International

MOSCOW: A Moscow court on Thursday ordered journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, who denounced Russia’s intervention in Ukraine during a live TV broadcast, to pay a fine for discrediting the Russian army. Moscow’s Meshchansky district court said that Ovsyannikova, a former editor at state-controlled Channel One, should pay a fine of 50,000 rubles (around $800), a journalist said from court. Ovsyannikova’s lawyer Dmitry …

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping held “candid” phone talks on Thursday, with Xi warning the US leader not to “play with fire” on Taiwan, according to Chinese state media. The virtual summit lasting over two hours took place as Beijing and Washington increasingly risk open conflict over the self-ruling island, which China considers part of its …

Philippine authorities on Friday airlifted supplies to districts that have been cut off since a powerful earthquake struck the main island of Luzon this week, as residents pleaded for food and temporary shelter. The military said it had deployed personnel and helicopters to distribute relief goods to seven isolated towns in the Abra province. Around 3,000 food packs were airlifted to the …

Two pilots have been killed in India after a Soviet-era fighter jet crashed during a training sortie, the air force said, heightening safety concerns after a string of incidents involving the aircraft. The MiG-21 came down on Thursday night in the desert of western Rajasthan state near the city of Barmer, the defence ministry said. The crash was the sixth …

TEHRAN: Iran said on Wednesday a sabotage team detained by its security forces were Kurdish militants working for Israel who planned to blow up a “sensitive” defence industry centre in the city of Isfahan, state media reported. Iran’s Intelligence Ministry had announced the arrests on Saturday amid heightening tensions with arch-enemy Israel over Tehran’s nuclear programme, without giving the nationality …

WASHINGTON: Former US president Donald Trump returned to the US capital this week and delivered a speech that’s being interpreted as his first for the 2024 election campaign. “As Trump speaks in Washington, his allies prepare for a second term,” The Washington Post reported. “Trump supporters are already working on a government-in-waiting if he wins re-election in 2024.” Mr Trump, who left …

WASHINGTON: Islamabad’s decision to send a prime ministerial advisor to the State Department to seek US support for its efforts to revive the economy, and then disown his visit as a “personal” one, has surprised many in Washington’s diplomatic circles. Tariq Fatemi, who is currently serving as special assistant to the prime minister, arrived in the US capital last week …

Anxious residents slept outside after hundreds of aftershocks rattled the earthquake-hit northern Philippines, locals said Thursday, as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr inspected damage in the region. Five people were killed and more than 150 injured when a 7.0-magnitude quake struck the lightly populated province of Abra on Wednesday morning, authorities said. The powerful quake rippled across the mountainous area, toppling buildings, triggering …

BEIJING: China warned on Wednesday that Washington would “bear the consequences” if US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan, with tensions soaring ahead of an expected phone call between the two countries’ leaders. Beijing has hit back hard against the United States after reports emerged last week that Pelosi, a Democrat who is second in line to the presidency, could …

MANILA: A 7.0-magnitude earthquake killed at least five people in the northern Philippines on Wedn­esday, toppling buildings and shaking high-rise towers more than 300 kilometres away in the capital Manila. The shallow and powerful quake struck the mountainous and lightly populated province of Abra on the main island of Luzon at 8:43am (0043 GMT), the US Geological Survey said. Shallow …