An Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet crashed on Wednesday in western Kazakhstan, with 35 people feared dead, officials said.Azerbaijani authorities said 32 people had survived the crash of the Embraer 190 near the city of Aktau, an oil and gas hub on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea.With Azerbaijan Airlines reported that 67 people were …
35 feared dead as Azerbaijani jet crashes in Kazakhstan Read More »
Syria’s new authorities torched a large stockpile of drugs on Wednesday, two security officials told AFP, including one million pills of captagon, whose industrial-scale production flourished under ousted president Bashar al-Assad.Captagon is a banned amphetamine-like stimulant that became Syria’s largest export during the country’s more than 13-year civil war, effectively turning it into a narco …
Syria authorities say torched 1 million captagon pills Read More »
Pope Francis called Wednesday for “arms to be silenced” around the world in his Christmas address, appealing for peace in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan as he denounced the “extremely grave” humanitarian situation in Gaza.He used his traditional “Urbi et Orbi” (“to the city and the world”) message to the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics …
Pope calls for ‘arms to be silenced’ across world Read More »
An Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet with 67 people on board crashed on Wednesday in western Kazakhstan after veering from its scheduled route, officials said.Azerbaijani authorities said 32 people had survived the crash of the Embraer 190 near the city of Aktau, an oil and gas hub on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea.The plane …
32 survivors as Azerbaijani jet crashes in Kazakhstan Read More »
Christians across the world celebrated Christmas Wednesday, with the mood darkened by wars and a massive “inhumane” Christmas morning attack on Ukraine by Russia as well as a plane crash in Kazakhstan.With the war in Gaza also showing no signs of ending, Pope Francis was also expected to call for peace in the Middle East …
Pope’s sombre message in Christmas under shadow of war Read More »
Pakistan air strikes in an eastern border region of Afghanistan killed 46 civilians, the Taliban government said Wednesday, whilst a Pakistan security official said the bombardment had targeted “terrorist hideouts”.The strikes were the latest spike in hostilities on the frontier between Afghanistan and Pakistan, with tensions escalating since the Taliban seized power in 2021.Taliban government …
Pakistan air strikes kill 46 in Afghanistan, Kabul says Read More »
Japanese foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya on Wednesday raised “serious concerns” over China’s military buildup as he met counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing, Tokyo said.On his first visit to China since becoming Japan’s top diplomat earlier this year, Iwaya told Wang that Tokyo was “closely monitoring the Taiwan situation and recent military developments”, according to his …
Japan FM raises ‘serious concerns’ over China military buildup Read More »
Japanese foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya met counterpart Wang Yi and other top officials in Beijing on Wednesday, with the two sides agreeing to try to increase cooperation despite acknowledging challenges, reports said.The visit is Iwaya’s first to China since becoming Japan’s top diplomat earlier this year.China and Japan are key trading partners, but increased friction …
Japan’s top diplomat in China to address ‘challenges’ Read More »
New Vietnamese internet rules requiring Facebook and TikTok to verify user identities and hand over data to authorities came into force on Wednesday, in what critics say is the latest attack on freedom of expression.Under “Decree 147”, all tech giants operating in Vietnam must verify users’ accounts via their phone numbers or Vietnamese identification numbers …
Christmas revellers around the world donned red and white Santa hats, offered meals to the homeless and lit candles on Wednesday, as Pope Francis launched observation of the global holiday with a sombre mass in the Vatican.At Saint Peter’s Basilica, Francis used his Christmas Eve mass to urge Christians to think “of the wars, of …
