International

Taiwan said on Monday its armed forces have the right to self-defence and counter attack amid “harassment and threats”, in an apparent warning to China, which last week sent numerous jets across the mid-line of the sensitive Taiwan Strait. Tensions have sharply spiked in recent months between Taipei and Beijing, which claims democratically run Taiwan as its own territory, to be taken …

At least 10 people were killed and up to 25 were feared trapped after a three-storey residential building collapsed before dawn on Monday in western India, officials said. The accident in the city of Bhiwandi, which neighbours India’s financial capital Mumbai, occurred around 3:40am, local authorities said. “Ten people have died, we have rescued 11 people alive,” an official at …

Elizabeth II became the British Queen in   February 1952. She is the longest-reigning British monarch. As many as 14 Prime Ministers served up Queen Elizabeth II since she ascended the throne at the age of 25. Here’s the list of Prime Ministers who served under the Queen: Sir Winston Churchill 1951-1955 Anthony Eden 1955-1957 Harold Macmillan Alec Douglas 1963-1964 Harold …

Kamala Harris is getting a great birthday gift in the form of a riveting comic book. The book, slated to hit the shelves a day after Harris’s birthday, chronicles her  iconic journey, from childhood to historic nomination as US vice president. Titled Female Force: Kamala Harris   the book is set for release on October 21, a day after she turns 56. …

SHANGHAI: China on Saturday launched a mechanism that would allow it to sanction foreign companies, upping the ante in a tech war with the United States a day after Washington moved to curb popular Chinese apps TikTok and WeChat. China’s long-expected “unreliable entities list” is seen as a weapon for Beijing to retaliate against the United States, which has used …

MOSCOW: Russia’s leading opposition politician Alexei Navalny announced on Saturday he could now walk with a “tremble”, and gave the first detailed account of his recovery nearly a month after being poisoned with Novichok nerve agent. The 44-year-old Kremlin critic posted a photo of himself walking downstairs on Instagram and described how earlier symptoms had included the inability to form …

BANGKOK: Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand’s Grand Palace on Saturday, in a huge rally calling for Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy. The kingdom has seen near-daily gatherings of youth-led groups since mid-July calling for the resignation of Prayut, the former army chief behind the 2014 coup, and …

UNITED NATIONS: As many as 20 million girls may not return to schools even after the Covid-19 crisis is over, warns UN Messenger of Peace Malala Yousafzai. Speaking at a side event of the UN General Assembly on Friday afternoon, the youngest Nobel Laureate acknowledged that Covid-19 had been “a striking setback to our collective goals”, such as educating women. …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday participated in the opening ceremony of multinational military exercises in Russia’s Astrakhan region, the Inter-Services Public Relations said. A contingent of 20 Pakistani commandos took part in the opening ceremony of Kavkaz-2020. The military drills, which will be held from Sept 21-26 aim to assess ability of troops to react to various challenges and learn from …

TAIPEI: A top US diplomat attended the funeral for former Taiwan president Lee Teng-hui on Saturday which featured a eulogy by Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama before wrapping up a visit overshadowed by Chinese military exercises. Keith Krach, undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment, was the highest-ranking State Department official to visit Taiwan since 1979 …