International

NIAMEY/ TOLEDO: Niger’s new military rulers have stripped France’s ambassador of diplomatic immunity and ordered police to expel him, according to a letter seen on Thursday by AFP, a move that ratchets up tensions with the country’s traditional ally. The envoy “no longer enjoys the privileges and immunities attached to his status as member of the diplomatic personnel in the French …

WASHINGTON: Former US president Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges that he led a criminal conspiracy to overturn his 2020 election loss in the southern state of Georgia. The Republican presidential frontrunner, who faces 13 felony counts, including racketeering, entered his plea in a court filing waiving his right to appear at an arraignment next Wednesday. Trump, …

JOHANNESBURG: A fire that tore through a five-storey building taken over for illegal housing killed 74 people including 12 children in central Johannesburg overnight, South African authorities said on Thursday. An additional 61 were injured and treated in hospital in one of the deadliest fires worldwide in recent years. Bodies were discovered piled up at a security gate that was …

Super Typhoon Saola threatened southern China on Friday with some of the strongest winds the region has endured, forcing the megacities of Hong Kong and Shenzhen to effectively shut down. Tens of millions of people sheltered indoors as hundreds of flights were cancelled, the stock market suspended trading and the start of Hong Kong’s school year was delayed. With a …

ATLANTA: Warner Bros Discovery named Mark Thompson as CEO of CNN on Wednesday, tasking the former New York Times and BBC chief with reviving a news network beset by sagging ratings and falling profits. Thompson succeeds Chris Licht, who stepped down in June after a rocky one year at the helm that included a divisive town hall with former Republican …

BATAM: Dozens of Chinese nationals were arrested in Indonesia on suspicion of running an online love scam syndicate that ensnared hundreds of victims in China, police said on Wednesday. Acting on a tip-off from their Chinese counterparts, Indonesian police arrested 83 men and five women at an industrial park in Batam city in Riau Islands province on Tuesday. Police said …

WASHINGTON: Top US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell froze up for more than 30 seconds on Wednesday during a public appearance before he was escorted away, the second such incident in a month. McConnell, 81, was replying to questions from reporters after an event with the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce in Covington when he froze up, staring into space and …

ZURICH: Switzerland said on Wednesday it had drafted new rules to tighten perceived cracks in its money laundering regulations, holding lawyers and consultants accountable for reporting risks and stepping up oversight of legal entities, such as trusts. The new rules, drafted by the Swiss government, will be presented to parliament in 2024 following consultation. Switzerland, whose banks make it the …

MOSCOW: The Kremlin said on Wednesday that investigators were considering the possibility that the plane carrying mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was downed on purpose, the first explicit acknowledgement that he may have been assassinated. “It is obvious that different versions are being considered, including the version — you know what we are talking about let’s say, a deliberate atrocity,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry …

NEW DELHI: Indian officials preparing for the G20 summit next week have hired teams of “monkey-men” and erected primate cutouts to deter marauding monkeys from munching on the floral displays laid out for global leaders. New Delhi’s city council has hired more than 30 “monkey wallahs”, or “monkey-men”, who mimic the hoots and screams of the aggressive langur monkey — …