World news
Russia to build six nuclear plants in India in 20 years
MOSCOW: Russia plans to build at least six new nuclear power units in India in the next 20 years, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday. Speaking after talks with visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Putin also said that Moscow and New Delhi were successfully cooperating in productio
Afghan forces battle to push back Taliban in Helmand
Afghan forces battled on Wednesday to push back Taliban fighters who have overrun Sangin in Helmand province and officials denied insurgents' claims that police and administrative buildings in the district centre had fallen. Earlier Acting Defence Minister Masoom Stanekzai said reinforcements had
Daesh can’t destroy US, says Obama
HONOLULU: US President Barack Barack Obama said Daesh can’t destroy the United States. In a year-end interview with NPR News, Obama says he understands why people are worried. Earlier this month, a radicalized married couple who had pledged allegiance to Daesh opened fire on the husband’s co-worker
Nearly 80 still missing in Indonesian ferry accident
SIWA, Indonesia: Nearly 80 people are still missing nearly 24 hours after a ferry ran into trouble in rough seas off the coast of Indonesia’s Sulawesi, with authorities not ruling out the possibility of a sinking. ADVERTISING 5 The transport ministry has confirmed three peop
World Bank approves $1 billion loan to Egypt
CAIRO: The World Bank Group has announced a $1 billion loan to Egypt, the first installment of an $8 billion financing plan to help the country carry out key economic reforms. Yesterday's statement says the $8 billion loan will be disbursed over a four-year period to support Egypt's efforts to "r
US announces $88 million in food aid to Ethiopia
ADDIS ABABA: The United States government has announced $88 million to help feed hungry people in drought-stricken areas of Ethiopia, bringing the total amount of humanitarian aid to the country in 2015 to more than $435 million. The Ethiopian government is appealing for $1.4 billion from the int
US could start lifting Iran sanctions in January under nuclear deal
The United States appears poised to lift at least some sanctions against Iran – possibly as early as January. The secretary of state, John Kerry, said in a letter on Wednesday to the Senate foreign relations committee that Iran is fulfilling its obligations under the international agreement in wh
UN kicks off race for next secretary-general
THE UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations kicked off the race to be the next secretary-general with a letter that for the first time invited candidates to become the world’s top diplomat. The choice of the UN chief has for decades been the purview of the five permanent Security Council members — Brita
Fires cost Indonesia $16 bn, twice the tsunami bill: WB
JAKARTA: Indonesia’s economy took a $16-billion hit this year from forest fires that cloaked Southeast Asia in haze, more than double the sum spent on rebuilding Aceh after the 2004 tsunami, the World Bank said Tuesday. The fires and resulting haze are an annual occurrence caused by slash-and-burn
Nepal’s new constitution ensures unity, prosperity
RIYADH: Once popular as the Himalayan Kingdom, it is now officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal after adopting the first democratic constitution in a historic step to unite the country for progress and prosperity. In an interview with Arab News on the development Ananda Prasad Sharma,
Obama warns Americans against blaming Islam for terrorism
WAHINGTON DC: US President Barack Obama has warned Americans to refrain from blaming Islam for terrorism and said that ISIS and other terror groups were depicting the fight against terrorism as a war between Islam and the West. According to the Dawn, it was Obama's third address to his nation sin
Islamic State can make fake Syrian passports: US report
WASHINGTON: A US government agency report has warned that Islamic State has the ability to create fake Syrian passports, a federal official confirmed on Friday. A spokeswoman for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed the contents of a story by CNN on Friday about the report, but declin
Kim Jong un says N Korea has hydrogen bomb, but world sceptical
SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong un appeared on Thursday to claim the country has developed a hydrogen bomb, a step up from the less powerful atomic bomb, but outside experts were sceptical about his claim. Kim made the comments as he toured the Phyongchon Revolutionary Site, which marks the feat
China to grant residence rights to 13 million 'illegal' citizens
BEIJING: China will give household registration permits to its unregistered citizens and make medical insurance coverage more equal, the government said on Wednesday, as it looks to overhaul systems often under fire for failing those people most in need. The move on household registration - or "h
UN urges Jordan to let 12,000 stranded Syrian refugees enter
GENEVA/AMMAN: The United Nations urged Jordan on Tuesday to allow in 12,000 Syrian refugees stranded at the border in deteriorating humanitarian conditions and offered to help reinforce security at registration points. The Syrians are fleeing escalating air strikes on their battered homeland as w
Obama urges Muslims leaders to speak up against ISIS
Asserting that the ISIS does not speak for Islam, US President Barack Obama has urged Islamic leaders across the world to speak out against the terrorist outfit and its ideology. In a rare address to the nation from his Oval Office, Obama also urged his countrymen not to discriminate against peop
Commuter train hits passenger bus in Indonesia; 14 dead
JAKARTA: Police say a commuter train slammed into a passenger minibus at a railroad crossing in Indonesia's capital, killing at least 14 people and seriously injuring 10 others. Tambora neighborhood police chief Wirdhanto says the bus driver allegedly ignored the warning signals when he crossed t
Obama disturbed at political rhetoric against Muslims: White House
WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama is deeply disturbed at some of the "political rhetoric" directed against the Muslim community in the US in the aftermath of the California mass shooting that killed 14 people, a presidential spokesman said today. Any effort to marginalise the highly patriotic Mu