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SAN JOSE: Presidential candidate Jose Maria Figueres of the National Liberation Party (PLN) (C) and his wife Cinthia Berrocal Quiros (R) raise their hands with confidence as they leave his campaign headquarters where he gave a speech after the polls closed in San Jose, Costa Rica.  - AFP
Ex-leader ahead as Costa Ricans elect new president
SAN JOSE: Costa Ricans voted for a new president Sunday from a crowded field of candidates, with a center-left former leader ahead of the pack with about 60 percent of ballots counted in one of Latin America's stablest democracies. Twelve hours of voting closed at 6 pm (midnight GMT) in what is frequently rated the region's "happiest" country, a tourist mecca and a leading green economy.However, polls show unemployment, corruption and creeping...
BEIJING: People queue for a swab test for the COVID-19 coronavirus in Beijing. – AFP
China locks down city of 3.5m near Vietnam border
BEIJING: A Chinese city of 3.5 million near the border with Vietnam was on lockdown yesterday after more than 70 coronavirus cases were discovered there over the past three days. China, the only major world economy still sticking to a staunch zero-COVID policy, is on high alert for any outbreaks as it hosts the Beijing Winter Olympics.Local officials in the city of Baise in the southern Guangxi region announced Sunday that no one would be allowed...
HERAT: People sit on the wreckage of a Soviet-era tank at the Darwaza-e-Kandahar area in Heart. –AFP
Almost 20 killed in avalanche on Afghan-Pakistan border
JALALABAD: At least 19 people were killed by an avalanche yesterday while crossing a remote mountain pass from Afghanistan to Pakistan, a Taleban official said. Scores of Afghans cross illegally to Pakistan every day through the porous mountain border in search of jobs or to buy essential goods for trade.Najibullah Hassan Abdal, head of information for eastern Kunar province, told AFP rescue workers were still searching at the scene of the...
SANDRINGHAM: A Buckingham Palace handout image released yesterday shows Britain's Queen Elizabeth II smiling as she sits in Sandringham House on Feb 2, 2022, released to mark the start of her Platinum Jubilee Year. - AFP
Queen Elizabeth marks 70 years on the throne
LONDON: Queen Elizabeth II yesterday became the first British monarch to reign for seven decades, announcing her "sincere wish" that Camilla, the wife of her heir Prince Charles, should ultimately be known as Queen Consort. Britain's longest-serving monarch acceded to the throne aged 25 on Feb 6, 1952, following the death of her father King George VI.HH the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent a congratulatory cable to Queen...
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Kuwait confirms ban on 'Death on the Nile' film
KUWAIT: Kuwait will ban a new film adaptation of Agatha Christie's whodunnit "Death on the Nile" with a cast of Hollywood stars including Zionist actress Gal Gadot, authorities said yesterday. The film, directed by and co-starring Kenneth Branagh, is due for release this month in the United States.The story is one of the most famous works of British author Christie, dubbed the "Queen of Crime". But cinemagoers in Kuwait will not be able to watch...
ZHANGJIAKOU: New Zealand's Zoi Sadowski Synnott competes in the snowboard women's slopestyle final run during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the Genting Snow Park H & S Stadium yesterday. (Inset) Gold medalist Sadowski Synnott celebrates on the podium. – AFP
New Zealand win historic Winter Olympics gold but pandas run out
BEIJING: “Super-proud” snowboarder Zoi Sadowski Synnott made history yesterday after winning New Zealand’s first ever Winter Olympic gold but the men’s downhill skiers were forced to wait 24 hours for their chance. Seven golds were up for grabs on the second full day of competition in Beijing. Seven became six when the men’s downhill—one of the most closely watched events at any Winter Olympics—was postponed until Monday because of...
IGHRANE, Morocco: The parents of Rayan look inside an ambulance at the site where his body was pulled out from a well shaft on Saturday. – AFP
Morocco, world mourn death of 'little Rayan'
IGHRANE, Morocco: Morocco was in shock yesterday after emergency crews found a five-year-old boy dead at the bottom of a well in a tragic end to a five-day rescue operation that gripped the nation and the world. The ordeal of "little Rayan" since he fell down the 32-m well on Tuesday gained global attention and sparked an outpouring of sympathy online, with the Arabic Twitter hashtag #SaveRayan trending."The fall of a child who reminded the whole...
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Iraq court suspends Hoshyar Zebari from presidential race
BAGHDAD: Iraq’s Supreme Court said yesterday it had temporarily suspended Hoshyar Zebari, a frontrunner for the presidency, on the eve of parliament’s vote on the position, citing years-old corruption charges against him. It was the second blow in 48 hours to Zebari’s presidential drive, and the latest chapter in the war-scarred country’s divisive politics.The court said it had received a complaint from lawmakers that Zebari’s candidacy...
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NIC hosts blockchain, cryptocurrency symposium with Pantera Capital
KUWAIT: National Investment Company (NIC) announced plans to host a virtual symposium jointly with Pantera Capital, a leading company managing institutional assets in the US and specialized in blockchain. Government establishments, partners and investors are set to participate in the virtual symposium, which will be held tomorrow at 6:00 pm through videoconference.NIC aims at shedding light on Pantera Capital experts’ expectations regarding key...
ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed addresses the audience during a gala dinner by the government of Ethiopia for the participants of the 35th ordinary summit of the African Union on Saturday. – AFP
AU condemns coups, dodges Zionist entity vote
ADDIS ABABA: The African Union (AU) has condemned a recent “wave” of military coups that has seen an unprecedented number of member states suspended from the bloc, a senior official said yesterday, the last day of its annual summit. The putsches were among the main issues expected to be discussed at the summit, along with the AU’s ties to Zionist entity and its response to a grinding war in the north of host country Ethiopia.Less than two...
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Philippines’ raucous election campaign season to kick off
MANILA: Philippine election candidates will hit the hustings Tuesday for the official start of campaigning, with the son and namesake of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos leading the presidential race as he seeks the ultimate revival of the family brand.Political scions, celebrities and ex-convicts are among the contenders vying for more than 18,000 posts in the May 9 polls, with most interest on the contest to succeed authoritarian firebrand...
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UN's Guterres says expects China to let rights chief visit Xinjiang
UNITED NATIONS, United States: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told leaders in Beijing he expects them to allow UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet to make a "credible" visit to China including a stop in the troubled Xinjiang region, his spokesman said Saturday.Guterres met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics, according to a readout of their talks. The UN chief...