Myanmar’s military junta has removed Arakan Army (AA) insurgents from its list of terrorist groups because the faction has stopped attacks and in order to help establish peace across the country, state media said yesterday.

Injured West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in a video message from hospital bed, said that she would return to the campaign trail in two to three days and also urged her supporters to maintain peace and restraint.

China’s rubber-stamp parliament yesterday voted for sweeping changes to Hong Kong’s electoral system -- including powers to veto candidates -- as Beijing moves to ensure only “patriots” run the city following huge pro-democracy rallies.

Prince William yesterday defended the British royal family after his younger brother Harry and wife Meghan accused them of racism in a bombshell interview watched around the world.

A bus carrying dozens of pilgrims plunged down a steep ravine on Indonesia’s Java island, killing at least 27 people including junior high school students, authorities said yesterday.

Closed schools, surging poverty, forced marriages and depression -- after a year of the pandemic, indicators measuring child and adolescent development have all regressed, a setback that heralds lasting stigma for an entire generation, Unicef warned yesterday.

The world yesterday marked one year since the coronavirus threat was declared a pandemic, with vaccinations offering hope but much of humanity still enduring highly restricted lives and no clear path back to normality.

Myanmar’s junta added new bribery allegations to its charges against deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi, while an advocacy group said security forces killed 12 protesters in one of the deadliest days since the military took power.

Prince William has denied that Britain’s royals were racist after Meghan, wife of his younger brother Harry, said one unnamed member of the family had asked how dark their son Archie’s skin might be.

India is likely to block its mobile carriers from using telecom equipment made by China’s Huawei, two government officials said, under procurement rules due to come into force in June.

Thailand has stressed dialogues and trust between the military and political parties to achieve a peaceful solution to the crisis in Myanmar, Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai said.

Apple Inc has started the assembly of iPhone 12 in India, the U.S. tech giant said, as the company ramps up manufacturing operations in the world’s second-biggest smartphone market.

Injured West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in a video message from hospital bed, said that she would return to the assembly election campaign trail in two to three days and also urged her supporters to maintain peace and restraint.

Seven people were killed when security forces opened fire on anti-junta protests in Myanmar on Thursday, witnesses and local media said, as rights group Amnesty International accused the military of adopting battle tactics against demonstrators.

The condition of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is undergoing treatment at a state-run hospital following the attack on her in Nandigram, was “stable”, a doctor attending to her said today.

The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on two children of Myanmar’s military leader Min Aung Hlaing and six companies they control in response to the military’s February 1 coup and the killing of protesters since the takeover.

Myanmar’s military junta has removed Arakan Army (AA) insurgents from its list of terrorist groups because the faction has stopped attacks and in order to help establish peace across the country, state media said today.

A bus carrying school children and some parents returning from an excursion plunged into a ravine on the Indonesian island of Java on Wednesday night, killing 27 people, the country’s transportation ministry said.

The House of Representatives gave final approval on Wednesday to one of the largest economic stimulus measures in U.S. history, a sweeping $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill that gives President Joe Biden his first major victory in office.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the United Arab Emirates on Thursday and may meet the Saudi crown prince there in an opportunity to showcase new Gulf ties before a closely contested election in Israel, its public broadcaster Kan said.