SYDNEY: Australia has shuttered its Tehran embassy and ordered officials to leave Iran, the government said Friday, citing a “deteriorating security situation”. It joins a string of countries closing diplomatic missions in Iran since Israel launched air strikes a week ago, claiming its arch enemy was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon. Australia…
BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Friday that Beijing had “no fundamental conflicts of interest” with New Zealand, as he welcomed Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on an official visit. Luxon’s trip comes at a time of tension with New Zealand’s close partner the Cook Islands over its ties with Beijing. The self-governing Pacific island…
WELLINGTON: Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown on Friday defended a string of contentious deals with China, saying they did not “compromise” the Pacific island nation’s sovereignty. The agreements prompted major donor New Zealand to halt aid funding to close partner the Cook Islands, citing a “lack of consultation”. The Cook Islands has a “free…
SYDNEY: Australia’s world-leading ban on under-16s joining social media sites cleared a big hurdle Friday as a trial found digital age checks can work “robustly and effectively”. Sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and X could face fines of up to Aus$50 million (US$32 million) for failing to comply with the legislation, which was passed…
WASHINGTON: The World Bank said Thursday it is worried that some countries are less and less transparent about their public debt and use complex borrowing tools, making it harder to measure how much they owe. To remedy this the bank called for a fundamental change in the way debtor and creditor countries report and disclose…
WASHINGTON: On the eve of European talks with Iran over its nuclear program, Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Thursday after meeting high-level US officials that there is still time to reach a diplomatic solution with Tehran. Lammy met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff at the White House,…
TAIPEI: Taiwan detected 50 Chinese military aircraft around the island, the defence ministry said Friday, days after a British naval vessel transitted through the sensitive Taiwan Strait. China insists democratic, self-ruled Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring the island under its control. Beijing has ramped up the…
MORAVIA, COSTA RICA: A retired Nicaraguan soldier who has fiercely criticized President Daniel Ortega from exile was shot dead Thursday in neighboring Costa Rica, his family and officials said. Major Roberto Samcam, 66, was gunned down at his apartment building in San Jose, reportedly by men pretending to deliver a package. “It was something we…
WASHINGTON: A majority of Americans do not want the US to get involved in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, according to a poll released this week. The Economist/YouGov poll found that just 16 per cent of Americans believe the US military should intervene in the conflict, while a clear majority – 60 per…
PARIS: Parisians had such unexpected fun at their Olympics last summer, that they are holding a public anniversary celebration to recapture the party mood, but not everyone is quite as enthusiastic. The Olympic rings will be projected on the Eiffel Tower and there will be a giant Olympic karaoke in front of the town hall…
