Indian warship responds to hijacking of Liberian-flagged vessel in Arabian Sea
NEW DELHI, Jan 05: India's navy said on Friday that its warship was moving toward a Liberian-flagged vessel hijacked in the Arabian Sea, which is believed to have Indian crew members on board. The MV Lila Norfolk was hijacked in the waters off Somalia's coast. The Indian Navy said in a statement that it received information about it on Thursday evening, after the vessel posted a message on the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations portal, saying five to six unknown armed people had boarded it. — Arab News
Trump storms Iowa in crucial
test of 2024 chances
WASHINGTON, Jan 05: Donald Trump will face US voters for the first time in years when Iowa's presidential nomination contest on January 15 offers the clearest insight yet into whether he can convert his expansive polling leads into a stunning White House return. The Republican ex-president had looked out for the count after leaving Washington under a cloud following the 2021 assault on the US Capitol by a pro-Trump mob seeking to keep the defeated tycoon in power. Out on bail in four jurisdictions and facing the potential collapse of his business empire in his native New York, his prospects have hardly improved during his years out of office. — AFP
UK PM Sunak expects general election in second half of 2024
LONDON, Jan 05: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said it is his "working assumption" that a general election will be called for during the second half of 2024. "My working assumption is we'll have a general election in the second half of this year, and in the meantime, I've got lots that I want to get on with," he told reporters during a visit to Nottinghamshire on Thursday. Sunak refused to rule out holding an election in May, coinciding with local elections, but said he had to get the economy back on track. "I want to keep going, managing the economy well and cutting people's taxes, but I also want to keep tackling illegal migration," Sunak said. "I've got lots to get on with, and I'm determined to keep delivering for the British people." — Al Jazeera
Iraq prepares to close down US-led coalition's mission
BAGHDAD, Jan 05: The Iraqi government is forming a committee to prepare the closing down of the US-led international coalition's mission in the country, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's office said on Friday. Sudani's statement came a day after a US strike killed a militia leader in Baghdad, prompting anger among Iran-aligned groups which demanded the government end the presence of the coalition in Iraq. "Government is setting the date for the start of the bilateral committee to put arrangements to end the presence of the international coalition forces in Iraq permanently," a statement from the prime minister's office said. The committee would include representatives of the military coalition, a government official said. — Reuters
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