Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks during a press conference alongside US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (not pictured) during the AUKUS summit on March 13, 2023, at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego, California. (PHOTO / AFP) CANBERRA – Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has launched his plan to […]
Buddhist devotees gather around an illuminated Kelaniya Buddhist Temple during 'Vesak festival', which commemorates the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha, in Kelaniya on May 7, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) COLOMBO – Sri Lanka's Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious, and Cultural Affairs is drafting a new law to promote religious harmony, state media reported on Sunday, […]
A man casts her ballot at a polling station in a government school during Türkiye's presidental elections in Adana on May 28, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) ANKARA – Voting started in the runoff presidential election in Türkiye on Sunday in which incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his main contender Kemal Kilicdaroglu race for the […]
A fisherman shifts a fishing boat at Kasimedu fishing harbour during a 61-day trawling ban in Chennai on April 25, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) NEW DELHI – India's fishing boats are being equipped with two-way communication transponders free of charge with the aim of improving overall maritime security, local media reported on Saturday. The transponders […]
A demining specialist from pro-government forces clears landmines reportedly planted by Houthi rebel forces, from an area on the outskirts of Bayhan town in Yemen's northern Shabwa governorate, on January 19, 2022. (PHOTO / AFP) SANAA – Landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXOs) caused 121 civilian casualties in Yemen during the first quarter of 2023, according […]
A demining specialist from pro-government forces clears landmines reportedly planted by Houthi rebel forces, from an area on the outskirts of Bayhan town in Yemen's northern Shabwa governorate, on January 19, 2022. (PHOTO / AFP) SANAA – Landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXOs) caused 121 civilian casualties in Yemen during the first quarter of 2023, according […]
This aerial picture taken on June 10, 2022, shows Passu glacier near Passu village in Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan region. (PHOTO / AFP) ISLAMABAD – Ten people were killed and ten others injured when an avalanche hit a convoy of nomads in Pakistan's northern Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) region on Saturday, an official confirmed. Scores of people were feared […]
Motorists make their way amid a rainfall in New Delhi on May 1, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) NEW DELHI – At least six flights were diverted from India's Delhi to other airports as heavy rains lashed the capital along with thunderstorms on Saturday morning, according to the local weather agency. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) […]
This screenshot made from a video shows Afghanistan's acting Prime Minister Mawlawi Abdul Kabir speaking at a program. KABUL – Afghanistan's acting Prime Minister Mawlawi Abdul Kabir has stressed having positive relations based on mutual respect with the world community, a local television channel Tolonews reported. "The Islamic Emirate wants positive relations and mutual respect […]
Iranian Diplomat Asadollah Assadi, who was imprisoned in Belgium, reacts during a media event after being freed, at Imam Khomeini International Airport, in Tehran, Iran on May 26, 2023. (PHOTO / WANA VIA REUTERS) TEHRAN – An Iranian diplomat imprisoned in Belgium for almost five years will return to his country in a few hours, […]
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers his speech during the visit of Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at the Malacanang presidential palace in Manila on March 1, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) MANILA – Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos on Thursday pushed for the resumption of negotiations for a Philippine-European Union (EU) free trade agreement (FTA), […]
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian speaks during a press conference with his Iraqi counterpart Fouad Hussein (not in this picture) during his visit to Baghdad, Iraq, Feb 22, 2023. (PHOTO / AP) TEHRAN – Iran’s foreign minister on Thursday expressed optimism regarding the ongoing negotiations to revive the 2015 nuclear deal and remove Western sanctions. […]
Pedestrians walk past the portraits of late DPRK leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang on May 18, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) SEOUL – The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Thursday denounced the establishment of a trilateral information-sharing mechanism among the United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea on the margins […]
Supporters of the Candlelight Party (CP) shout slogans from a vehicle during a rally on the last day of campaigning for the commune elections in Phnom Penh on June 3, 2022. (PHOTO / AFP) PHNOM PENH – Cambodia's Constitutional Council (CCC) on Thursday rejected an appeal made by the main opposition Candlelight Party against its […]
