Eleven migrant labourers died of asphyxiation in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday in a fire that engulfed the windowless house they shared, Saudi authorities said. “Firefighters put out a blaze in an old house lacking windows for ventilation. Eleven people died of asphyxiation, and six others were injured” in the southern province of Najran, the civil … Read more
Egypt and Morocco’s airlines have said a ban against carry-on laptops on US-bound flights has been lifted, leaving only two Saudi airports under the restrictions put in place in March. Morocco’s Royal Air Maroc said in a statement Wednesday that the ban, imposed amid fears the Islamic State group was developing a bomb concealed in … Read more
Iran and Oman will work to boost their ties, the Islamic republic’s President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday, as a diplomatic crisis persists in the Gulf. “Iran and Oman have for years had fraternal relations and the best must be made of these good relations to reinforce them,” Rouhani said as he met Oman’s foreign … Read more
Hundreds of Myanmar farmers entered a seventh day of protest over land grabs on Wednesday, demanding the government return seized fields and protect them from a surge in prosecutions over property disputes. Land ownership is one of the most contentious issues in formerly junta-run Myanmar, where the army is accused of rampantly confiscating land during … Read more
The family of China’s cancer-stricken Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo declined to let doctors put him on artificial ventilation on Wednesday, his hospital said, raising the grim prospect that he could die in custody. The First Hospital of China Medical University in the northeastern city of Shenyang said the 61-year-old democracy activist had respiratory failure and … Read more
Authorities imposed a curfew Wednesday in parts of Indian-administered Kashmir after three rebels were killed in a firefight with government forces, police said. The shootout overnight, west of the main city of Srinagar, comes amid high tension after suspected militants shot dead seven Hindu pilgrims and injured 19 others in the disputed Himalayan territory. Soldiers … Read more
Malaysia has rounded up over 3,000 undocumented migrant workers this month in a major crackdown, prompting alarm Wednesday from lawmakers across the region who said the campaign was “victimising the vulnerable”. The relatively developed country is a magnet for migrant workers from across Asia, but several million are believed to be undocumented. Authorities started rounding … Read more
A Singapore court Wednesday convicted a jailed banker of additional offences in a case linked to the international money-laundering scandal involving neighbouring Malaysia’s state fund 1MDB. Singaporean Yeo Jiawei, a former wealth manager with Swiss bank BSI, was sentenced to 54 months after admitting charges of money-laundering and cheating. The jail term will run concurrently … Read more
PRESIDENT of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, last Monday urged the government of Qatar to ensure that the maltreatment of Ghanaians who travel to the Gulf State ceases. THE President made the call when he received letters of credence from the in-coming Qatar Ambassador to Ghana, Mohammed Jaber Al-Kuwari, at the Flagstaff … Read more
Arsenal play a double-header of friendly matches in Sydney this week and the arrival of the English Premier League giants is seen as a golden opportunity for football in Australia. The Gunners’ new £52.5 million ($68 million) record signing Alexandre Lacazette could make his debut in Thursday’s meeting with the reigning A-League champions Sydney FC. … Read more
The hospital treating China’s cancer-stricken Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo offered a grim update on his health on Wednesday, but human rights groups cautioned that the authorities may be manipulating the medical reports. The 61-year-old democracy advocate’s liver function continued to deteriorate and he suffered from “shock and organ failure”, according to the First Hospital of … Read more
Human rights activists have urged Singapore to halt the looming execution of a Malaysian drug trafficker, citing a pending appeal in his home country and alleged flaws in his trial. Prabagaran Srivijayan was sentenced to death in 2012 for trafficking 22.24 grams (0.8 ounces) of heroin, but has consistently maintained his innocence. He is expected … Read more
The cream of European football will be on display in the United States this month as the International Champions Cup aims to cash in on the growing popularity of the world’s most popular sport amongst American fans. In the space of little more than a decade, the event has evolved from a haphazard collection of … Read more
Real Madrid and Barcelona square off in a rare overseas Clasico while Manchester United and Manchester City meet for the first time outside Britain as the world’s leading clubs strive to optimise their pre-season preparations. Pre-season tours have grown significantly in importance over the past decade as teams promote their brand visibility while simultaneously striving … Read more
An agreement between Qatar and the United States on combating terror funding is “insufficient”, the four Arab states that imposed sanctions on the emirate said in a joint statement Tuesday. The memorandum of understanding announced in Doha during a visit by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is “the result of pressure and repeated calls … Read more
India’s new coach Ravi Shastri is expected to look for a good working relationship with captain Virat Kohli after a bitter feud saw his predecessor’s tenure in charge of the world’s top Test side cut short. Shastri, 55, on Tuesday succeeded fellow ex-captain Anil Kumble who resigned from the coach’s post last month, terming his … Read more
Total and Qatar Petroleum on Tuesday unveiled a 25-year joint venture to develop the vast offshore Al-Shaheen oil field. The firms’ bosses told a Doha press conference that their North Oil Company would operate the field from July 14. “Joining Al-Shaheen is a major milestone and accomplishment in the long history of the group’s partnership … Read more
The US and Qatar announced Tuesday they have signed an agreement on fighting terrorism, at a time when the emirate is facing sanctions from neighbouring countries which accuse it of supporting extremism. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani made the announcement at a joint news conference … Read more
Once the beating heart of Iraq’s second-largest metropolis, the Old City of Mosul is now a broken wreck, its winding streets piled high with rubble and hardly a building spared from destruction. After months of gruelling battles to retake Mosul from the Islamic State group, the Old City has become a bleak landscape of gutted … Read more
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said Tuesday it had information from top Islamic State group leaders confirming the death of the jihadist organisation’s chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. “Top tier commanders from IS who are present in Deir Ezzor province have confirmed the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, emir of the Islamic State … Read more