Author: Finance for Sight

KYIV: The Ukrainian air force said on Thursday that Russia had launched 86 drones and an Iskander-M ballistic missile during overnight attacks. The air force shot down 42 drones and another 26 did not reach their targets, likely due to electronic warfare countermeasures, the statement posted on Telegram said. Ukrainian air force shoots down 22 out of 33 Russian drones overnight, Kyiv says It did not specify what happened to the remaining 18 drones.

ANDONG: Wildfires raging in South Korea doubled in size on Thursday from a day earlier, as authorities called the blazes the country’s worst natural fire disaster with at least 26 people killed and historic temples incinerated. More than 33,000 hectares (81,500 acres) has been charred or were still burning in the largest of the fires that began in the central Uiseong county, making it the biggest single forest fire in South Korea’s history. The previous record was 24,000 hectares (59,000 acres) in a March 2000 fire. “We are nationally in a critical situation with numerous casualties because of the unprecedented…

CANBERRA: Australia’s left-leaning government will cut income tax, slash student debt and hasten defence spending under an annual budget released Tuesday, courting voters as it readies to fight a tight general election. The Labor government — due to announce the election date by the end of the week — booked a spending deficit of US$17 billion as it unveiled a swag of surprise tax cuts and pre-poll sweeteners. It pledged to overhaul the country’s creaking military, and set aside almost US$2 billion to catalyse a homegrown “green” metals industry. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Australia would fortify its economy against damaging…

Law enforcement authorities across the UAE have been cracking down on begging since the beginning of Ramadan, while revealing how some are earning upto AED14,000 over a span of a few days. Last week Dubai Police announced that 127 beggars have been arrested during the first half of Ramadan, and that the authority has seized more than Dh50,000 which was found in their possession according to Khaleej Times. Similarly, Sharjah Police arrested 107 individuals, seizing over AED50,000 from them in a major crackdown on begging during the first half of Ramadan this year. The report also highlighted the recent arrest…

UISEONG COUNTY, SOUTH KOREA: The death toll in the wildfires raging across South Korea’s southeastern region rose to 24 and the pilot of a firefighting helicopter was killed when the aircraft crashed on Wednesday, as the country battles some of its worst forest fires in decades. The deadly wildfires have spread rapidly and forced more than 27,000 people from their homes, the government said. The blazes, fuelled by strong winds and dry weather, have razed entire neighbourhoods, closed schools and forced authorities to transfer hundreds of inmates from prisons. “We are deploying all available personnel and equipment in response to…

SANAA: Houthi media said 19 strikes hit rebel-held parts of Yemen, mostly Saada, blaming the United States, with the group later announcing they targeted a US warship and Israel. Al-Masirah TV reported that “the US aggression launched 17 raids on the Saada governorate during the night”, and earlier said two raids hit Amran. The Iran-backed rebels’ news agency, Saba, said “the American aggression targeted the Oncology Hospital building in Saada”. The hospital, which Houthi media said was under construction, was also hit last week. The rebel health ministry said two civilians were wounded in the latest hospital attack, which they…

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered tighter controls on federal elections, including requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote, as the Republican continues to attack a system he insists remains tilted against him. Experts swiftly denounced his executive order as an abuse of presidential power that could ultimately prevent millions of Americans from casting ballots, and rights groups already have vowed to challenge it in court. Trump, now in his second term, has never acknowledged his defeat to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, and he maintains baseless claims of massive election fraud – particularly in…

OTTAWA: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s decision to call for a snap election for April 28 could curtail his ability to respond forcefully if the United States carries out a threat to impose additional tariffs. Now that campaigning has started, the government is bound by a so-called caretaker convention, which means it can engage in routine business but should avoid major policy decisions. The election comes at a particularly sensitive time for Canada given the threat it faces from US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and remarks about annexing Canada, which Carney on Sunday called “the most significant crisis of our…

WASHINGTON: Trump administration officials on Sunday defended their use of extraordinary war powers to deport scores of Venezuelan migrants despite a judge blocking the move and Venezuela denying US officials’ assertions that the deportees were gang members. “It’s modern-day warfare, and we are going to continue to fight that and protect American citizens every single step of the way,” Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on the “Sunday Morning Futures” program. Bondi said the Trump administration’s decision to deport 137 Venezuelan migrants last weekend to El Salvador was justified because they were members of Venezuela’s feared…

WASHINGTON/MOSCOW/KYIV: The United States reached separate agreements on Tuesday with Ukraine and Russia to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea and to implement a ban on attacks by the two countries on each other’s energy facilities. The agreements, if implemented, would represent the clearest progress yet towards a wider ceasefire that Washington sees as a stepping stone towards peace talks to bring an end to Russia’s three-year-old war in Ukraine. Both countries said they would rely on Washington to enforce the deals. Ukraine, US to meet in Riyadh after Russia-US Black Sea ceasefire talks “If the Russians violate this,…