Syrian, Israeli officials meet in Baku: diplomatic source in Damascus

A Syrian and an Israeli official met face to face in Baku Saturday on the sidelines of a visit to Azerbaijan by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a diplomatic source in Damascus said. The meeting marked a major step for the two countries which have been foes for decades, and comes after Israel initially cold-shouldered Sharaa’s administration […]

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China’s Xi sends congratulations to Suriname President-elect Simons

China’s President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to Suriname’s President-elect Jennifer Simons, Chinese state media Xinhua reported on Sunday. Xi said he attaches great importance to the development of China-Suriname relations and that he is willing to work with Simmons to promote greater development of the strategic partnership between the two countries, Xinhua reported.

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China, ASEAN to submit upgraded free trade deal to leaders in October: China’s foreign minister

China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have agreed to submit a pact upgrading their free trade areas to their leaders for approval in October, according to China’s foreign minister Wang Yi on Saturday. Negotiations about the so-called 3.0 version of the free trade zone started in November 2022 and completed in May, seeking […]

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Malaysia investigates naked dancing, ‘holy baths’ claims at Muslim motivational event

Malaysian police are investigating a complaint about deviant activities such as naked dancing and “holy cleansing baths” being performed during a family motivational event. Police said the report was filed at the end of February over an incident that was held at a convention centre in Shah Alam, a predominantly Malay-Muslim enclave about 30km (19 […]

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In US-China tug of war, Australia puts itself first

By Huw Watkin For much of its history, Australia’s identity has been defined by distance – geographical, political, psychological. Now, with global tensions rising, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is testing whether that distance might yet be a source of strength. The answer, he seems to believe, lies in recalibrating Australia’s relationships with friends and rivals […]

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Russia’s Lavrov meets Kim warns US, South Korea, Japan against anti-North Korea alliance

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during a visit to North Korea on Saturday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said. The ministry published on Telegram a picture of the two men together, in a meeting it said had taken place in the North Korean port city of Wonsan. On Saturday, Lavrov warned […]

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How Air India flight 171 crashed and its fatal last moments

By Yashraj Sharma New Delhi, India – Just moments before a fatal Air India crash on June 12, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s fuel-control switches in the cockpit mysteriously moved from the “run” to the “cutoff” position, an early investigation into the disaster has revealed. Flipping to cutoff almost immediately cuts the engines. The investigation’s report, […]

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Why is govt allowing this?: Tarique calls for crackdown on mob violence

Dhaka :  Accusing the authorities of failing to arrest those allegedly forming violent mobs, BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman has called for crackdown on mob violence. “Why is the government allowing these incidents to happen?” he asked, referring to the brutal murder of trader Lal Chand alias Sohag in front of Mitford Hospital. He made the […]

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