International

BEIJING: China will launch a probe to collect samples from the moon around the end of this year, a space official said on Monday, weeks after Beijing hailed the successful touch down on the far side of the moon. The Chang’e-4 lunar probe landed on Jan 3 and transmitted the first-ever “close range” image of the far side of the …

DHAKA: Several thousand garment workers took to the streets in Bangladesh on Monday, rejecting a pay hike in the crucial export industry as insufficient, police and union leaders said. Garment owners agreed to raise workers’ pay on Sunday after a week of violent demonstrations in which one person was killed and dozens wounded as police used teargas and water cannon …

LONDON: Prime Minister Ther­esa May on Monday published further assurances from the EU on the eve of a crucial parliamentary vote on her Brexit deal and warned MPs that rejecting it would lead to “paralysis” that could see Britain stay in the bloc. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council President Donald Tusk repeated in a letter that they …

BEIJING: A Chinese court sentenced a Canadian man to death on Monday in a sudden retrial in a drug smuggling case that is likely to escalate tensions between the countries over the arrest of a top Chinese technology executive. The court in Liaoning province announced that it had given Robert Lloyd Schellenberg the death penalty after rejecting his plea of innocence and …

WASHINGTON: Two key US officials — special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Deputy Assistant to the US president Lisa Curtis — are expected in Islamabad on Tuesday for talks aimed at ensuring the success of a US-backed peace initiative for Afghanistan. The US Department of State announced last week that Mr Khalilzad is visiting India, China, Pakistan and Afghanistan from Jan 8 for …

A high-ranking Yemeni intelligence official injured in a Houthi rebel drone attack on the country’s largest air base died of his wounds on Sunday, medical sources said. Intelligence Brigadier General Saleh Tamah was wounded on Thursday in a strike on a military parade in Al-Anad air base, in government-held Lahij province some 60 kilometres (40 miles) north of Yemen’s second …

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday he will ask Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to ensure the killers of journalist Jamal Khashoggi are held accountable for their crime. The top US diplomat, on an extensive Middle East tour, spoke ahead of a politically sensitive visit to Saudi Arabia, which has faced intense international scrutiny over Khashoggi’s …

CAIRO: Hundreds of protesters marched in and around Sudan’s capital Kha­r­toum on Sunday, the fourth week of unrest that began over skyrocketing prices and a failing economy but which now calls for the ouster of autocratic Presi­dent Omar al-Bashir. Images circulated by acti­vists online showed marches taking place in Khartoum and its northern twin cities of Omdurman and Bahary, despite …

ATHENS: Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tspiras on Sunday called for an “immediate” confidence vote in parliament over the resignation of a top minister, after his coalition government collapsed in a row over a name change deal with Macedonia. The move raises the possibility of snap elections and came after Defence Minister Panos Kammenos resigned in protest over an agreement to …

DUBAI: Iran’s foreign ministry summoned a senior Polish diplomat to protest at Poland jointly hosting a global summit with the United States focused on the Middle East, particularly Iran, state news agency IRNAreported on Sunday. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday said the summit — to be held in Warsaw on Feb 13-14 — would focus on stability and …