India and the United States on Friday signed the Second Amendment to the statement of Guiding Principles (SGP) on Triangular Cooperation for global development, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Friday. An MEA release stated that the amendment was signed by Abhilasha Joshi, Joint Secretary, Development Partnership Administration-II […]
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Hong Kong activist handed 9-year jail term in first national security case
A Hong Kong activist, who is the first person to be convicted under the contentious national security law, has been jailed for nine years on Friday. The ruling comes four days after Tong Ying-kit was found guilty of inciting secession and terrorist activities. The 24-year-old was handed the custodial jail term by […]
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Chennai girl wins award in 2020 Intl Youth Contest for Social Anti-Corruption Advertising
Khushi Arun Kumar, a 19-year-old Chennai student from Stella Maris College has won the ‘Best Poster’ prize in the 2020 ‘Together Against Corruption,’ International Youth Contest for Social-Anti Corruption Advertising. The event was organised by the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation. Kumar’s poster was chosen from among thousands of entries from all over the world, TV […]
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Japan expands state of emergency from Tokyo to other prefectures
The Japanese government declared Friday to expand the COVID-19 state of emergency to Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama, as well as the western prefecture of Osaka after the country confirmed over 10,000 cases for the first time on Thursday. A quasi-state of emergency with loose restrictive measures will also be put in place for Hokkaido, Ishikawa, […]
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Photojournalist Danish Siddiqui was ‘murdered’ by Taliban: Report
Reuters journalist Danish Siddiqui, who was killed while covering the violence in Afghanistan, was apparently executed by the Taliban, a US-based weekly magazine has claimed. 38-year-old Siddiqui, who was the Chief Photographer for Reuters in India, was killed in Kandahar province’s Spin Boldak district. A new report published by The Washington Examiner […]
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Philippines to restore military deal with US with eye on China
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Friday thanked Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana for “full restoration” of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) on the deployment of US troops in the country. This decision was announced during the last leg of Austin’s Southeast Asian trip to hold high-level discussions on security issues. “Thank you, […]
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Taiwan probes hack of ‘high ranking officials’ LINE messaging account
Taiwan has launched an investigation into the hacking of over 100 LINE messaging accounts of Taiwanese “high ranking officials” after the company admitted abnormal activities had been detected. The Taiwan Criminal Investigation Bureau on Wednesday said that it has begun an investigation after LINE, the most popular instant messenger and online call service in Taiwan, reported the case to authorities, […]
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China miffed over Blinken’s Tibetan monk affair during India visit
China on Thursday opposed contact between foreign officials and the Dalai Lama after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with a Tibetan Buddhist monk during his India visit. US top diplomat met on Wednesday Geshe Dorji Damdul, current director of Tibet House in New Delhi, what was seen as […]
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US concerned over ‘harassment, intimidation’ of foreign journalists in China
The United States has expressed “deep concerns” with what it called increasingly harsh surveillance, harassment, and intimidation of US and other foreign journalists in China, after correspondents of several international media outlets were reportedly heckled and booed on the streets of Henan province while covering floods. In a statement, the US State Department said that Beijing claims to welcome foreign media and […]
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US, Pak National Security Advisors meet in Washington, discuss urgent need for truce in Afghanistan
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with his Pakistani counterpart Moeed Yusuf in Washington on Thursday and discussed issues regarding regional security, including the urgent need for a negotiated political settlement to the Afghan conflict. This meeting between the two NSAs holds significance in the backdrop of mounting violence in Afghanistan. Despite the […]
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US, India against military takeover of Afghanistan: Jaishankar in RS
External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Thursday informed the Rajya Sabha that he had a very detailed discussion with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken regarding the ongoing situation in Afghanistan and they both agreed that there cannot be a takeover of the war-torn country by use of force. […]
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40 killed in Afghanistan’s Kamdish after flash floods
At least 40 people were killed after flash floods on Wednesday night destroyed over 80 houses in Afghanistan’s Kamdish district. 150 people are also missing after the mishap. “Bodies of 40 people have been found and the death toll possibly will rise,” Tolo News reported citing Saeedullah Nuristani, Head of the provincial council. Kamdish district is situated in the country’s […]
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Hong Kong scribes register protest as police intimidate reporter, confiscate travel documents
A group of journalists has demanded the Hong Kong police to explain why a city reporter’s home was searched and travel documents were confiscated, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) informed on Wednesday. An IFJ statement said that the Hong Kong police force’s national security unit searched a journalist’s home on July 26 and confiscated her travel documents, mobile phone and […]
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Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rowing a Boat to ‘Nowhere’ Has Set Off a Wave of Memes
Pakistani Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad cannot seem to keep himself out of controversy. Following the daughter of an Afghan envoy to Pakistan being kidnapped, and later released, Ahmad, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed denied the incident and expressed scepticism toward the girl’s account of what happened. If denying the […]
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Covid-19 infections rise, Delta variant spreads to 132 countries: WHO
The global number of new COVID-19 cases reported last week (19-25 July) was over 3.8 million, an 8 percent increase as compared to the previous week, the UN health agency reported on Wednesday. The latest data from the World Health Organization (WHO) showed a “substantial” uptick in the Americas and […]