UNITED NATIONS, United States: Syria’s opposition is hoping to persuade the US administration this week to throw its weight behind UN-led peace talks and counter Russia’s bid to set up a parallel track, its lead negotiator said Tuesday. After meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres…

Riyadh: A Saudi prince was removed from his post after he released an audio recording that contradicted the Saudi authorities’ version of the arrest of 11 princes in Riyadh last week, reports said, reports Al Jazeera. Prince Abdullah bin Saud, who was appointed president of the Saudi Marine Sports…

SEOUL: South Korean President Moon Jae-In said yesterday he would be willing to sit down with the North’s leader Kim Jong-Un, as the international community welcomed an agreement for Pyongyang to send its athletes to the Winter Olympics in the South, reports AFP. The Games in Pyeongchang next…

QUITO: Ecuador is seeking a mediator to resolve the standoff with Britain on the future of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been holed up in its London embassy since 2012, the South American country’s foreign minister said Tuesday, reports AFP. Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa…

YANGON: Two Reuters journalists were formally charged by police in a Myanmar court yesterday with breaching a colonial-era secrecy law that carries up to 14 years in jail, provoking a barrage of calls for their immediate release, reports AFP. Myanmar nationals Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, were…

ROME: The heads of seven southern European states gather in Rome yesterday to tackle one of the most stubborn thorns in the EU’s side: flows of migrants from war-torn and impoverished countries, reports AFP. The leaders of Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain will meet in the…

New Delhi: Reversing its order, the Supreme Court today held that playing of national anthem in cinema halls before screening of films is no longer mandatory and left it to a government panel to frame guidelines on this sensitive matter, reports PTI. The apex court said that playing of national anthem…

SEOUL: South Korean President Moon Jae-In yesterday called for a “heartfelt apology” from Japan to the victims of wartime sex slavery, condemning…