Gulfnews

The death toll from this week’s sudden heavy rain has climbed to 11 in New Delhi, including four citizens who drowned in submerged underpasses, the Times of India reported, while flight operations stuttered in the Indian capital.New Delhi, which endured one of its worst heatwaves in history earlier this month, faced the biggest downpour in decades on June 28, with rainfall in a single day surpassing the city’s average for the entire month.The torrential rain caused a fatal roof collapse at one of the three terminals of Delhi’s main airport, disrupted flights, flooded underpasses, and led to massive traffic jams, power and water outages in parts of the city.Nearly 60 flights were cancelled from New Delhi’s main airport in the last 24 hours, according to data from flight tracking platform Flightaware.Operations were largely normal yesterday, with most flights from the affected terminal diverted to the other two, an airport official said but did not rule out possible flight cancellations....

India’s opposition Congress has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to question Foxconn about its hiring practices after Reuters reported that the Apple supplier rejects married women from iPhone assembly jobs in the country.The government has sought a detailed report from the state of Tamil Nadu, site of a major iPhone factory where Reuters uncovered Foxconn’s hiring practices.The story has sparked debates on TV channels, newspaper editorials and calls from women groups, including within Modi’s party, to investigate the matter.Congress lawmaker Karti P Chidambaram wrote in a letter to Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya that Foxconn receives “substantial incentives” from the federal government and the company should be asked to explain its practices to ensure it complies with “Indian laws and values”.“While foreign investment is crucial, it should not come at the cost of disregarding our cultural values,” Chidambaram wrote in the letter, posted on X.Apple, Taiwan-based Foxco...

A Serbian police officer killed a man who shot him in the neck with a crossbow in front of the Israeli embassy in Belgrade yesterday, in what the prime minister called a “terrorist act”.Police identified the assailant as being a “convert” to Islam, who was born in 1999 in the town of Mladenovac, some 50km from Belgrade.The attack happened around 11am last morning in the Serbian capital, when the attacker shot the officer who was on duty outside the Israeli embassy.The wounded policeman shot the attacker “who died as a result of his injuries”, said Interior Minister Ivica Dacic.Authorities said some arrests had been made and a number of people known to the security services were suspected of being linked to the attack.Police also said they were carrying out searches in a number of locations.“There are several more persons that we are looking for, certainly for one who is on the territory of Serbia,” President Aleksandar Vucic told reporters after visiting the wounded officer.The attacke...

The US Supreme Court upheld on Friday anti-camping laws used by authorities in an Oregon city to stop homeless people from sleeping in public parks and public streets – a ruling that gives local and state governments a freer hand in confronting a national homelessness crisis.The justices ruled 6-3 to overturn a lower court’s decision that found that enforcing the ordinances in the city of Grants Pass when no shelter space is available for the homeless violates the US Constitution’s Eighth Amendment prohibition on “cruel and unusual” punishments.Various jurisdictions employ similar laws.The court’s conservative justices were in the majority, while its three liberal members dissented.Justice Neil Gorsuch, who authored the ruling, wrote: “Homelessness is complex. Its causes are many. So may be the public policy responses required to address it. At bottom, the question this case presents is whether the Eighth Amendment grants federal judges primary responsibility for assessing those causes...

Heavy rainfall and winds brought down a roof at the main airport in New Delhi on Friday, killing one person and shutting down a busy domestic terminal, while flooded streets and traffic snarls caused widespread disruption in the Indian capital.About 5.85 inches of rain fell over three hours on the airport area in the early morning, more than the average for all of June, according to the national weather office.Delhi’s main Safdarjung weather station recorded nine inches of rainfall in the 24 hours ending 8.30am (0300GMT), its highest 24-hour rainfall in June in 88 years.The city of 20mn people had faced searing heatwaves earlier this month. A wall at a building site in southwest Delhi collapsed in the downpour, with three labourers feared trapped in 12 feet of deep water and mud, a fire service spokesperson said.At the airport, a portion of roof, the canopy, a column and its supporting beams at Terminal 1’s departure area collapsed, crushing four vehicles, airport authorities said in a...

