International

A white supremacist who killed 51 people at two mosques in New Zealand last year watched without emotion on Monday as relatives of his victims recounted the horror of a massacre which prosecutors said he carefully planned to cause maximum carnage. Australian national Brenton Tarrant, 29, has pleaded guilty to 51 murders, 40 attempted murders and one charge of committing a terrorist …

MINSK: Tens of thousands of protesters demanding President Alexander Lukashenko step down flooded into Minsk on Sunday, at one point demonstrating briefly near his residence in a pointed display of opposition to his long rule, before dispersing peacefully. Huge nationwide demonstrations that erupted after the country’s disputed election on Aug 9 have provided the biggest challenge yet to the veteran …

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump’s older sister described the US president as cruel and a liar whose lack of principles meant he could not be trusted, according to secretly made recordings published on Saturday. It was the latest unflattering insider account to target the president, only instead of a jilted aide or business associate, it was from one of his closest relatives. …

NEW YORK: Video app TikTok said on Saturday it will challenge in court a Trump administration crackdown on the popular Chinese-owned platform, which Washington accuses of being a national security threat. As tensions soar between the world’s two biggest economies, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on August 6 giving Americans 45 days to stop doing business with TikTok’s …

BEIRUT: Kuwait said it will rebuild Lebanon’s only large grain silo that was destroyed by the massive Beirut port explosion, raising fears of food shortages in a country already in financial meltdown. The destruction of the 120,000-tonne capacity structure at the port, the main entry point for food imports, meant buyers must rely on smaller private storage facilities for their wheat …

LONDON: A pair of gold-plated glasses worn by Mahatma Gandhi has sold in Britain for 260,000 pounds ($340,000), the auction house said. “We found them just four weeks ago in our letterbox, left there by a gentleman whose uncle had been given them by Gandhi himself,” East Bristol Auctions wrote on Instagram after the sale late on Friday. “An incredible …

BARCELONA: The Green Climate Fund has promised developing nations it will ramp up efforts to help them tackle climate challenges as they strive to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, approving $879 million in backing for 15 new projects around the world. At a four-day virtual board meeting ending late on Friday, the fund added Afghanistan and Sudan to a list …

BAMAKO: West African envoys held talks with Mali’s military junta on Saturday to try to push for a speedy return to civilian rule after a coup in the troubled nation. The delegation, headed by former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, held talks for half an hour with soldiers who seized power on Tuesday, including new strongman colonel Assimi Goita, a journalist …

TRIPOLI: A surprise ceasefire announcement by Libya’s rival administrations offers a glimmer of hope for peace, but analysts caution scepticism after years of violence and as multiple foreign forces back opposing sides. Fayez al-Sarraj, head of the UN-recognised Gover­nment of National Accord (GNA), based in the west in the capital Tripoli, and Aguila Saleh, speaker of the eastern-based parliament backed by military …

LOS ANGELES: Some of Califo­rnia’s largest ever fires raged across the state on Saturday, forcing tens of thousands from their homes as the governor called for international help to fight the blazes. About 12,000 lightning strikes hit across the state in 72 hours, officials said, sparking the fires that left thick smoke blanketing large areas of central and northern California. …