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Politics
South Korea’s ex-President Lee granted special presidential pardon
SEOUL: President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday granted wide-ranging special pardons to former President Lee Myung-bak and a series of high-profile politicians and former officials convicted of corruption and other irregularities during the previous administrations. Former South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo, a close confidant of former President Moon Jae-in,…
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Sri Lanka’s ousted president Rajapaksa leaves for US
former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has left for the United States of America. According to local reports, he boarded a plane for Dubai on the first leg of his travel to the US. He reportedly left Sri Lanka via the VIP Terminal at the…
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Politics
Uzbekistan slashes number of ministries, executive bodies
TASHKENT: The number of executive bodies in Uzbekistan will be reduced from 61 to 28 and the number of ministries will be cut from 25 to 21 while 20 bodies will be abolished starting January 1. In his December 20 address to Parliament, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev proposed…
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Politics
Anwar Ibrahim passes parliamentary test of legitimacy as 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR: Anwar Ibrahim today confirmed his legitimacy as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia when the motion on vote of confidence was approved by a majority voice at the opening sitting of the 15th parliament. The legitimacy was confirmed by Speaker Johari Abdul as he announced the result…
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Politics
Avaza Summit shows Turkmenistan’s confidence
The leaders of Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Turkiye meeting in Avaza By Kuban Abdymen AVAZA: The trilateral summit of the heads of state of Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Turkiye in the Caspian resort of Avaza did not bring the result expected by some of its participants. Despite the fact that before the…
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Politics
Deal of the decade: China, Saudi Arabia sign 35 agreements worth $30 billion
RIYADH: Very few visits would have rivalled in significance and success with the official trip made by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Saudi Arabia this week. The Chinese leader traveled to Riyadh for three summits with Saudi Arabia, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and Arab League states. He cemented…
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Politics
China pays tribute to Jiang Zemin
BEIJING: A memorial meeting for Jiang Zemin, who passed away on Nov. 30 at the age of 96, was held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, Chinese president, and chairman of the Central Military Commission,…
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Politics
Malaysia, UAE sign Middle East’s first unconventional oil concession
ABU DHABI: United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Shaikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the King of Malaysia Al Sultan Abdullah have attended the signing of a historic concession agreement between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and PETRONAS for Abu Dhabi’s Unconventional Onshore Block 1. The pioneering award to…
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Politics
New scope for economic integration? Supreme Eurasian Economic Council to meet in Bishkek
BISHKEK: The Kyrgyz capital Bishkek will host the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council (SEEC), the highest supranational body of the Eurasian Economic Union that comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. “The heads of the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) will discuss the current economic…
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Politics
Korea fires some 130 artillery shells into eastern, western buffer zones: South Korean military
SEOUL: North Korea fired some 130 artillery shells into eastern and western maritime “buffer zones” on Monday in violation of a 2018 bilateral military agreement, Seoul’s defense authorities said, amid the South Korea-U.S. live-fire drills in a border region. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said that it detected the…
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