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Taipei, Taiwan – Chinese state media and pro-China commentators have welcomed the de facto shutting down of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) following the latest budget cuts by the administration of United States President Donald Trump. “The so-called beacon of freedom, VOA, has now been discarded by its own government like a dirty rag,” the Global Times, which is known for its nationalistic commentary, said in an editorial over the weekend following Trump’s defunding of the news outlets. The daily tabloid described VOA as a “carefully crafted propaganda machine” whose “primary function is to serve Washington’s…

Columbia University graduate, who Trump administration is seeking to deport over role in pro-Palestinian protests, speaks out for first time since arrest.Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate who the United States government is seeking to deport for his role in pro-Palestinian demonstrations last year, has called himself a “political prisoner” in his first direct comments since his arrest. The student activist was arrested on March 8 by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after he and his pregnant wife, Noor Abdalla – a US citizen – returned from a dinner in New York. In a letter made public on Tuesday,…

It can be a smart money-saving move to buy a used vehicle instead of a new one. The average price gap between new and used vehicles is more than $20,000, according to recent Edmunds’ sales data. But many used-vehicle shoppers make costly mistakes that can be avoided with a little research and preparation. Here are five common mistakes identified by Edmunds’ experts and what you can do to avoid them. Not taking a thorough test driveMany shoppers will drive the vehicle but not pay close enough attention to how the vehicle drives. An in-depth test drive can help you determine…

These are the key developments on day 1,119 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.Here is the roundup of key events on Wednesday, March 19. Fighting Ukraine has announced that the number of Russian soldiers killed and wounded since the war began more than three years ago stands at about 897,010. This includes 1,560 servicemen killed or injured in the past 24 hours. Russia has bombarded Ukraine with 137 drone attacks, leaving about 3,000 people without electricity following damage to critical infrastructure, said the governor of Zaporizhia region, Ivan Fedorov. The governor of neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk, Serhiy Lysak, said the barrage resulted in…

Scholars and historians are likely to spend months sifting through records for answers about former US president’s killing.United States President Donald Trump’s administration has released thousands of pages of government files about the assassination of John F Kennedy (JFK), setting historians and internet sleuths on a mad dash to uncover new information about one of the most seismic moments in US history. The National Archives said on Tuesday that “all records previously withheld for classification” had been released and were available to access either online or in person. The archives uploaded about 63,000 pages of documents on its website in…

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — I’ve worked for The Associated Press as a photographer since 1999. A lot of what I cover involves either Iran’s government or its relations with the West, but I also try to shoot on the streets of Tehran as well to show the world what life looks like here in my hometown. The fire festival offers a great opportunity for that. Known as “Chaharshanbe Souri” in Farsi, the festival comes in the hours just before the Wednesday before Nowruz, which is the Persian New Year. To celebrate, people light bonfires, set off fireworks and send wish…

PARIS: French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on Tuesday sought to impose unity on his government as a top minister threa­tened to resign over whether women should be allowed to wear the headscarf in sports competitions. Currently, it is up to individual sports federations in France to decide whether women can wear the hijab in competition. But legislation is going through parliament to ban it completely in professional and amateur competition, in a move backers say will shore up France’s strictly secular modern republic. Cabinet unity in Bayrou’s minority government, which tilts to the right but also has some figures from…

MELBOURNE: Engl­a­nd and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive Richard Gould said they would not support a proposed global Twenty20 league bankrolled by Saudi Arabia as there was not enough room in the calendar for it. A Sydney Morning Herald report on Saturday said the event would be backed by the sports arm of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and feature eight teams playing in four different locations. “With the busy international calendar, a host of established franchise leagues around the world, and existing concerns about player workloads, there is no scope or demand for such an idea,” Gould told…

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has sent a reminder to the International Cricket Council (ICC) seeking a response to its concerns over the exclusion of its representative from the post-match ceremony of the ICC Champions Trophy final. The PCB had earlier lodged a formal protest against the ICC’s failure to include its Chief Operating Officer Sumair Ahmed Syed—who also served as the tournament director—in the presentation ceremony following the final between India and New Zealand at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. Despite Syed’s presence at the venue in his official capacity, he was not included among the…

FAISALABAD: Opener Mohammad Faiq struck a magnificent century to help Lahore Region Whites to a massive 134-run win against Larkana Region in their National T20 Cup group match at the Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad on Monday. Faiq, who brought up his second T20 century in just fourth game, came out all guns blazing as he notched his half-century off just 20 balls, the fastest in the ongoing edition of the tournament. He hit 13 fours and seven sixes in the 56-ball outing and brought up his century with a maximum, off fifty balls. Valuable contributions from Mohammad Akhlaq (35 off 26…