BEIJING: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in China on Sunday, kicking off a trip in which he faces a tough balancing act as he aims to shore up economic ties with Berlin’s biggest trading partner. Scholz touched down in the southwestern megacity of Chongqing on Sun­day morning, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said, accompanied by a large delegation of ministers and business executives. …

MOSCOW: Floodwaters in southern Russia on Sunday threatened to submerge thousand more homes in the Kurgan region, where the governor predicted a “very difficult situation” in the coming hours. There is widespread flooding in the Russian Urals regions and neighbouring Kazakhstan, caused by melting ice swelling rivers, exacerbated by heavy rainfall. In Kazakhstan, more than 107,000 people have been evacuated from their …

SCHNECKSVILLE: Donald Trump’s mounting legal woes are just more reason to stick behind the former president, his ardent supporters said on Saturday, just days before the Republican leader’s historic criminal trial gets underway in New York. Gathered in the small Pennsyl­vania town of Schnecksville, his impassioned backers said they believe Trump will come out of the proceedings stronger than ever. …

LONDON: He’s failed to meet key pledges, hit an opinion poll low, and even cramped the style of a popular Adidas shoe: Britain’s beleaguered Conservative leader Rishi Sunak appears destined to lose a looming general election. Two tax cuts and a slightly improving economy have failed to boost Sunak’s political fortunes, while criticism from ex-prime minister Boris Johnson and speculation over …

JAKARTA: At least 19 people have been found dead and two more are missing after a landslide in central Indonesia, local authorities said on Sunday. The dead and two survivors were evacuated from two landslide-hit villages in Tana Toraja regency, South Sulawesi province on Saturday evening, said local disaster agency head Sulaiman Malia. “There have been 19 fatalities, with 4 …

CHITTAGONG: Somali pirates freed a Bangladesh-flagged cargo vessel and its 23 crew on Sunday after sackloads of US dollars were air-dropped to them in ransom, the company and relatives said. The bulk carrier MV Abdullah was transporting more than 55,000 tonnes of coal from Maputo to the United Arab Emirates when it was seized by dozens of pirates around 550 nautical miles …

JERUSALEM: Israel and Hamas have accused each other of undermining negotiations for a truce in Gaza and a hostage release deal, although the talks have not collapsed. While Hamas-backer Iran was preparing to launch hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel in retaliation for a deadly Damascus strike, the Palestinian group announced on Saturday that it had delivered its response …

The man who fatally stabbed six people at a mall in Sydney’s beachside suburb of Bondi may have targeted women, police said on Monday, as the attacker’s father opened up about his son’s long history of mental illness and frustrations with women. Clad in shorts and an Australian national rugby league jersey, Joel Cauchi, 40, roamed through the busy Westfield Bondi Junction …

A Delhi court extended on Monday the detention of Indian opposition leader Arvind Kejriwal in a graft case until April 23, legal news website Live Law reported, a setback to the opposition which needs him to campaign in general elections that begin this week. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), India’s financial crime-fighting agency, arrested Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, in a corruption case related …

RAWALPINDI: Five firms have qualified to take part in the bidding process to repair the metro bus elevated track from Saddar to Faizabad next month. Punjab Masstransit Authority has released Rs740 million for the repair of the elevated road from Saddar to Faizabad. The cost of the repair work is estimated to be Rs625 million with the remaining budget allocated …