Russia said Friday it had observed an increase in US drone flights over the Black Sea and vowed to respond, warning of 'direct confrontation' with NATO.Defence Minister Andrei Belousov had instructed the army 'to submit proposals on measures for an operational response to the provocations', Russia's defence ministry said. source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685617/international/us-drone-flights-in-black-sea-risk-direct-clash-with-nato-russia

US President Joe Biden arrived in Georgia yesterday for his first debate of the 2024 election cycle with his predecessor Donald Trump – a high-stakes event for both candidates. Air Force One touched down at a military base about an hour’s drive from the capital Atlanta, where the debate will take place at CNN’s headquarters beginning at 9pm (0100 GMT Friday. source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685613/international/biden-in-georgia-for-debate-with-trump

Kenyan police fired teargas at dozens of protesters in Nairobi and blocked off roads to the presidential palace yesterday as crowds took to the streets again nationwide, even after the president bowed to pressure to withdraw a tax hike bill.Crowds called for President William Ruto to go further and step down in the capital, Mombasa, Kisumu and other centres, though the turnout was well down from the height of the mass rallies sparked by the tax measures over the past week.Ruto withdrew the legislation including new taxes and hikes on Wednesday, a day after at least 23 people were killed in clashes at protests sparked by his plans, and parliament was briefly stormed and set alight. He is grappling with the most serious crisis of his two-year-old presidency as the youth-led protest movement has grown rapidly from online condemnations of the tax hikes into mass rallies demanding a political overhaul.Dropping the bill has also hit plans to reduce the budget deficit and borrowing, as demand...

Joe Biden and Donald Trump were due to square off early today in a crucial US presidential debate that carries enormous stakes for both candidates as they battle for the approval of undecided voters and any slim advantage in their tight race for the White House.Millions of Americans were expected to tune in to the highly anticipated clash – the opening salvo in what promises to be a bruising summer of campaigning in a deeply polarised country still scarred by the chaos and violence that accompanied the 2020 election.The 90-minute televised debate would be the first between a sitting president and a former one.A record 84mn watched Trump’s first debate in 2016 against Hillary Clinton.The debate takes place far earlier than normal – more than four months before the November 5 Election Day.With only two debates this election cycle and national polls showing the pair locked in the tightest of contests, the event at CNN headquarters in Atlanta – starting at 9pm (0100 GMT today, 4am Qatar ti...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday accused Western powers of backing what he said were Israeli plans to attack Lebanon and “spread war” throughout the region.“Israel is now setting its sights on Lebanon and we see that Western powers behind the scenes are patting Israel on the back and even supporting them,” he told lawmakers from his ruling AKP party.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Netanyahu’s plans to spread the war to the region will lead to a great disaster,” he said.“It is ... pathetic that states that talk about freedom, human rights and justice are captives of a mentally-ill person like Netanyahu.”His remarks came as concern soared over escalating threats and ongoing cross-border exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, fuelling fears it could descend into fully-fledged war.The Lebanon border violence erupted after Hamas fighters stormed southern Israel, triggering a massive Israeli retaliatory operation, which is ongoing.Netanyahu has sai...

Kenyan President William Ruto yesterady withdrew planned tax hikes, bowing to pressure from protesters who had stormed parliament, launched demonstrations across the country and threatened more action this week.The move will be seen as a major victory for a week-old, youth-led protest movement that grew from online condemnations of tax rises into mass rallies demanding a political overhaul, in the most serious crisis of Ruto’s two-year-old presidency. But some demonstrators said on social media that despite Ruto’s climbdown they would go ahead with a rally planned for today, with many reiterating demands that he resign.Ruto announced he would not sign a finance bill including the tax increases, a day after clashes between police and protesters at the assembly and nationwide left at least 23 people dead and scores wounded, according to medics.“Listening keenly to the people of Kenya who have said loudly that they want nothing to do with this finance bill 2024, I concede. And therefore, ...

Israeli forces pounded several areas across Gaza on Wednesday, and residents reported fierce fighting overnight in Rafah in the south of the Palestinian enclave.Residents said fighting intensified in the Tel Al-Sultan neighbourhood in western Rafah, where tanks were also trying to force their way north amid heavy clashes. The armed wings of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said fighters attacked Israeli forces with anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs.Since early May, ground fighting has focused on Rafah, abutting Egypt on Gaza's southern edge, where around half of the enclave's 2.3mn people had been sheltering after fleeing other areas. Most have since had to flee again.Medics said two Palestinians were killed in one Israeli missile strike in Rafah.Later on Wednesday, an Israeli strike killed three Palestinians and wounded others near the northern Jabalia camp, one of the Gaza Strip's eight historic refugee camps, medics said.In Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza St...

