New Zealand is suspending all high-level contact with Myanmar and imposing a travel ban on its military leaders following last week’s coup, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said today. New Zealand will also ensure its aid programme will not include projects that are delivered with, or benefit, the military government, Ardern […]
WHO team probing Covid origins in China to brief media today
An international team of experts wrapping up a month spent in China investigating the Covid-19 pandemic’s origins will brief the media in Wuhan today, the WHO announced. “The international team working to understand the origins of the Covid-19 virus is completing its four weeks’ stay in Wuhan, China and together […]
PM Modi to hold talks with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani today, Shehtoot dam on agenda
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to discuss an agreement on the Shehtoot dam in India-Afghanistan summit-level talks to be held today with the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, sources said. Shehtoot dam will provide clean drinking water to two million citizens of Kabul and will also be used for irrigation. The Shehtoot dam is to be constructed on […]
Britain’s youngest terrorist, neo-Nazi leader avoids jail
A judge yesterday spared Britain’s youngest-ever convicted terrorist from jail, after the teenager led a neo-Nazi cell from his grandmother’s house. Judge Mark Dennis handed the teenager, now 16, a 24-month youth rehabilitation order via video link, telling him to “put this behind you” and “redirect your future”. The boy, […]
India, EU discuss possibility of opening new areas in trade cooperation
In its first high-level dialogue on bilateral trade and investment, India and the European Union exchanged views on the possibility of opening new areas of cooperation, especially on the resilience of global value chains and regulatory mechanisms besides key market access issues. India hosted the first India-EU high-level dialogue (HLD) on February 5 through virtual mode. The HLD was […]
US adults report highest sensation of anxiety since beginning of the Covid-19
As the US faces a severe political race season, political turmoil and viciousness, a temperamental economy, and a soaring death toll due to COVID-19, 84 percent of US grown-ups said the nation has genuine social issues that should be tended to, according to an American poll. As indicated by the new survey, […]
Hindu holy sites in Pakistan presents ‘picture of decay, obliteration’
A recent report by a minorities’ rights commission in Pakistan has revealed a “dismal” picture of most revered Hindu sites in the country and slammed the statutory board responsible to maintain the ancient sites of the minority community. The report submitted to the country’s Supreme Court earlier this month presents a “general picture of decay and obliteration” of […]
Myanmar police fire water cannon at Naypyidaw protesters
Police in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw used water cannon today against protesters demonstrating against a coup a week ago when elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi was detained, video from the scene showed. Police fired the water cannon in brief bursts against a group of the thousands of protesters who had […]
UN chief expresses grief over loss of life following glacier burst
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed grief over the loss of life in India’s Uttarakhand due to the glacier burst and the subsequent flooding. “The Secretary-General is deeply saddened by the reported loss of life and dozens missing following the glacier burst and subsequent flooding in Uttarakhand state, India, on Sunday. The Secretary-General expresses his deep […]
Israel’s Netanyahu returns to court as graft trial ramps up
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returns to court today to formally respond to the corruption charges against him, as his trial enters an intensified phase six weeks before he faces re-election. Netanyahu, the first Israeli premier to be indicted in office, was charged last year over allegations that he accepted […]
Australia says reporter held in China for ‘supplying state secrets’
An Australian journalist who worked as an anchor for Chinese state television has been formally arrested for “illegally supplying state secrets overseas”, six months after she was detained in China without explanation, Canberra said today. Australia’s foreign minister Marise Payne said Chinese authorities informed her that Cheng Lei was formally […]
Ethiopia reports 570 new Covid-19 cases
The Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health on Saturday reported 570 new COVID-19 cases over the last 24 hours, taking the national count to 141,453. The COVID-19 death toll rose to 2,145 after nine new fatalities were recorded, the ministry said. With 290 more recoveries registered, the nationwide count amounted to 125,531, it added. Ethiopia, Africa’s […]
6.3 magnitude earthquake rattles southern Philippines
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.3 shook Davao del Sur province in the southern Philippines on Sunday, the Philippine Institute of Seismology and Volcanology (Phivolcs) reported. The institute said the quake, which struck at 12:22 pm local time, hit at a depth of 15 kilometers, about 6 kilometers southeast of Magsaysay town. […]
Russia reports 16,627 Covid-19 cases, 497 deaths
Russia’s COVID-19 response centre reported 16,627 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, with 497 patients dying of the virus. This brings the overall case count to 3,951,233. A large share of new cases (2,214) was reported in Moscow, the epicentre of the outbreak in Russia. St Petersburg reported 1,248 cases. The death toll now stands […]
Sino-Burmese rally against coup from Taiwan safe haven
Hundreds of people from Taiwan’s large Sino-Burmese community rallied in a Taipei suburb today to denounce the coup in Myanmar and express their support for detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Taiwan is home to around 40,000 people originally from Myanmar, most of whom are ethnic Chinese. Some are descendents […]