As Britain prepares to crown King Charles III in a ceremony with traditions dating back some 1,000 years, the monarchy confronts a question it has faced down the centuries: how does it survive in the modern world? For the House of Windsor, that does not mean dealing with growing hostility from politicians or the public,…
Japan will keep calling for China to act responsibly on the world stage, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Thursday, a sign of Tokyo’s deepening concern about stability in the Taiwan Strait following Beijing’s recent military drills. The comments from Kishida, after China conducted drills in the waters off Taiwan earlier this month, highlight Tokyo’s…
Residents of Sudan’s capital reported renewed heavy gunfire on Thursday over central Khartoum and some other areas as many tried to flee the city on the eve of the Eid holiday marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Khartoum and its sister cities Omdurman and Bahri have been rocked by fierce battles this…
Cuban lawmakers convened on Wednesday to appoint a new president for the next five years, at a time of social and economic crisis near unprecendented since Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution. Incumbent Miguel Diaz-Canel, leader of the Communist Party – the country’s only recognised political movement – is widely expected to be re-elected in a National Assembly vote…
A battle that is hammering Khartoum and dragging Sudan to the brink of civil war pits the army chief and his regular forces against the streetwise fighters loyal to a former warlord. Army head General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan controls heavy weapons and the airforce, but his soldiers face a irregular force led by the wealthy, one-time militia…
Ousman Sonko was interior minister from 2006 to 2016 when he fled to Sweden and on to Switzerland, where he applied for asylum. Switzerland’s attorney general has filed an indictment against The Gambia’s former interior minister for crimes against humanity committed under former authoritarian leader Yahya Jammeh, it said in a statement on Tuesday. Ousman…
Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will restore diplomatic ties and reopen embassies soon, more than two years since the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt lifted a blockade on Qatar, ending a rift in diplomatic relations that began in 2017, according to Qatar’s International Media Office and media reports. The office told Al…
Egypt was planning to manufacture rockets for Russia but then suspended that effort and decided to supply ammunition to Ukraine after talks with United States officials, The Washington Post has reported, citing leaked intelligence documents. The Post had reported last week that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi secretly planned to produce 40,000 rockets for Russia. But in…
The Swedish vodka maker says the decision comes after campaigns on social media to boycott Absolut. The maker of Sweden’s Absolut vodka has said it is ceasing all exports to Russia after calls to boycott the brand flared up in Sweden and on social media. The Absolut Company said on Tuesday it “has decided to…
The three-day festival celebrates the completion of Ramadan by Muslims across the world. As the fasting month of Ramadan comes to an end, Muslims from around the world will be preparing for Eid al-Fitr, the “festival of breaking the fast”. Depending on the sighting of the moon, Eid celebrations will most likely begin on Saturday,…