The United States is pressing Israel to avoid a major war against Lebanon’s Hezbollah, with top American officials urging a diplomatic solution in order to prevent another Middle East crisis. Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah are exchanging fire on a near-daily basis, and the Israeli army said last week that plans for an offensive in Lebanon were “approved and validated.” Washington is working to lower the temperature, but those efforts - which come on top of disagreements between the administrations of US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - may further add to tensions between the two leaders. source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685495/international/israel-told-to-avoid-war-with-hezbollah

The European Union (EU) yesterday kicked off accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, setting the fragile ex-Soviet states on a long path towards membership that Russia has tried to block.The landmark move signals in particular a vote of confidence in Kyiv’s future at a time when Moscow has momentum on the battlefield almost two and a half years into the Kremlin’s invasion.“Dear friends, today marks the beginning of a new chapter in the relationship between Ukraine and the European Union,” Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said via videolink at the start of the talks.President Volodymyr Zelensky called it a “historic day” as officials from Kyiv and the EU’s 27 member states met in Luxembourg.“We will never be derailed from our path to a united Europe and to our common home of all European nations,” the Ukrainian leader wrote on social media.Ukraine and later Moldova lodged their bids to join the EU in the aftermath of Russia’s assault in February 2022.The opening of the ta...

A Delhi city minister has started an indefinite hunger strike to demand more drinking water for India’s capital, where taps in some of its poorest neighbourhoods are running nearly dry in the middle of searing heat.“There are 2.8mn people in the city who are aching for just a drop of water,” Delhi Water Minister Atishi said yesterday, the fourth day of her fast. Millions of Indians face water shortages every summer when water demand rises in farms, offices and homes against a limited supply, but a prolonged heatwave this year has worsened the shortfall, including in Delhi and the southern tech hub of Bengaluru.Delhi relies on the Yamuna River that runs through the capital for most of its water needs but the river slows down during dry summer months, causing shortages that lead to protests and calls for better water conservation.Atishi blamed the neighbouring farming state of Haryana for guzzling up a large share of river water. Haryana’s government responded that it was Delhi’s mismana...

Kenya’s President William Ruto said yesterday that he was ready for “a conversation” with thousands of “peaceful” young anti-tax protesters, prompting new calls from the movement’s organisers to accept their demand to cancel the levies.Organised on social media and led largely by Gen-Z Kenyans who have livestreamed the demonstrations, the protests by thousands of people have caught Ruto’s government off guard, as discontent mounts over his economic policies.“I am very proud of our young people...they have stepped forward peaceful and I want to tell them we are going to engage them,” Ruto said in his first public comments on the protests.“We are going to have a conversation so that together we can build a greater nation,” Ruto said during a church service in the Rift Valley town of Nyahururu.His characterisation of the protests as “peaceful” came after rights campaigners reported two deaths following Thursday’s demonstrations in Nairobi.A protest organiser, Hanifa Adan, who told AFP tha...

Manchester Airport, the third-busiest in Britain, cancelled over 100 flights affecting thousands of passengers yesterday following a major power cut.At least 20% of all outgoing and incoming flights were cancelled, a Manchester Airport spokesperson said, adding that it expected further disruption.Earlier aviation analytics firm Cirium said 66 departures and 50 inbound flights had been cancelled with easyJet experiencing the largest number of cancellations.Manchester Airports Group, which also operates London Stansted and the East Midlands airports, said the airport had been “affected by a major power cut in the area earlier this morning” and passengers at two of the three terminals were told to stay away.The power cut led to problems with airport security and baggage systems, according to Chris Woodroofe, the airport managing director. Flights resumed in the afternoon.Woodroofe said on social media he expected flights to be “back to normal operations” today.The airline Jet2 said that a...

There was a surprising lack of leather at Hermes, a restrained but celeb-packed Loewe show, and a farewell for fashion great Dries Van Noten (pictured) at Paris Fashion Week on Saturday.Hermes, known worldwide for its homemade leather bags and accessories, presented a show full of cotton and linen whites and blues for its spring-summer 2025 collection.It was a collection “grazed by a gentle breeze... Clothing casts reflections into the transparency of water,” designer Veronique Nichanian said in her press release.Sandals and a sleeveless bomber-style jacket were among the few signs of leather among the docker hats, trench coats and drawstring trousers.Meanwhile, Loewe, the rising Spanish star in the LVMH conglomerate, put on a minimalist show — “the radical act of restraint”, as Northern Irish creative director JW Anderson put it.On the front row were Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar, US actor Jeff Goldblum and singer of the moment Sabrina Carpenter.The minimalism still carried the so...

