Cover stories, wrapping up the year, tend to be predictable, sweeping through the many highlights that made waves, the achievements and the groundbreaking events. Usually, I go through the archives of the stories written over the course of the year, or spend a quiet half an hour thinking back to the most memorable moments experienced. Never has it been more …

TEHRAN: Eleven climbers died in Iran after avalanches struck mountains north of the capital Tehran, the Red Crescent said on Sunday. State news agency IRNA said the tragedy began on Friday when avalanches and blizzards hit the mountainous region. Several climbers were trapped in the area but the Red Crescent managed to rescue 14 during a three-day operation led by 20 emergency …

ANKARA: Turkey said on Sunday its military killed 15 militants from the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which it said was preparing to carry out an attack in a region of northeast Syria controlled by Turkey and its Syrian rebel allies. In an offensive last year dubbed the Peace Spring Operation, Turkey seized a 120-km (75-mile) stretch of border territory in …

RENNES: Thousands were left without electricity and planes were delayed or forced to re-route on Sunday as storm Bella caused torrential rain and heavy winds in much of northern France. Some 12,000 households suffered power cuts in Brittany and Normandy in northern France and up to 6,000 around the Calais region. Power company Enedis said normal electricity supplies should be …

NASHVILLE: FBI agents investigating the Nashville motor home explosion have visited a real estate agency where a person of interest in the bombing had worked on computers, local media reported on Sunday. Steve Fridrich, owner of Fridrich & Clark Realty in Nashville’s Green Hills neighbourhood, told the Tennessean newspaper he spoke with the agents late on Saturday about Anthony Q. …

MANAMA: Top Gulf Arab officials held a virtual meeting on Sunday to bolster “cooperation” ahead of a summit next month amid efforts to end a rift between a Saudi-led alliance and Qatar. The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait took part in the meeting hosted by Manama, while Qatar was represented by its …

BEIRUT: More than 300 Syrian refugees were forced to flee an informal camp in northern Lebanon as a blaze raged through and burnt tents to the ground, UN and Lebanese officials said on Sunday. The fire that began late on Saturday raged for four hours as firefighters tried to put it out, the Lebanese civil defence personnel said. The fire …

KABUL: The next round of negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government would be held in Qatar from next month, a top official said on Sunday, despite President Ashraf Ghani’s recent calls for them to be moved home. Peace talks began on September 12 at a luxury hotel in Doha, but negotiations are currently on a break until January …

Stay home, stay safe — that’s the message from Sydney, one of the world’s first major cities to welcome each New Year with a public countdown featuring a fireworks display over its well-known Opera House, to people. The city has banned large gatherings that night amid an outbreak of the coronavirus. Because of swift border closures, lockdowns, widespread testing, social …

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: Government ministers on Sun­day said that Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) leaders were criticising national institutions to save their wealth earned through corruption, but Prime Minister Imran Khan would never give them the National Reconciliation Ordinance-type concessions. Reacting to speeches made by opposition leaders at a public meeting held in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh to observe the 13th death anniversary of …