World

Addis Ababa, Oct 26: Ethiopia on Thursday appointed a woman to the largely ceremonial position of president for the first time, further increasing female representation in the government of Africa's second most populous nation. In a unanimous vote, Ethiopian lawmakers picked career diplomat Sahle-Work Zewde, 68, to replace Mulatu Teshome who resigned in unclear circumstances. Ethiopia's reformist

Oct 26: Google Inc Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said on Thursday the company had fired 48 employees for sexual harassment over the past two years. Pichai sent an email to Google employees in response to a New York Times story that was published earlier in the day. The report said the search engine giant protected three senior executives from allegations of sexual misconduct by offering them

Islamabad, Oct 24: Saudi Arabia has agreed to give Pakistan $3 billion in foreign currency support for a year and a further loan worth up to $3 billion in deferred payments for oil imports to help stave off a current account crisis, Pakistan's government said on Tuesday. The $6 billion total exceeds forecasts by analysts and will likely reduce the size of any bailout Pakistan receives from the

Washington, Oct 24: The United States has said it was revoking visas of Saudi officials involved in the "brutal murder" of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in its first major action against the longtime ally as global outrage escalated. The visa curbs came as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Khashoggi's killing inside the Saudis' Istanbul consulate had been meticulously planned, in a speech

Ankara, Oct 23: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan dropped a geopolitical bombshell on Tuesday during a speech in Parliament, saying there were strong signs Jamal Khashoggi's "savage" killing was planned and attempts to blame it on intelligence operatives "will not satisfy us". Erdogan did not directly mention Saudi Arabia's leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who some U.S. lawmakers suspect

Istanbul, Oct 23: Just hours after writer Jamal Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, a man strolled out of the diplomatic post apparently wearing the columnist’s clothes as part of a macabre deception to sow confusion over his fate, according to surveillance video leaked on Monday. The new video broadcast by CNN, as well as a pro-government Turkish newspaper’s report that a

Zhuhai, Oct 23: The world's longest sea bridge connecting Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China was launched on Tuesday at a time when Beijing is seeking to tighten its grip on its semi-autonomous territories. It was launched by President Xi Jinping at an opening ceremony in the mainland city of Zhuhai this morning, but details of the event were kept secret. The 55-kilometre (34-mile) crossing

Islamabad, Oct 23: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan left for Saudi Arabia to attend an investment conference boycotted by other leaders over the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Khan told an interviewer before leaving he was concerned at Khashoggi's death but could not skip the conference because "we're desperate" for possible Saudi loans to shore

London, Oct 22: Stephen Hawking was a cosmic visionary, a figure of inspiration and a global celebrity. His unique status is reflected in an upcoming auction of some of the late physicist’s possessions: It includes complex scientific papers, one of the world’s most iconic wheelchairs and a script from “The Simpsons.” The online sale announced Monday by auctioneer Christie’s features 22 items from

London, Oct 22: London's West Magistrate Court has observed that underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's key aide Jabir Motiwala will remain in custody on remand and will appear for a case management hearing on November 12. A three-day trial in his extradition case has been scheduled between February 25 and 27 next year. The 51-year-old had been denied bail during previous hearings and did not make any