Category : Global

JAKARTA: A 6.2-magnitude earthquake on Indonesia's Sulawesi island killed at least seven people, injured hundreds and damaged many buildings on Friday, the country's disaster mitigation agency said, as panicked residents fled to safer areas.The epicentre of the quake was six kilometres (3.73 miles) northeast of Majene city at a depth of 10 kilometres.Initial information from the country's disaster mitigation agency showed that four people had died and 637 others were injured in Majene, while there were three more fatalities and two dozen injured in the neighbouring area of Mamuju.Thousands had fled their homes to seek safety when Read More

WASHINGTON – With President Donald Trump continuing to erroneously claim he won the election in the lead-up to Jan. 6, several Republican allies planned to fight the results when Congress met to formally count the votes of the Electoral College. But the deadly pro-Trump riot that took place that day forced a recess to the process, and some GOP lawmakers backed down from their plans to object to President-elect Joe Biden's victory in some states. States had already certified their Electoral College results, and Biden secured the election with 306 votes to Trump's 232. In the next step of the certification process, Read More

WASHINGTON: The US Commerce Department on Thursday added China's state oil giant CNOOC to its blacklist over what it called "belligerent" actions in the disputed South China Sea.The move was the latest in escalating sanctions against the firm that prompted S&P Dow Jones Indices to de-list the company late Wednesday.It also reflects outgoing President Donald Trump's flurry of last minute pressure on Beijing as his days in office wind down, following four years of aggressive diplomatic and trade policies against the rival economic power."China's reckless and belligerent actions in Read More

MANILA: Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday declared that the presidency was no job for a woman because of their emotional differences to men, and dismissed speculation that his daughter would succeed him next year."My daughter is not running. I have told Inday not to run because I pity (her) knowing she will have to go through what I am going through," Duterte said at the launch of a highway project, referring to his daughter Sara by her nickname."This is not for women. You know, the emotional set-up of a woman and a man is Read More

Samsung's new flagship Galaxy S smartphone works with its stylus for the first time. The S Pen is an optional add-on for the Galaxy S21 Ultra. But the move will fuel speculation the firm will phase out its separate Note handset range. Samsung told the BBC it had yet to make a decision about this. The company's handset sales have declined more quickly than the wider market. One expert said a streamlined line-up might help address this. "There's increasing logic for Samsung to converge the Galaxy S and Note platforms, because there's so little differentiation Read More

WASHINGTON: Lady Gaga will sing the national anthem at Joe Biden's inauguration and Jennifer Lopez will give a musical performance on the West Front of the US Capitol when Biden is sworn in as the nation's 46th president next Wednesday. The announcement of their participation comes one day after word that Tom Hanks will host a 90-minute primetime TV special celebrating Biden's inauguration. Other performers include Justin Timberlake, Jon Bon Jovi, Demi Lovato and Ant Clemons.At the swearing-in ceremony, the Rev. Leo O'Donovan, a former Georgetown University president, will give the invocation and the Pledge Read More

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The Telegraph Taliban chief tells officials to take only one wife because big weddings and dowries are depleting funds The head of the Afghan Taliban has ordered officials in the movement to take only one wife because extravagant weddings and bridal payments are depleting funds and leading to accusations of embezzlement. The edict from Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada was also an attempt to quash bad publicity that Taliban leaders were having profligate weddings. “We instruct officials of the Islamic Emirate, in accordance with Islamic Sharia [Islamic jurisprudence], to avoid second, third, and fourth marriage if there is no need,” he said Read More

GENEVA: The World Health Organization's emergency committee will meet two weeks early on Thursday to discuss the new coronavirus variants from South Africa and Britain that have rapidly spread to at least 50 countries and sparked widespread alarm.The newly identified variants, which appear to be significantly more infectious than the strain that emerged in China in 2019, come as spiking virus numbers force many nations to enforce new lockdowns.The committee normally gathers every three months but the WHO said the director-general pulled the meeting forward "to consider issues that need urgent discussion"."These are the recent Read More

TOKYO: Japan's expanded state of emergency went into effect Thursday as the government seeks to stop a surge of new coronavirus infections, though with the restrictions not binding many people appeared to be ignoring the requests to avoid nonessential travel.People were still commuting on crowded trains and buses in Osaka, Fukuoka and other areas of the seven new prefectures placed under the state of emergency. In Tokyo, where the emergency decree has already been in place for a week, the governor expressed concern about people not following the official guidance."I thank for your cooperation, but the Read More