Asia

At least 100 people died and 150 others were injured in a fire during a mega-wedding organized in a village hall in northern Iraq, according to a “preliminary assessment” announced Wednesday by the authorities. According to emergency services, “fireworks” and “highly flammable construction materials” were at the origin of the …

Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted the North Korean president’s invitation to visit the Asian country, the official North Korean agency KCNA reported and later confirmed by the Kremlin. The invitation comes after a meeting between the two leaders in Russia. “Kim Jong-un courteously invited Putin to visit the DPRK (Democratic …

China assured this Wednesday that it had not implemented a ban on iPhone brand phones in its ministries. In Chinese ministries, employees can not only use Apple iPhones, but also “other foreign brand phones.” “China has no laws, regulations or directives that prohibit the purchase or use of foreign brand …

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have annonced the lifting of a year-long visa ban imposed on Nigerian travellers. The restriction placed last October was lifted following negotiations between Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu and UAE leader Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi, on Monday. President Tinubu’s spokesperson …

The Chinese government intends to play a “mediating role” in the political crisis in Niger, declared Jiang Feng, the Chinese ambassador to this country in an interview on Monday on Nigerien national television. “The Chinese government intends to play a role of good offices, of mediator, with total respect for …

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has called for an immediate resolution to disagreements with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that affected flights and issuing of visas. The UAE last year stopped issuing visas to Nigerians after Emirates airlines suspended flights after being unable to repatriate funds from the West African country …

Iran, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will be joining Brics from 1 January next year, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa has said. The debate over expanding the group – made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – has topped the agenda at …

A girl cut off the power supply of her entire village to meet her boyfriend in the dark in Bihar Bettiah, India, reports said. The girl did it every time to meet her boyfriend under the cover of darkness but the affair finally came to light after the couple was …

Authorities in Saudi Arabia have dismissed a Human Rights Watch report detailing the systematic killing by border guards of hundreds of Ethiopian migrants on the Kingdom’s border with Yemen. A Saudi official said the report – based on interviews with survivors – was not reliable. The rights group said at …

Human Rights Watch has accused Saudi Arabian border guards of systematically killing hundreds of Ethiopian economic migrants trying to cross from war-torn Yemen, the BBC reported. The rights group said at least 655 people have been killed by guards since early last year. Some were shot, others killed or maimed …