WAITING TACTICS: Police said that no enforcement personnel would enter an abandoned mine because of the high risk of loss of life, but they would wait outside
South Africa’s government says it will not help a group of illegal miners inside a closed mine in the country’s North West Province who have been denied access to basic supplies as part of an official strategy against illegal mining.The workers in the mineshaft in Stilfontein are believed to be faci
LARGE INCREASES: President Dissanayake’s party won in a northern area dominated by ethnic Tamils that had been a stronghold for traditional political powers
The party of Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday won a majority in parliament, according to official election results, providing a solid mandate for his program for economic revival.Dissanayake’s National People’s Power Party (NPP) won at least 123 of the 225 seats in parliament,
Japanese Princess Yuriko, the wife of wartime Emperor Hirohito’s brother and the oldest member of the imperial family, died yesterday after her health deteriorated recently, palace officials said.She was 101.Yuriko died at a Tokyo hospital, the Imperial Household Agency said. It did not announce the
After years of serving as Mali’s minister of the environment, Aida M’bo now spends her time planting trees in a fight that many in the arid west African country acknowledge they are losing.“Deforestation is an important issue in Mali,” M’bo said, standing in front of the Zamblara forest.For decades
The ancient Roman Colosseum will be the venue of gladiator fights — albeit staged — for the first time in two millennia under a US$1.5 million sponsorship deal with Airbnb that aims to promote “a more conscious tourism.”However, some visitors to the monument on Thursday, as well as housing activists
SOUTH KOREAOpposition leader sentencedThe Seoul Central District Court yesterday handed Lee Jae-myung, the country’s opposition leader, a suspended prison sentence for contravening election laws — a ruling that might prevent him from running in the next presidential election. The court ruled that Le
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s Chouaifet neighborhood on Thursday amid the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
‘HUGS NOT WORKING’: Ken Salazar said that the bodies of people killed by violence ‘can be seen everywhere’ and that the nation’s leaders were downplaying the issue
Mexico failed to accept aid in its fight against drug cartels and “closed the doors” on security cooperation with Washington, US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar told a news conference in Mexico City on Wednesday.Salazar said there was rampant violence, police corruption and that the Mexican governm
Scientists yesterday said they have found the world’s largest coral near the Pacific’s Solomon Islands, announcing a major discovery “pulsing with life and color.”The coral is so immense that researchers sailing the crystal waters of the Solomon archipelago initially thought they had stumbled across
TRUMP FACTOR: An analyst said that Rafael Grossi ‘will do what he can’ to prevent the situation getting worse given the differences between Tehran and the West
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi yesterday met with Iran’s top diplomat as he began nuclear talks in Tehran weeks before US president-elect Donald Trump takes office.During his first term in the White House from 2017 to 2021, Trump was the architect of a polic
New Zealand’s parliament yesterday began a debate on a bill aimed at reinterpreting the country’s founding agreement as hundreds of protesters continued their march toward the capital.The ACT New Zealand party, a junior partner in the country’s coalition government, last week unveiled the bill, whic
Australia plans to require social media platforms to act to prevent online harm to users such as bullying, predatory behavior and algorithms pushing destructive content, the government said yesterday.“The Digital Duty of Care will place the onus on digital platforms to proactively keep Australians s
CHINARussian official visitsA Russian defense official attended a military showcase in Zhuhai in a show of unity between the countries as Moscow continues its invasion of Ukraine. Russian Federation Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu viewed Chinese and Russian aircraft and other military hardw
‘HORRIFIC’: A review said that the Church of England covered up ‘traumatic physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual attacks’ that occurred for decades
The leader of the world’s Anglicans, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, on Tuesday announced he was resigning following a damning report that concluded the Church of England covered up a serial abuse case. Welby had faced days of growing pressure to quit after an independent probe found Welby “c
The Indonesian and Australian militaries yesterday began joint combat drills off Indonesia’s main island of Java with about 2,000 troops training in air, maritime, amphibious and land operations. They are participating in a live-fire exercise near Banongan beach of East Java’s Situbondo district wit
Airlines in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia and Singapore yesterday canceled flights to and from the Indonesian island of Bali, after a nearby volcano catapulted an ash tower into the sky. Australia’s Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia all grounded flights after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on F
After fleeing Iran and making the perilous journey across the Mediterranean, Kurdish activist Maysoon Majidi did not expect to be jailed in Italy for people smuggling. However, the day after arriving on a boat in December last year, she was arrested and held for 10 months — a victim, her supporters
LITERATURE AWARD: ‘With her language of lyricism and acuity, Harvey makes our world strange and new for us,’ said Edmund de Waal, chair of the judges
British writer Samantha Harvey on Tuesday won the prestigious Booker Prize for her science-fiction novel following six astronauts as they orbit Earth over 24 hours. Set aboard the International Space Station, Harvey’s Orbital tracks two men and four women from Japan, Russia, the US, Britain and Ital
Azerbaijan’s president, whose country is hosting the COP29 climate talks, on Tuesday repeated his insistence that oil, gas and other natural resources are a “gift of the God.” In a robust defense of his country against what he termed “fake news” and a “well-coordinated campaign of slander and blackm
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