STORY: A slogan stenciled in red onto the road in Hebrew, Arabic and English by the side of the road read: "Drawing the line."
The hard-right government's drive to limit Supreme Court powers while increasing its own power in selecting judges has caused alarm in Israel and abroad about the country's democratic checks and balances as protests have swelled for weeks.
KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 — Deputy Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Ramli Mohd Nor today chided Deputy Education Minister Lim Hui...
KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today confirmed that there are ongoing investigations b...
KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 — The Cabinet never gave approval for then-attorney general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas to write in 2019...
KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today announced he is giving Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim se...
KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 — Federal Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay has...
KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 — Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has given his assurance that the religious...
KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 — Machang MP Wan Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal today filed an emergency motion to discuss Prime Ministe...
KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 —Two associations representing healthcare professionals in Malaysia voiced their opposition again...
TAOYUAN, Taiwan (Reuters) -Taiwan's ex-President Ma Ying-jeou became on Monday the first sitting or former Taiwanese leader to visit mainland China since the Communist revolution in 1949, saying he hoped to bring about peace and improve relations. Ma's office said he was met at Shanghai's Pudong airport by officials including Chen Yuanfeng, deputy head of China's Taiwan Affairs Office. The visit has been criticised by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party of Ma's successor Tsai Ing-wen.
Chinese President Xi Jinping lauded what he called the easing of tensions in the Middle East during a call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday, state media reported.Crown Prince Mohammed on Tuesday "expressed the Kingdom's appreciation for the Chinese initiative to support efforts to develop neighbourly relations" between the two sides, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.
KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 — DAP’s Jelutong MP RSN Rayer today said that Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal’s poli...
Humza Yousaf on Monday won the race to become Scotland's new leader, its youngest and first from a minority ethnic background, charged with reviving a faltering independence movement after Nicola Sturgeon's long tenure.Yousaf emerged victorious with 52 percent of Scottish National Party (SNP) members' preferentially ranked votes, following a divisive three-way leadership battle triggered by Sturgeon's surprise resignation announcement last month.He is set to be sworn in as first minister on Wednesday, becoming the first ethnic minority leader of a devolved government and the first Muslim to lead a major UK party.The 37-year-old will also be Scotland's youngest leader, taking the helm months after Rishi Sunak became the youngest UK prime minister in modern times when he entered Downing Street aged 42.Yousaf vowed to continue pursuing the SNP's central policy -- independence for Scotland -- which Sturgeon has championed since the party lost a 2014 referendum on the issue."We will be the generation that delivers independence for Scotland," Yousaf said in his victory speech, adding in subsequent interviews that he would formally request that the UK government allow another vote. He added his "immediate priority" was protecting Scots from Britain's cost-of-living crisis and reforming public services."I will aim to lead Scotland and the interests of all of our citizens, whatever your political allegiance," Yousaf insisted, noting he would look to work "constructively" with London.Sunak's spokesman said the prime minister "looks forward to working with him" but ruled out granting the required permission to stage another independence vote.- 'Momentous' -Yousaf, who was health minister in Sturgeon's last cabinet, narrowly beat finance minister Kate Forbes to become SNP leader once party voters' second preferences had been counted.Former minister Ash Regan finished a distant third.Forbes, who won 48 percent of the votes in the contest, came under the spotlight for her conservative views as a member of the Free Church of Scotland, which opposes same-sex marriage and abortion.But Yousaf, who has close ties with Sturgeon, also faced scrutiny and criticism over his record in successive roles in the Scottish government.Sturgeon, 52, has served as first minister since November 2014 but said last month that she felt unable to give "every ounce of energy" to the job. Congratulating Yousaf on his victory, she tipped him to be "an outstanding leader", adding on Twitter: "I could not be prouder to have him succeed me".The Muslim Council of Britain called his election "momentous".But success is likely to be judged on his ability to further the independence movement.Polling indicates that support has been declining after briefly spiking through last year.Surveys show around 45 percent of Scots are currently in favour of Scotland leaving the United Kingdom, the same tally recorded in the 2014 vote. During campaigning Yousaf said the SNP needs to focus on creating a vision for an independent Scotland, and promised a civic movement to drive the campaign. - 'Answers' -Yousaf faces a challenge to win over the wider Scottish electorate, with a UK general election expected within the next 18 months.According to