Wednesday, 30 July 2025

Author: AFP

New IRA admits responsibility for killing North Ireland journalist

LONDON: Dissident republican group the New IRA on Tuesday admitted responsibility for killing Northern Irish journalist Lyra McKee last week as police said they had arrested a 57-year-old woman in connection with the shooting. The New IRA “offer our full and sincere apologies to the partner, family and friends of

PM Modi casts vote on India’s ‘Super Tuesday’

AHMEDABAD: Prime Minister Narendra Modi cast his vote on India’s “Super Tuesday” when the biggest number of seats are decided in the country’s marathon election. The nationalist leader compared voting to Hindus cleansing their sins by bathing in the Ganges river after he cast his ballot in his home state

Top Myanmar court rejects appeal of Reuters reporters

NAYPYIDAW: Myanmar’s Supreme Court rejected the latest appeal Tuesday by two Pulitzer-prize winning Reuters journalists who were jailed for seven years on charges linked to their reporting on the Rohingya crisis, as hopes now turn to a presidential pardon. Reporters Wa Lone, 33, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 29, have been

Philippines warns press out to ‘destroy’ Duterte

MANILA: The Philippine government yesterday warned the press against plotting to “destroy” President Rodrigo Duterte’s government, as his spokesman accused journalists of spreading fake news. The warning followed recent local news reports alleging the Duterte family’s involvement in illegal drugs and raising questions about a large increase in his wealth.

The wounded fight on in India’s political ‘killing fields’

VADAKARA (India): P. Jayarajan slowly raised his left hand and pointed to a gap where a thumb had been hacked off before flagging a deep scar on his other arm – proud war wounds from a past Indian political campaign. “They tried to kill me in front of my wife

Two shot dead at resort, four tourists abducted

KANO (Nigeria): Two people including a British aid worker have been shot dead and four tourists abducted in an attack by armed gunmen on a holiday resort in north-western Nigeria, police said on Sunday. Police and aid agency Mercy Corps named the dead woman as Faye Mooney. “Faye was a

Father and son drown saving tourist at popular Australia spot

MELBOURNE: A father and son lifesaving team drowned while trying to save a tourist swept out to sea near one of Australia’s most famous sights off the south coast, officials said yesterday. Ross Powell, 71, and his son Andrew, 32, died on Sunday after their lifesaving boat overturned in the

Sri Lanka blames extremists for Easter attacks

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka said yesterday it believed a local Islamist extremist group was behind deadly suicide bomb blasts that killed nearly 300 people as it announced a national state of emergency beginning midnight. Government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said investigators were looking at whether the National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ) group had

Five dead as two buildings collapse in northern Philippine quake: Official

MANILA: Five people were killed when at least two buildings collapsed as a strong earthquake rocked the northern Philippines, a local official said yesterday. Three bodies have been pulled out of a collapsed building in the town of Porac, while an old woman and her grandchild were crushed to death

Disneyland Paris cleans up its act, bans plastic straws

Disneyland Paris announced a series of measures to make Europe’s biggest private tourist attraction more environmentally friendly, including banning plastic straws. The theme park east of the French capital, which draws 15 million visitors a year, is like a small town in its own right, producing 19 tonnes of waste