TEHRAN: A massive explosion tore through Iran’s largest commercial port on Saturday, triggering a major blaze, with 14 people killed and 750 injured so far. The blast occurred at Shahid Rajaee Port in southern Iran, near the Strait of Hormuz through which a fifth of world oil output passes. Although
LONDON: In an era where computer algorithms automate trading at breakneck speeds, a dwindling number of London’s metal traders still conduct business in-person by shouting orders across Europe’s last so-called open-outcry trading floor. The near 150-year old tradition takes place in a circle, or pit, of red-leather benches — called the
LISBON: Thousands marched in Lisbon on Friday to celebrate Portugal’s Carnation Revolution, defying a government order to postpone events during a mourning period for Pope Francis. President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and opposition leaders backed the public, rejecting the centre-right government’s call to delay the April 25 anniversary. “What has
WASHINGTON: Private investment will be key to Ukraine’s reconstruction once a peace deal is reached, World Bank President Ajay Banga said on Friday. “Over the last three or four years, almost $50 billion has been funneled through us to Ukraine,” Banga told AFP during the Spring Meetings in Washington. Now
WASHINGTON: After President Donald Trump’s administration revoked hundreds of student visas and threatened deportation for participants of pro-Palestinian campus protests, international students told AFP they were reconsidering their dreams of earning degrees in the United States. Trump has launched a crackdown on higher education in recent weeks, accusing universities including Columbia
VATICAN CITY: Around 200,000 people gathered yesterday to attend the funeral of Pope Francis, the Vatican said. Italian police earlier estimated the crowd at about 150,000, with roughly 50,000 filling St Peter’s Square alone. In a heartfelt homily, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re described Pope Francis as “a pope among the
WASHINGTON, United States (US): Developing countries should strike swift trade deals with the US at the “earliest possible” opportunity, the president of the World Bank told AFP Friday, after a busy week with global financial leaders in Washington. Ajay Banga was interviewed by AFP at the World Bank and International Monetary
BEIJING: China must “overcome” key technological hurdles, especially in AI chips, to secure its ambitions in artificial intelligence, President Xi Jinping said during a Politburo meeting. Facing a growing trade standoff with Washington — where US tariffs on Chinese goods have reached 145 per cent, and Beijing retaliated with 125
By Michael Mathes WASHINGTON, United States (US): President Donald J. Trump has defied international norms on the nascent field of deep-sea mining, signing an executive order Thursday, expanding the practice for rare earth minerals in domestic and international waters. White House aides say the initiative could see US operations scoop
By Alice Ritchie, AFP VATICAN CITY: The Vatican will make final preparations Friday for Pope Francis’ funeral as the last of the huge crowds of mourners file through St Peter’s Basilica to view his open coffin. Many of the 50 heads of state and 10 monarchs attending Saturday’s ceremony in