Iran builds at underground nuclear facility amid US tensions
Dubai: Iran has begun construction on a site at its underground nuclear facility at Fordo amid tensions with the US over its atomic programme, satellite photos obtained Friday by The Associated Press show. Iran has not publicly acknowledged any new construction at Fordo, whose discovery by the West in 2009 came in an earlier round […]
Transition stumbles test Biden’s bond with Capitol Hill
Washington: President-elect Joe Biden brings more Capitol Hill experience than any president in decades, but his transition has stumbled in ways large and small, exposing the challenges of navigating a Congress that is a different place than when he last served in 2009. He rolled out an almost all-white national security team when allies were […]
French President Macron tests positive for COVID-19
Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for COVID-19, the presidential Elysee Palace announced on Thursday. It said the president took a test “as soon as the first symptoms appeared.” The brief statement did not say what symptoms Macron experienced. It said he would isolate himself for seven days. “He will continue to work […]
Turkey won’t step back on S-400s despite US sanctions
Ankara: Turkey won’t step back from its decision to deploy Russian air defence systems despite US sanctions imposed on the country over the purchase, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday. In an interview with Turkey’s 24 TV television, Cavusoglu also said Turkey was mulling steps it would take to reciprocate against the US […]
Will children be able to get COVID-19 vaccines?
Washington: Not until there’s enough data from studies in different age groups, which will stretch well into next year. The Pfizer vaccine authorised in the U.S. this month is for people 16 and older. Testing began in October in children as young as 12 and is expected to take several more months. The Food and […]
Turning the page? Republicans acknowledge Biden’s victory
Washington: More than a month after the election, top Republicans finally acknowledged Joe Biden as the next US president on Tuesday, a collapse in GOP resistance to the millions of voters who decisively chose the Democrat. Foreign leaders joined the parade, too, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Speaking from the floor of the US Senate where […]
Australia to seek WTO intervention in barley row with China
Canberra: Australia will ask the World Trade Organization to intervene in its dispute with China over barley and expects other nations to become involved in the case, Australian Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said on Wednesday. China effectively ended imports of Australian barley in May by putting tariffs of more than 80 per cent on the […]
In a first, leading Republicans call Biden president-elect
Washington: For the first time, a groundswell of leading Republicans have said that Democrat Joe Biden is the winner of the presidential election, essentially abandoning President Donald Trump’s assault on the outcome as the Electoral College certified the vote. With states affirming the results, the Republicans faced a pivotal choice – to declare Biden the […]
Russia’s Putin congratulates Biden on winning US election
Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday congratulated Joe Biden on winning the US presidential election after weeks of holding out. Putin’s message to Biden came a day after the Electoral College confirmed Biden as the nation’s next president, ratifying his November victory in an authoritative state-by-state repudiation of President Donald Trump’s refusal to concede […]
Afghan officials: Bomb, shooting attack in Kabul kill 3
Kabul: A bombing and a shooting attack on Tuesday in the Afghan capital of Kabul killed at least three people, including a deputy provincial governor, officials said. According to Tariq Arian, Afghan interior ministry spokesman, a sticky bomb attached to an armoured vehicle belonging to Kabul”s deputy provincial governor killed two people, and wounded two […]
