A fierce fire ripped through a hotel in the Indian city of Kolkata killing at least 15 people, police said yesterday, with some clambering out of windows and onto the rooftop to escape.

China, Brazil and other members of the BRICS grouping have slammed the “resurgence of trade protectionism” at a meeting in Rio de Janeiro dominated by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs blitz.

Tensions between India and Pakistan, both nuclear-armed, have escalated since last week following a deadly terrorist attack in Indian-administered Kashmir. 

President Vladimir Putin is open to peace in Ukraine and intense work is going on with the United States, but the conflict is so complicated that the rapid progress that Washington wants is difficult to achieve, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.

A US official yesterday told the International Court of Justice there were “serious concerns” about the impartiality of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.

Donald Trump promised Tuesday that he is just getting started as he marked the radical and vengeful beginning of a presidency that has shaken the world and destabilized the United States.

India will conduct its first official caste census since independence, the government announced yesterday, a move likely to have far-reaching consequences for its politics and contentious affirmative action policies.

Iran and the United States will hold a fourth round of talks on the Islamic republic’s nuclear programme in Rome on Saturday, Iran’s foreign minister said.

The man was convicted in the 2022 assassination of a Revolutionary Guards colonel

Both countries have held three rounds of talks aiming for a deal

While seeking to present a more moderate image to the world, Syria's new authorities must also contend with pressures from radical Islamists within their ranks

The ban is designed to counter the movement's activities and stop people supporting the group, the statement added.

Since December, Belgium's sex workers can access legal protections and labour rights, such as paid leave, like any other profession

Human rights activists have said the Electronic Information and Transaction Law is a threat to freedom of speech

Philippines is one of the world's most dangerous places for journalists

Harvard and other universities face extraordinary pressure from US President Donald Trump's administration

Carney acknowledged in a victory speech that the coming months will be difficult

Trump signed an executive order to limit the impact of overlapping tariffs on automakers.

Gunfire erupted in the centre of Uppsala a day before a spring festival

Trump has shaken up the United States like few presidents before him.