International

WASHINGTON: Classified information was found in the 15 boxes of White House records that were stored at former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, the National Archives and Records Administration said in a letter that confirmed the matter has been sent to the Justice Department. The Friday letter from the agency follows numerous reports around Trump’s handling of sensitive and even …

BRISBANE: The Australian Defence Department said that a Chinese navy ship fired a laser at one of its surveillance aircraft, putting the lives of the crew in danger. The incident happened on Thursday when the P-8A Poseidon plane detected a laser illuminating the aircraft while in flight over Australia’s northern approaches, the department said. Such episodes are not uncommon as …

DONETSK: Russia’s strategic nuclear forces held exercises overseen by President Vladimir Putin on Saturday as Washington accused Russian troops massed near Ukraine’s border of moving forward and being “poised to strike”. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, said that his country was a “shield” against Russia and deserved more support in the face of a feared Russian invasion. In a speech …

The White House on Saturday said that Russia could launch an attack against Ukraine at any time and said US President Joe Biden will convene a National Security Council meeting on Sunday to discuss the situation. Russia’s strategic nuclear forces held exercises overseen by President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, and Washington accused Russian troops massed near Ukraine’s border of advancing …

A five-year-old boy trapped for three days down a remote Afghan village well died minutes after being pulled out on Friday, following a rescue effort the country’s new Taliban rulers said showed they would spare nothing for their citizens. The child, named Haidar, on Tuesday slipped and fell to the bottom of a well being dug in Shokak, a parched …

ATHENS: Eleven passengers were missing after a blaze engulfed a ferry sailing from Greece to Italy early on Friday while an operation was under way to try to rescue two people trapped in the ship’s garage, the Greek coastguard said. A total of 239 passengers and 51 crew were onboard the Italian-flagged Euroferry Olympia when the fire broke out, and …

JOHANNESBURG: The World Health Organisation (WHO) said authorities in Malawi have detected a case of polio in the southern African country’s capital, another setback in continuing efforts to eradicate the highly infectious paralytic disease globally. In a statement on Friday, the UN health agency said officials had identified wild poliovirus disease in a young child in Lilongwe, the first time …

JERUSALEM: Israel’s military said its air defences fired at a drone that had crossed into its airspace from Lebanon on Friday, the second such incident in as many days. Lebanon’s Hezbollah group said it had launched the drone on a reconnaissance mission over Israel in a statement released on Friday. The Israeli military said air raid sirens were sounded, sending …

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s state-run petroleum company has run out of cash to buy oil, and fuel shortages across the country could get worse, the energy minister said Friday. Udaya Gammanpila said the loss-making Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) continued to haemorrhage cash and could no longer afford to procure supplies from abroad. “Earlier, we were short of dollars to import oil. …

LONDON: The second major storm in three days smashed through the United Kingdom and northern Europe on Friday, killing eight people as high winds felled trees, cancelled train services and ripped sections off the roof of London’s O2 Arena. The UK weather service said a gust provisionally measured at 196 kph, thought to be the strongest-ever in England, was recorded …