Monsoon rains and upstream river water from India have caused widespread flooding in northeastern Bangladesh, stranding more than 2mn people, and the situation could worsen, officials said on Friday.The UN children’s agency Unicef said trapped residents in the region, including more than 772,000 children, were in urgent need of assistance.“Children are the most vulnerable, facing heightened risks of drowning, malnutrition, deadly waterborne diseases, the trauma of displacement, and potential abuse in overpopulated shelters,” said Sheldon Yett, Unicef representative to Bangladesh.The Bangladesh Meteorological Department forecast further heavy rainfall in the next few days that could exacerbate the flooding and cause landslides in hilly areas.At least 10 people, including eight Rohingya Muslims, were killed on Wednesday after heavy monsoon rains triggered landslides in refugee camps in southern Bangladesh.The northeastern region has been particularly hard hit, with heavy rainfall and ups...

Armenia has officially recognised the State of Palestine, raising the number of countries that recognise Palestinian statehood to 149 out of the 193 member states of the UN General Assembly.In a statement on Friday, the Armenian Foreign Ministry highlighted the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and the ongoing war as critical issues on the international political agenda that necessitate resolution.'The Republic of Armenia has joined UN General Assembly resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza,' the statement read.The ministry emphasised Armenia's pursuit of a peaceful and comprehensive resolution to the Palestinian issue based on a two-state solution as the only way to achieve peace and security.'Based on the above and reaffirming its commitment to international law and the principles of equality, sovereignty, and peaceful coexistence among nations, the Republic of Armenia recognises the State of Palestine,' the statement concluded.This ...

Armenia announced its official recognition of the Palestinian state, following the example of other countries that took a similar step recently, in light of the continuation of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip since the seventh of last October.The Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed in a statement today that Yerevan is interested in bringing peace and stability to the Middle East and has continued, through various international platforms, to call for a peaceful and comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian issue and support “the two-state principle for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”The Ministry said in this regard: “In confirmation of the Republic of Armenia’s commitment to international law and the principles of equality, sovereignty and peaceful coexistence among peoples, it recognizes the State of Palestine.”She stressed that the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the ongoing war require a settlement today, stressing her accession to...

Torrential rains and floods in Niger over three weeks have left 21 dead and nearly 6,000 people affected, according to figures released by the country's Interior Ministry.Director-General of Civil Protection of Niger Bako Boubacar said on state television that 8 people had drowned and 13 had died in houses that collapsed during storm.Additionally, 26 people have been injured, and approximately 4,000 cattle have been killed or lost.Central Niger's Maradi region has been the worst hit since the onset of the rainy season, with a confirmed death toll of 14.The rainy season traditionally runs from June through September in the African nation. In 2022, about 195 people were killed and 400,000 people were affected, many of whom lost their homes. source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685198/international/rains-and-floods-leave-21-people-killed-in-niger

TikTok and Chinese parent ByteDance yesterday urged a US court to strike down a law they say will ban the popular short video app in the United States on Jan. 19, saying the US government refused to engage in any serious settlement talks after 2022. Legislation signed in April by President Joe Biden gives ByteDance until Jan. 19 next year to divest TikTok's US assets or face a ban on the app used by 170mn Americans. ByteDance says a divestiture is 'not possible technologically, commercially, or legally.' source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685187/international/tiktok-ban-in-us-looks-inevitable

A group of US lawmakers who met the Dalai Lama in India yesterday said they would not allow China to influence the choice of his successor, comments expected to anger Beijing, which calls the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader a separatist.The remarks come as Washington and Beijing seek to steady rocky ties while India pushes China to secure lasting peace on their disputed Himalayan frontier, four years after a military clash strained ties.The lawmakers also signalled that Washington would pressure Beijing to hold talks with Tibetan leaders, stalled since 2010, to resolve the Tibet issue, with a bill they said President Joe Biden would sign soon.Although Washington recognises Tibet as a part of China, the bill appears to question that position and any change would be a major shock to Beijing, analysts said. The bipartisan group of seven, led by Michael McCaul, a Republican representative from Texas, who also chairs the House foreign affairs committee, met the Nobel peace laureate at his m...

Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday signed a deal with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un that included a mutual defence pledge, one of Russia’s most significant moves in Asia for years that Kim said amounted to an “alliance”.Putin’s pledge overhauls Russia’s entire post-Soviet policy on North Korea just as the US and its Asian allies try to gauge how far Russia could deepen support for the only country to have tested a nuclear weapon this century.On his first visit to Pyongyang since July 2000, Putin explicitly linked Russia’s deepening of ties with North Korea to the West’s growing support for Ukraine and said Moscow could develop military and technical co-operation with Pyongyang.After talks, they signed a “comprehensive strategic partnership” pact, which Putin said included a mutual defence clause in the case of aggression against either country.“The comprehensive partnership agreement signed today provides, among other things, for mutual assistance in the event of aggression against...

