BEIJING: Ahead of the Quad summit on Friday, China said exchanges and cooperation between countries should contribute to mutual understanding rather than “targeting” a third party and refrain from pursuing exclusive blocs”. US President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will attend the virtual summit, […]
BEIJING: China’s Parliament on Thursday adopted the 14th Five-Year Plan, the mega blueprint containing billions of dollars worth of projects, including the controversial hydropower project on the Brahmaputra river in Tibet close to the Arunachal Pradesh border over which India has raised concerns. The National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s legislature with over 2,000 members mostly […]
BEIJING: China will operate bullet trains to Tibet, close to the Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh before July this year, marking the opening of high-speed train services to all Chinese mainland provincial-level regions, a senior official has said. A 435-km rail link to the regional capital of Lhasa will run Fuxing high-speed trains powered by […]
BERLIN: Swiss voters decide Sunday on a proposal to ban face coverings, both the niqabs and burqas worn by a few Muslim women in the country and the ski masks and bandannas used by protesters. Polls are pointing to a close outcome. The measure would outlaw covering one’s face in public places like restaurants, sports […]
KARACHI: Unidentified gunmen attacked a vehicle carrying security forces, killing two personnel of the Pakistan Navy and injuring another in the coastal district of Gwadar in the restive Baluchistan province. The Pakistan Navy vehicle came under indiscriminate firing on Saturday while travelling from Ganz to Jewni in Gwadar district. As a result of the firing, […]
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday won a trust vote in the National Assembly amid a boycott call by the Opposition parties, strengthening his government’s legitimacy after an embarrassing defeat of the finance minister in the hotly-contested Senate elections. Prime Minister Khan secured 178 votes in the 342-member lower house of Parliament during […]
WASHINGTON: The World Health Organization has scrapped plans for a team that visited Wuhan, China to probe the origins of the coronavirus pandemic to issue an interim report, The Wall Street Journal reported late Thursday. Wuhan is the city where the pandemic is believed to have originated in late 2019. The WHO team returned recently […]
BEIJING: As the ice-covered parts of the Arctic Ocean melt due to climate change, China has flagged its interest to take part in building “Polar Silk Road”, raising prospects for the emergence of a new sea route. China will participate in the pragmatic cooperation on the Arctic and the building of a “Polar Silk Road,” […]
Berlin: Iran has agreed to sit down with international technical experts investigating the discovery of uranium particles at three former undeclared sites in the country, the head of the UN atomic watchdog said Thursday, after months of frustration at Tehran’s lack of a credible explanation. The agreement came as three of the remaining signatories to […]
Yangon: Myanmar security forces were seen firing slingshots at protesters, chasing them down and even brutally beating an ambulance crew in video showing a dramatic escalation of violence against opponents of last month’s military coup. A UN official speaking from Switzerland said 38 people had been killed Wednesday, a figure consistent with other reports though […]