmyhal told …
Read More »Pakistan struggles to avert danger as floods rise, death toll tops 1,300 – Pictures
Pakistani authorities are struggling to prevent the country’s biggest lake from bursting its banks and inundating nearby towns after unprecedented flooding, while the disaster management agency on Monday raised its toll of flood deaths by another 24. Record monsoon rains and melting glaciers in Pakistan’s northern mountains have brought floods …
Read More »Ukraine’s Zelensky warns Europe to prepare for harsh winter amid energy crisis
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky says Europeans are expected to experience a harsh winter amid cuts in oil and gas exports by Russia in the wake of Western sanctions against Moscow over its military operation in the former Soviet country. Zelensky made the comment late on Saturday after Moscow shut down …
Read More »Taiwan deploys anti-drone guns to offshore islands
The move follows several incidents involving UAVs believed to be from mainland China The Taiwanese military announced the deployment of anti-drone guns to the offshore islands of Kinmen and Matsu on Friday, following several UAV incursions allegedly coming from the Chinese mainland. Kinmen and Matsu are groups of small islands …
Read More »US ambassador leaves Russia
John Sullivan has completed his tenure in Moscow, the diplomatic mission said John Sullivan has left Russia after almost three years as US ambassador, the diplomatic mission in Moscow announced on Sunday. “US Ambassador to the Russian Federation John J. Sullivan has concluded his tenure as US envoy and departed …
Read More »Iraqi PMF launches a large-scale security operation in Kirkuk
Iraqi Al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces-PMF) launched a large-scale search campaign south of Kirkuk, an official statement said on Sunday. The statement said that the operation aims to secure the vicinity of the Daquq district and close the security gaps that ISIS militants might exploit to wage terrorist attacks in …
Read More »UN: Israel killed 4 Palestinians, ruined 55 Palestinian structures in 2 weeks
The United Nations says Israeli forces shot dead at least four Palestinians and demolished 55 Palestinian-owned structures in the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds in a time span of over two weeks. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territory said in …
Read More »FBI found more than 11,000 government records at Trump’s Florida home
The FBI recovered more than 11,000 government documents and photographs during its Aug. 8 search at former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate, as well as 48 empty folders labeled as “classified,” according to court records that were unsealed on Friday. The unsealing by US District Judge Aileen Cannon in West …
Read More »CNN: Saudi Arabia is becoming the drug capital of the Middle East
A grisly drug-induced homicide captivated the media in Saudi Arabia this April when a man in the country’s Eastern Province set his family house on fire before iftar, the meal that ends the Ramadan fast. Four members of his family were killed. Police said he was under the influence of …
Read More »MBS turning into one of ‘most dangerous’ rulers in world: Report
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has over the past years turned into one of the “most dangerous” rulers in the world after gaining clout through pressing ahead with his highly repressive policies, dismissing his political rivals, and butchering his detractors inside and outside of the ultra-conservative kingdom, a …
Read More »Shenzhen districts locked down as China battles COVID outbreaks
Most residents of the Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen went into a weekend lockdown on Saturday as mass COVID-19 testing kicked off in much of the city of 18 million people. The lockdown, and the suspension of bus and subway services, came into effect two days after city authorities said …
Read More »Pentagon to move bio-weapons programs from Ukraine: Russia
Russia says the United States is planning to move its unfinished programs for the development of biological weapons from Ukraine to another country in Eastern Europe, in a move that threatens the host country. Russia has formerly said it has discovered signs of several bio laboratories in Ukraine. The laboratories …
Read More »US to speed up arms sales to its allies to counter China: WSJ Report
US President Joe Biden plans to expedite arms sales to Washington’s allies by removing bureaucratic obstacles that could cause delays in order to better compete with other countries, China in particular, according to a report. The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the Biden administration had appointed a new …
Read More »Iraqi PMF arrested an ISIS leader south of Baghdad
The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) arrested on Thursday, an official affiliated with ISIS and carried out a joint operation with the Iraqi army west of Mosul. PMF said in a statement that the Intelligence and Information department apprehended an ISIS official south of Baghdad. The detainees worked with the terrorist …
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