Ipsos polling, he enjoys a favourable opinion among just 22 percent of voters.The SNP has also seen a backlash over a new law allowing anyone over 16 to change their gender without a medical diagnosis.The law would have allowed a transgender woman who was convicted of rape before she began transitioning to serve a prison sentence in a women-only facility. As debate raged, the UK government used an unprecedented veto to block the legislation. The UK Supreme Court last year also ruled that Sturgeon's government could not hold a new referendum on sovereignty without London's approval.The devolved government in Edinburgh was created in 1999 through devolution reforms initiated by the UK government in London.The SNP has since emerged as the dominant force in Scottish politics, drawing support away from the Labour party in particular. But Labour is hoping Sturgeon's departure could provide a path for a potential comeback north of the English border, that would help defeat the Conservatives in the next UK election."The SNP do not have the answers on the NHS or on the cost-of-living crisis," Labour leader Keir Starmer tweeted alongside his congratulations to Yousaf. "Only Labour can provide the change that Scotland needs," he added.bur-jj/har/ea
Ukraine's top diplomat on Tuesday demanded that Russian forces leave "every meter" of the country as he cast Kyiv's battle against the invaders as part of the global fight for democracy."This war can of course end tomorrow if President Putin so chose by withdrawing Russian forces from Ukraine," Blinken said. sct/caw
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Moscow may seek compensation for the damage to the Nord Stream gas pipelines from two explosions last September, but the future of the projects is unclear, according to a Russian diplomat cited by the news agency RIA Novosti. The pipelines, which connect Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea, were ruptured by unexplained blasts that Moscow called an act of international terrorism. "We do not rule out later raising the issue of compensation for damage as a result of the explosion," Dmitry Birichevsky, head of the Foreign Ministry's department for economic cooperation, said in an interview with RIA.
TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) -Taiwan must vacate its embassy in Honduras within 30 days, a senior Honduran official said on Monday, after President Xiomara Castro severed ties with Taiwan in favor of China in a bid for more investment and jobs from the Asian giant. Deputy Foreign Minister Antonio Garcia issued the order on local television on Monday, following the government's announcement over the weekend that it had opened formal diplomatic relations with Beijing while simultaneously ending its decades-long relationship with Taiwan. Castro's main conservative opposition later announced it would reverse the opening to China if it regains power.
A Vietnamese ship monitored a Chinese Coast Guard vessel on Saturday in a Russian-operated gas field in Vietnam's South China Sea exclusive economic zone (EEZ), data show - the latest Chinese patrol in a pattern stretching more than a year. Chinese coast guard ships have sailed directly into energy exploration blocks operated or owned by Russian firms in Vietnam's EEZ about 40 times since January 2022, according to vessel-tracking data from Vietnamese research organisation South China Sea Chronicle Initiative (SCSCI), an independent non-profit.
STORY: One of the former presidents of Taiwan is making a historic trip to China, becoming the first past or current Taiwanese leader to visit since the 1949 civil war between them.But the trip, which is being billed as an effort to lessen their worsening hostilities, is also being condemned by the political party that rules Taiwan - which is questioning why former President Ma Ying-jeou has decided to visit now.This was the start of Ma's trip in Nanjing, China on Tuesday (March 28). He's talking about shared ethnicity."People on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are Chinese people, and are both descendants of the Yan and Yellow Emperors. Today, many of the nation-building proposals held dear by the founding father of the country have been realized in Taiwan and the mainland.”Ma was visiting the burial site of Sun Yat-sen, who is celebrated by both sides for overthrowing the last Chinese emperor in 1911. Sun is also considered the founder of the Republic of China, the government that was driven onto Taiwan by Communists during the civil war. Taiwan's official name is the Republic of China to this day.Polls suggest that most modern day Taiwanese people do not identify as Chinese though.Ma's visit is part of an outreach effort by the political party he belongs to, the opposition party called Kuomintang, which traditionally favors close relations with China but strongly denies being pro-Beijing.He is not scheduled to meet with any senior Beijing leaders on the trip.
KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 — Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin pledged today that the government will not a...
Three people and a dog were rescued from atop their vehicle in Corcoran, California, on Sunday, March 26, after the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office said they ignored road closure signs and got stuck in floodwater.Drone footage from the sheriff’s office shows the people on the roof of their partially submerged car. They were spotted by a sheriff’s office plane and rescued by deputies and the Tulare County Fire Department’s water rescue team, the sheriff’s office said.Several evacuation orders were in place for Tulare County, according to Cal Fire’s Tulare Unit. Credit: Tulare County Sheriff’s Office via Storyful
KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 — Putrajaya said today it is aiming to reduce the operational cost for immigration detention cent...