A general view of the Kabba at the Grand Mosque is seen during the Hajj pilgrimage in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on July 6, 2022. (PHOTO / AP) DAMASCUS – Syrians' Hajj pilgrimage to the Islamic holy cities of Madinah and Mecca in Saudi Arabia will be resumed in 2024 after […]
This file photo taken on Aug 11, 2021 shows a view of a Diadema setosum long-spined sea urchin, typically native to Indo-Pacific waters and currently invading the eastern Mediteranean sea, some 17 meters underwater off the shore of Lebanon's northern coastal city of Qalamun. (PHOTO / AFP) JERUSALEM – Israeli researchers found that within just […]
This picture shows a fire at a building in Sydney on May 25, 2023. More than 100 firefighters battled towering flames and thick smoke from a seven-storey blaze in central Sydney on May 25, warning that it is spreading to other buildings. (PHOTO / AFP) SYDNEY – A major fire has broken out at a […]
This video capture from James Reynolds' Twitter page @EarthUncutTV shows damage caused by high winds and precipitation a day after Typhoon Mawar passed over Tumon Bay, Guam, May 25, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) LOS ANGELES – Supertyphoon Mawar hit Guam with strong winds with a speed of over 140 miles per hour (about 225 kilometers […]
In this file photo dated July 11, 2022, Australia's black, red and yellow Aboriginal flag (left) flies beside Australia's national flag over the Harbour Bridge in Sydney. (PHOTO / AFP) MELBOURNE – Western Australia state has agreed to compensate an Aboriginal group for historic acts including issuing mining leases on their traditional lands, setting a […]
This photo shows the policemen are seen outside Admirality House in Sydney on May 24, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) SYDNEY – Police in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) on Thursday commenced a critical incident investigation after a knife-wielding man was shot dead in Sydney. NSW Police Force said in a statement that […]
In this file photo dated April 13, 2022, an oil tanker truck departs from the Red Sea port of Hodeida in western Yemen. (PHOTO / AFP) ADEN, Yemen – The Yemeni government said on Wednesday that it is facing financing difficulties following a drop in public revenues caused by Houthi attacks on oil export ports. […]
A general view of the Kabba at the Grand Mosque is seen during the Hajj pilgrimage in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on July 6, 2022. (PHOTO / AP) DAMASCUS – Syrians' Hajj pilgrimage to the Islamic holy cities of Madinah and Mecca in Saudi Arabia will be resumed in 2024 after […]
This file photo taken on Aug 11, 2021 shows a view of a Diadema setosum long-spined sea urchin, typically native to Indo-Pacific waters and currently invading the eastern Mediteranean sea, some 17 meters underwater off the shore of Lebanon's northern coastal city of Qalamun. (PHOTO / AFP) JERUSALEM – Israeli researchers found that within just […]
Fighters affiliated with Syria's "Hayat Tahrir al-Sham" (HTS) rebel-group, take part in a military excercise on attacking tactics with live ammunition on the outskirts of the northwestern province of Idlib on Nov 8, 2022. The Syrian army carried out several rounds of shelling against positions of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in northern Syria over the […]
Police officers inspect the site of a bomb blast, in Quetta, Balochistan province, Pakistan, April 10, 2023. (PHOTO / AP) ISLAMABAD – One of the key militant commanders in Pakistan and founder-chief of the banned Baloch National Army (BNA) Gulzar Imam Shambay has announced to quit militancy for peace and development in the country's southwest Balochistan […]
This photo combination shows Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (left) and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. (PHOTOS / AP & AFP) RIYADH – Canada and Saudi Arabia have decided to restore diplomatic relations and appoint new ambassadors. The Saudi foreign ministry and Global Affairs Canada, which manages the country's […]
This photo shows Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi meeting with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi (not in the photograph) in Tehran on March 4, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) TEHRAN — The Iranian nuclear chief on Wednesday denied The Associated Press's claim that Iran is building a nuclear facility "so deep in the earth," […]
Israelis protest against their government proposal of national budget on May 23, 2023 in Jerusalem. (PHOTO / AFP) JERUSALEM – Israel's lawmakers passed the 2023-2024 state budget on Wednesday despite protests over increased allocations to ultra-religious and pro-settler parties in the ruling coalition. Thousands rallied in Jerusalem throughout Tuesday to protest against the budget plan, […]
Children ride a horse along a pavement by a public beach in Lebanon's southern city of Sidon on May 21, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) Crisis-hit Lebanon’s recent reconciliation with Bahrain amid a flurry of regional relations reset could open more channels for dialogue, as the country charts its way out of an economic and political […]
This file photo taken on March 5, 2022 shows unit 6 (left) and unit 5 (right) reactor buildings at the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima prefecture. (PHOTO / AFP) TOKYO – A Japanese court on Wednesday rejected a call by local residents to halt the restart of […]