Tehran plays down reported Israeli attacks, signals no further retaliation

April 19, 2024 3:19 PM

Tehran plays down reported Israeli attacks, signals no further retaliation

Explosions echoed over an Iranian city on Friday in what sources described as an Israeli attack, but Tehran played down the incident and indicated it had no plans for retaliation - a response that appeared gauged towards averting region-wide war.   The limited scale of the attack and Iran's muted response both appeared to signal a successful effort by diplomats who have been working round the clock to avert all-out war since an Iranian drone and missile attack on Israel last Saturday.   Ir...

World Bank sounds alarm on ‘historical reversal’ of development for poorest nations

September 16, 2024 5:54 PM

World Bank sounds alarm on ‘historical reversal’ of development for poorest nations

Half of the world's 75 poorest countries are experiencing a widening income gap with the wealthiest economies for the first time this century in a historical reversal of development, the World Bank said in a report on Monday. The differential between per capita income growth in the poorest countries and the richest has widened over the past five years, according to the report. The report said the 75 countries eligible for grants and zero-interest loans from the World Bank's International Devel...

Trump makes history with New York hush money criminal trial

April 15, 2024 5:42 PM

Trump makes history with New York hush money criminal trial

Donald Trump becomes the first former president to face a criminal trial on Monday when jury selection begins in Manhattan in a case involving hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, with the U.S. election looming in less than seven months as he seeks a return to the White House. Trump, 77, has three other criminal cases that are bogged down by legal wrangling and may not occur before the election in which he is the Republican candidate challenging Democratic President Joe Biden. Two of th...