Relatives of the victims of two fatal Boeing 737 Max crashes asked the Justice Department yesterday to seek a fine against the planemaker of up to $24.78bn and move forward with a criminal prosecution.“Because Boeing’s crime is the deadliest corporate crime in US history, a maximum fine of more than $24bn is legally justified and clearly appropriate,” Paul Cassel, a lawyer representing 15 families, wrote in a letter to the Justice Department released yesterday.The families said the Justice Department could potentially suspend $14bn to $22bn of the fine “on the condition that Boeing devote those suspended funds to an independent corporate monitor and related improvements in compliance and safety.” The Justice Department said in May it determined Boeing violated a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement that shielded the company from a criminal charge of conspiracy to commit fraud arising from fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people.Boeing last week told the government it did n...

Israel Gomez Estrada, like thousands of other Cubans and millions more immigrants from around the world, left his home and family in search of a better life in the US.Now he is legally settled in Grand Island, Nebraska — a small city with a population of 50,000, and one Cuban restaurant. Tornadoes are frequent and winters can be harsh.“Some of my friends have suggested that I move to another state, but I’m not leaving,” Gomez Estrada, 46, told AFP recently.In March, he received a coveted green card, entitling him to work. Cubans can apply for one just a year after setting foot on American soil, while other immigrants must typically wait years before they can do so.Despite difficulty with English, he quickly found a job in a food processing plant. He hopes to soon be joined by his wife and children.Immigrants come to America, “with the aim of succeeding, and with a dream,” he said. “For us, it’s not difficult, because we know how to work hard.” Nebraska is short of labour, so immigratio...

Kenya’s government on Tuesday walked back plans to impose multiple tax hikes, the presidency said, amending a controversial bill that sparked protests where more than a dozen demonstrators were arrested. The East African economic powerhouse has struggled with a cost-of-living crisis, which critics warned would only worsen under the levies laid out in a bill due to be debated this week and passed before June 30.Hundreds of mostly young protesters assembled near parliament on Tuesday, with police firing tear gas and making arrests, according to AFP journalists. Hours later, the presidency announced that it would scrap many of the bill’s most contentious provisions, including taxes on bread purchases and car ownership. “The Finance Bill has been amended to remove the proposed 16% VAT on bread, transportation of sugar, financial services, foreign exchange transactions as well as the 2.5% Motor Vehicle Tax,” the presidency said in a statement.“Additionally, there will be no increase in mobi...

Stoltenberg: Rutte is a very strong candidate Next Nato chief to find balance between support for Kyiv and keeping alliance out of war Netherlands under Rutte has been driving force behind military help for Ukraine After ten years in office, Stoltenberg's term ends October 1 Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, a staunch ally of Kyiv and a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, will succeed Jens Stoltenberg as Nato chief, Dutch national broadcaster NOS reported on Tuesday, after Hungary and Slovakia backed him. Speaking at a news conference alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington, Stoltenberg neither confirmed nor denied the media report. 'With the announcement of (Hungarian) Prime Minister (Viktor) Orban, I think it's obvious that we are very close to a conclusion... to select the next secretary-general, and I think that's good news,' he told reporters, while praising Rutte. 'I think Mark is a very strong candidate. He h...

Nigel Farage, whose entry into the election has damaged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s faint hopes of victory, set out his policy plans yesterday, describing them as the first step to becoming the dominant party on the right of British politics.Farage yesterday said the earlier-than-expected election had come too soon for his Reform UK party but called on supporters of Sunak’s Conservatives to “join the revolt” and pitched Reform as the only ones who could hold to account Labour, whose leader Keir Starmer is forecast to become the next prime minister.Farage is one of Britain’s most recognisable and divisive politicians and has pressured successive governments into more aggressive stances on cutting immigration. He played a pivotal role in the 2016 vote to leave the European Union.But his career has been spent campaigning from the sidelines of British politics, having stood unsuccessfully for a seat in parliament seven times and led parties which, despite attracting millions of votes, hav...

