Friday, 19 December 2025

Author: AFP

China ‘won’t allow’ G20 discussion of HK

BEIJING: China said yesterday it will not allow discussion of Hong Kong at the G20 summit this week even as US President Donald Trump plans to raise the city’s mass protests during his meeting with President Xi Jinping. The semi-autonomous city has been shaken by huge demonstrations this month with

Airport attack kills one, wounds 21

RIYADH: A Yemeni rebel attack on a civilian airport in southern Saudi Arabia killed a Syrian national and wounded 21 other civilians Sunday, a Riyadh-led coalition said, in a new escalation following a series of strikes on the site. The attack on Abha airport, which the coalition said left a

Re-election ‘easier’ if impeached: Trump

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said in an interview broadcast Sunday his chances of retaining the White House in 2020 would be strengthened if Democratic lawmakers start impeachment proceedings against him. Asked on NBC’s “Meet the Press” whether he thought impeachment was good politics for him, Trump replied, “I think

Sri Lanka President seeks to roll back his political reforms

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s President Sunday called for sweeping reforms to the country’s constitution that he introduced in 2015 to be rolled back, saying they are responsible for political instability. Maithripala Sirisena said the 19th amendment to the constitution — which notably transferred some of the president’s powers to the Prime

Powerful Indonesian quake felt in Australia

JAKARTA: A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck remote eastern Indonesia yesterday, forcing people to flee office buildings as far away as the northern Australian city of Darwin, officials and reports said. The deep and powerful earthquake sent shock waves around the region, with people on the tourist island of Bali as well

Thousands converge on HK police HQ

HONG KONG: Thousands of protesters converged on Hong Kong’s police headquarters yesterday, demanding the resignation of the city’s pro-Beijing leader and the release of demonstrators arrested during the territory’s worst political crisis in decades. The latest protest comes after the government refused to meet the demands of demonstrators who have

Over 1,100 women ‘sold as wives’ rescued

BEIJING: Chinese police have rescued over 1,100 women from Southeast Asia who were “sold” as wives last year, authorities said yesterday. Seventeen children were also saved in the joint operations with police from Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand between July and December, the Ministry of Public Security said in

PNG migrant camp on fire as self-harm incidents rise

PORT MORESBY: A camp in Papua New Guinea housing refugees and asylum seekers, sent there under Australia’s harsh immigration policy, was on fire yesterday after a man set himself alight amid growing despair among residents, advocates said. Hundreds of refugees and asylum seekers are held in processing camps on the

Over 1,100 women ‘sold as wives’ rescued

BEIJING: Chinese police have rescued over 1,100 women from Southeast Asia who were “sold” as wives last year, authorities said yesterday. Seventeen children were also saved in the joint operations with police from Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand between July and December, the Ministry of Public Security said in

20 civilians killed by Syria regime fire

MAARET AL-NUMAN (Syria): Regime bombardment killed 20 civilians including eight children and three rescue workers in jihadist-run north-west Syria Thursday, as fighting killed dozens on the edges of the anti-government bastion. The Idlib region, home to some three million people, is supposed to be protected by a months-old international truce