Dhaka: Authorities in Bangladesh on Friday started sending a first group of more than 1,500 Rohingya refugees to an isolated island despite calls by human rights groups for a halt to the process. The 1,642 refugees were boarding seven Bangladeshi naval vessels in the port of Chittagong for the trip to Bhashan Char, according to […]
UNITED NATIONS: Welcoming the decision to resume coordination between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, India has urged the leadership of both sides to use the opportunity and re-engage in direct negotiations to advance the goal of a two-state solution. The two-state solution has for decades been the primary focus of efforts to achieve peace in […]
BEIJING: China on Wednesday complimented India for hosting the heads of the government meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) for the first time, saying all member states spoke highly of the outcomes reached and appreciated India for organising the conference. This is the first-time India hosted the SCO heads of government meeting after it […]
LONDON: Pfizer and BioNTech say they’ve won permission on Wednesday for emergency use of their Covid-19 vaccine in Britain, the world’s first coronavirus shot that’s backed by rigorous science — and a major step toward eventually ending the pandemic. The move makes Britain one of the first countries to begin vaccinating its population as it […]
THE HAGUE: Syria and Russia faced renewed pressure over allegations of chemical weapons use as member countries of the global toxic arms watchdog met on Monday. Moscow was urged by Western nations to “transparently” reveal the circumstances of the Novichok nerve agent poisoning of opposition figure Alexei Navalny. Meanwhile, Damascus faced calls for sanctions at […]
BEIJING: Battling global adversity over the coronavirus and bracing for a WHO inquiry over its origin, China on Friday claimed that just because COVID-19 cases were first reported in Wuhan does not mean the contagion originated from the central Chinese city. Various outlets of the state-run Chinese media have been carrying reports in recent days […]
KABUL: At least 34 people were killed on Sunday in two separate suicide bombings in Afghanistan that targeted a military base and a provincial chief, officials said. In eastern Ghazni province, 31 soldiers were killed and 24 others wounded when the attacker drove a military humvee full of explosives onto an army commando base before […]
TEHRAN: Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday accused arch-foe Israel of acting as a “mercenary” for the United States and seeking to create chaos, vowing Tehran would avenge the assassination of a top Iranian nuclear scientist. The Islamic republic’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for the perpetrators to be punished, while Rouhani stressed the […]
KATHMANDU: Chinese defence minister Gen. Wei Fenghe will visit Nepal on Sunday and meet the country’s top leadership, the foreign ministry here announced on Saturday. During his one-day working visit, Wei, also a state councillor, will pay a courtesy call on President Bidhya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli. “The Chinese defence […]
COLOMBO: National security advisor Ajit Doval on Saturday took part in the high-level trilateral maritime dialogue among India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives in Colombo, which was held after a gap of six years. Sri Lanka is hosting the fourth trilateral meeting on maritime security cooperation with India and the Maldives. The meeting is taking […]