A senior Israeli official told AFP on Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had dissolved the war cabinet following the resignation earlier this month of centrist leader Benny Gantz.The official said on condition of anonymity that the wider 'security cabinet will continue to decide on matters regarding the war' between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.Israeli media said the move, which was not expected to trigger any major policy shift, was meant to counter pressure from far-right politicians seeking a greater say in decision-making.The war cabinet was formed after Gantz had left the opposition to join Netanyahu's government following Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack.Gantz and another member of his party, Gadi Eisenkot, both former military chiefs, had agreed to join the government on condition that a war cabinet be formed, said another Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to discuss the issue with the m...

Five people were killed and about 25 others were injured in a train collision in the city of Siliguri in the state of Bengal, northern India.The accident involved a freight train colliding with the Kanchenjunga Express, which was en route to Sealdah station in Kolkata.Local authorities reported that the collision occurred shortly after the Kanchenjunga Express departed from New Jalpaiguri station and collided with the freight train from behind.India's railway network, one of the largest in the world, is known for frequent accidents, largely due to outdated equipment. The deadliest accident occurred in 1981 when a train fell into a river, resulting in 800 fatalities.In 2015, the Indian government announced an investment of $137 billion over five years to modernize and expand the railway network. source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/684974/international/india/train-collision-in-northern-india-leaves-five-dead-25-injured

President Joe Biden slammed the US Supreme Court as “out of kilter” at a glitzy fundraiser in Los Angeles on Saturday with former president Barack Obama and top Hollywood celebrities that has raised over $30mn.Late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel began by showing a video montage contrasting Biden’s record with that of his predecessor and current Republican challenger Donald Trump.He drew cheers from the audience at a packed Peacock Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, where Hollywood celebrities George Clooney, Julia Roberts and singing icon Barbra Streisand were among the guests.Despite the Hollywood heavyweights, Biden turned serious when he spoke of his rival Trump, and how whoever wins the election will likely have at least two new Supreme Court nominations to make.“The idea that if he’s re-elected he’s going to appoint two more flying flags upside down,” Biden said, referring to recent tumult over conservative sitting Justice Samuel Alito who was recently confirmed to have had the inverted...

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Chinese Premier Li Qiang will meet on Monday in the first such visit by a Chinese premier in seven years, with trade ties, regional security and a jailed Australian writer on the host’s agenda.The visit by Li, China’s top-ranked official after President Xi Jinping, marks a stabilisation in relations between the US security ally and the world’s second-biggest economy, after a frosty period of Beijing blocking $20bn in Australian exports and friction over defence encounters.Li is on a four-day visit that Australia’s foreign minister called “really important” and which the Chinese leader said showed bilateral relations were “back on track”.Without China - which receives one-third of Australia’s exports and supplies one-fourth of Australia’s imports - Australians would pay 4.2% more for consumer items, an Australian business group said.Trade with China increased Australia’s average household disposable income by A$2,600 ($1,700) last year, co...

Lucerne, SwitzerlandUS Vice-President Kamala Harris pledged America’s unwavering support for Ukraine and announced more than $1.5bn in aid for the country’s energy sector and its humanitarian situation as a result of Russia’s 27-month invasion.Harris made the announcement at the Ukraine peace summit in Lucerne, Switzerland, where she met with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.“This war remains an utter failure for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin,” Harris said during a bilateral meeting with Zelensky. “It is in our interest to uphold international norms,” she added, pledging US support for the country.The $1.5bn includes $500mn in new funding for energy assistance and the redirecting of $324mn in previously announced funds toward emergency energy infrastructure repair and other needs in Ukraine, the vice-president’s office said.“These efforts will help Ukraine respond to Russia’s latest attacks on Ukraine energy infrastructure by supporting repair and recovery, improving Ukraine’s...

Peter Pellegrini, the former Slovakia prime minister who was sworn in as the EU member’s sixth president on Saturday, is a fanatic of planes, trains and cars as well as an ally of the Russia-friendly government.Backed by populist Prime Minister Robert Fico, the 48-year-old pledged to “unite a divided Slovakia” during an electoral campaign dominated by divisions over the war in neighbouring Ukraine.He told AFP that Slovakia was “divided between those who are in favour of the continuation of the war (between Russia and Ukraine) at all costs, and those who demand the start of peace negotiations”.“I belong to the latter,” said Pellegrini, known as “Pelle” to his friends.Educated in finance, he joined Fico’s populist Smer-SD party and went on to serve in his ally’s previous governments, before succeeding him as prime minister.Pellegrini founded his own Hlas-SD party in 2020. The leftist party came third in last year’s general election and joined the ruling coalition with Smer-SD and the sma...