Category: World

A drone-like flying taxi whirred over Singapore’s waterfront on Tuesday, with the firm behind the test hoping the aircraft will revolutionise travel in traffic-choked Asian cities. The 18 propeller vehicle, developed by German firm Volocopter and with a pilot onboard for safety during the test flight, took off from a promontory and flew for about […]

Defeating militants in Idlib is the key to ending Syria’s eight-year-old civil war, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Tuesday on his first visit to the embattled northwestern region since 2011. “The battle of Idlib is the basis for resolving chaos and terrorism in all other areas of Syria,” Assad’s office quoted him as telling […]

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak acted like an “emperor” who orchestrated massive fraud at a former unit of scandal-linked state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), the country’s attorney-general said at his trial on Tuesday. Malaysian prosecutors have begun wrapping up their first case against the ex-premier, who faces seven charges of criminal breach of […]

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces two crucial Brexit votes Tuesday that could decide if he still has a reasonable shot at securing his EU divorce by next week’s deadline. The UK is entering a cliffhanger finale to a drama that has divided families and embittered politics ever since voters backed a split from Britain’s […]

US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other senior members of Congress made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Sunday, her office said. Pelosi, who travelled to Afghanistan after a stop in Jordan on Saturday, met President Ashraf Ghani and visiting US Defence Secretary Mark Esper as well as top US military commanders and […]

Prince Harry has admitted he and his brother are now “on different paths” and have “good days” and “bad days” in their relationship. The Duke of Sussex has been plagued by rumours in recent months of a rift between him and Prince William, and in an interview with ITV he acknowledged that “inevitably stuff happens” given their […]

Newspapers across Australia ran heavily redacted front pages on Monday in protest against government secrecy and a crackdown on press freedom, a rare show of unity in a fractious media landscape. National and regional mastheads including The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian Financial Review hit newsstands on Monday with most of their front-page news stories blacked out. […]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday lashed out at Western states, accusing them of “standing by terrorists” in failing to support Turkey’s operation against Syrian Kurdish fighters. “Can you imagine the whole West stood by the terrorists and all attacked us including Nato member states and European Union countries?” Erdogan said in Istanbul. “Since […]

Afghans should not misconstrue America’s sudden and contentious withdrawal from parts of Syria as a precursor to a similar move in Afghanistan, US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said on Monday. The Pentagon chief also hinted that some sort of residual US force might remain in Syria to protect oil fields, but stressed no decision had […]

Police and local people searched on Saturday for more bodies in the rubble of a mosque in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province after bomb blasts in which at least 69 people were killed during Friday prayers. The explosives were placed inside the mosque in Jawdara area of Haska Mena district. Sohrab Qaderi, a member of Nangarhar’s provincial […]