Nigeria’s Boko Haram leader ‘badly wounded’: sources

Nigerian Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has been seriously wounded after trying to kill himself to avoid capture during clashes with rival Islamic State-allied jihadists in the north of the country, two intelligence sources said yesterday.
20 May 2021, 18:00 PM

Erdogan sues rival for comparing him to Netanyahu

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday sued a nationalist rival for comparing him to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, official media reported.
20 May 2021, 18:00 PM

Cecil Rhodes statue to remain: Oxford college

An Oxford University college yesterday said it will not take down a controversial statue of the 19th-century colonialist Cecil Rhodes, despite having backed its removal.
20 May 2021, 18:00 PM

Arctic warming 3 times faster than the planet

The Arctic has warmed three times more quickly than the planet as a whole, and faster than previously thought, a report warned yesterday.
20 May 2021, 18:00 PM

Vaccines work against all variants

Progress against the coronavirus pandemic remains “fragile” and international travel should be avoided, a World Health Organization director warned yesterday, while stressing that authorised vaccines work against variants of concern.
20 May 2021, 18:00 PM

US House votes to set up commission

The US House voted Wednesday to establish a bipartisan commission to investigate January’s deadly riot at the US Capitol, overcoming tensions for now amid rising Republican hostility to an independent fact-finding panel.
20 May 2021, 18:00 PM

Record 55m people internally displaced worldwide

Conflicts and natural disasters forced someone to flee within their own country every second of last year, pushing the number of people living in internal displacement to a record high, monitors said yesterday.
20 May 2021, 18:00 PM

‘Roof knocking’

A text message, a phone call, or an initial strike on the roof. Israel says it gives Gaza civilians warnings to evacuate before bombardment, but activists say it is not nearly enough.
20 May 2021, 18:00 PM

State ministers’ meeting convened by Modi a ‘super flop’: Mamata

Fresh political heat gripped West Bengal today as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called a virtual meeting of chief ministers convened by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “super flop”, saying she along with her counterparts from non-BJP-ruled states was not allowed to speak.
20 May 2021, 14:23 PM

Singapore tells Facebook, Twitter to carry correction notice on virus strain

Singapore on Thursday ordered Facebook and Twitter to carry a correction notice to users of the social media platforms in the country over what it says is a false statement about a new virus variant originating in Singapore.
20 May 2021, 08:01 AM

Hamas official predicts ceasefire soon

A senior Hamas official predicted a ceasefire within days after U.S. President Joe Biden urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seek a “de-escalation”.
20 May 2021, 07:48 AM

Antarctica gives birth to world’s largest iceberg

A giant slab of ice bigger than the Spanish island of Majorca has sheared off from the frozen edge of Antarctica into the Weddell Sea, becoming the largest iceberg afloat in the world, the European Space Agency said on Wednesday.
20 May 2021, 05:03 AM

Expect 'significant de-escalation' by day’s end: Biden to Netanyahu

President Joe Biden greatly increased the pressure on Israel to end the war with the Palestinians that has killed more than 200 people, telling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a telephone call Wednesday that he expected “significant de-escalation” by day’s end.
19 May 2021, 18:01 PM

Fears for supplies as exodus grows from clashes

People displaced by an upsurge of fighting in Myanmar’s Chin State voiced concerns over shelter and supplies, as more flee the conflict between the army and insurgents opposed to the junta that seized power in February.
19 May 2021, 18:00 PM

Modi’s rating falls as India reels from Covid

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s approval ratings have fallen to a new low, two surveys showed, as the country struggles to contain a devastating second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
19 May 2021, 18:00 PM

Cyclone death toll hits 84 in India

The death toll from a major cyclone that slammed into coronavirus-ravaged India jumped to at least 84 yesterday, as the navy searched for 65 people still missing and authorities scrambled to restore power to the worst-hit regions.
19 May 2021, 18:00 PM

NY mounts criminal probe of Trump Organization finances

The New York attorney general’s office said on Tuesday it has now opened a criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump’s company, increasing the legal risk for Trump and his family.
19 May 2021, 18:00 PM

Israel accuses China state TV of ‘blatant anti-Semitism’

The Israeli embassy in Beijing has accused China’s state broadcaster of “blatant anti-Semitism” in a report on US policy during the ongoing deadly violence in the Palestinian Territories and Israel.
19 May 2021, 18:00 PM

Saudi FM ‘hopeful’ over exploratory Iran talks

Saudi Arabia is “hopeful” after exploratory talks with its nemesis Iran, its foreign minister told AFP, in a rare comment on delicate discussions whose details have been closely guarded.
19 May 2021, 18:00 PM

US Congress passes bill to fight rise in anti-Asian crimes

US lawmakers on Tuesday sent an anti-hate bill to President Joe Biden’s desk that aims to prevent violence against Asian Americans, following an alarming rise in attacks including murders during the coronavirus pandemic.
19 May 2021, 18:00 PM