Russian soldiers to return to bases after Ukraine drills

Russia ordered its top army command to begin returning troops to their permanent bases inside the country from today, saying it had successfully completed a “snap inspection” of forces in its south and west, near the border with Ukraine, the RIA news agency reported.
22 April 2021, 18:00 PM

‘Beg, borrow, steal or import’

Pankaj Solanki, a doctor and the director of a small hospital in New Delhi, rushed to an oxygen vendor earlier this week to secure enough cylinders to keep 10 COVID-19 patients on the ICU ward breathing.
22 April 2021, 18:00 PM

‘Time to do the right thing’

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg warned US lawmakers yesterday that history will hold them accountable for climate catastrophes if they do not stop subsidizing the fossil fuel industry before it is too late.
22 April 2021, 18:00 PM

Millions face hunger in coup-hit Myanmar

Food insecurity is rising sharply in Myanmar in the wake of the military coup and deepening financial crisis with millions more people expected to go hungry in coming months, the United Nations said yesterday.
22 April 2021, 18:00 PM

Modi cancels West Bengal polls rallies

Amidst an unprecedented surge in Covid-19 cases and a massive shortage of oxygen for critical patients, Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday cancelled his scheduled visit to West Bengal today to address assembly election campaign rallies.
22 April 2021, 18:00 PM

Israel strikes Syria after attack near ‘nuke site’

A Syrian officer was killed and three soldiers wounded yesterday in strikes launched by Israel after a missile was fired towards a secretive nuclear site in the Jewish state, a monitor said.
22 April 2021, 18:00 PM

Pakistan Taliban claim deadly blast at luxury hotel

The Pakistani Taliban yesterday claimed responsibility for a deadly suicide blast at a luxury hotel hosting the Chinese ambassador in the southwest of the country, as officials raised the death toll to five.
22 April 2021, 18:00 PM

Indonesia races to find missing sub with 53 aboard

Indonesian warships led the hunt yesterday for a submarine that went missing with 53 crew aboard and only enough oxygen for a few days. An oil spill where the submarine was thought to have submerged early Wednesday pointed to possible damage to its fuel tank, and fanned fears of a deadly disaster.
22 April 2021, 18:00 PM

Unable to afford mask, shepherd wears bird’s nest to govt office in India’s Telangana state

Mekala Kurmayya, a shepherd, appeared at a government office in India’s Telangana state wearing a bird’s nest on his face as he could not afford a mask.
22 April 2021, 17:30 PM

Australia says it cancelled state deals on China’s Belt and Road over ‘national interest’

Australia said a decision to cancel two accords between Victoria state and China on the Belt and Road Initiative was taken to ensure consistency in foreign relations and was not aimed at any country.
22 April 2021, 06:24 AM

Biden expected to recognize massacre of Armenians as genocide – sources

U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to formally recognize the massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War One as an act of genocide, sources said on Wednesday, a move likely to infuriate Turkey and further strain already frayed ties between the two NATO allies.
22 April 2021, 06:17 AM

US imposes new Myanmar sanctions on 2 state-owned businesses

The United States on Wednesday imposed fresh Myanmar-related sanctions, targeting two state-owned enterprises in the latest in a series of punitive actions following the country’s military coup as Washington said it would take further action.
22 April 2021, 02:42 AM

4 killed in deadly blast at Pakistan hotel hosting China ambassador

At least four people were killed and a dozen others wounded when a bomb exploded at a top hotel hosting the Chinese ambassador in southwestern Pakistan, officials said late Wednesday.
22 April 2021, 01:59 AM

Junta attacks displace nearly 250,000: UN

The Myanmar military junta’s crackdown on anti-coup protesters has displaced close to a quarter of a million people, a United Nations rights envoy said yesterday.
21 April 2021, 18:00 PM

Australia scraps Victoria state’s BRI deal with China

Australia yesterday announced it would revoke a state government’s deal to join China’s Belt and Road initiative, saying it was inconsistent with the nation’s foreign policy.
21 April 2021, 18:00 PM

Ulfa abducts govt employees in Assam

Three employees of India’s state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) were abducted yesterday by suspected United Liberation Front for Asom (Independent) militants owing allegiance to their fugitive leader Paresh Barua from an oilfield in Sivsagar district of Assam.
21 April 2021, 18:00 PM

ME states dominate execution toll: Amnesty

Four states in the Middle East, led by Iran, made “ruthless and chilling” use of the death penalty in 2020 despite an overall decline during the Covid-19 pandemic, dominating the global toll of executions, Amnesty International said yesterday.
21 April 2021, 18:00 PM

Don’t cross ‘red lines’

President Vladimir Putin yesterday warned the West not to cross Russia’s “red lines”, saying Moscow would respond swiftly and harshly to any provocations in a way that would force those behind them to regret their actions.
21 April 2021, 18:00 PM

55pc CO2 cut by 2030

The European Parliament and EU member states yesterday agreed a target to cut carbon emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030, in what was called a “game changer” just ahead of a US-hosted climate summit.
21 April 2021, 18:00 PM

‘A giant step forward’

US President Joe Biden called systemic racism a “stain on our nation’s soul” in a televised address to the nation Tuesday after a white former police officer was convicted of murdering a Black man during an arrest.
21 April 2021, 18:00 PM