India cautions over ‘heightened’ threat of misuse of biological agents as weapons
United Nations: India has cautioned over the “heightened” threat of misuse of biological agents and chemicals as weapons against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and called on the international community to address the rapid evolution of proliferation risks. It said new and emerging technologies may increase the risk of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) […]
UK PM Boris Johnson forced to explain actions in fresh partygate row
London: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been forced to explain, by his own independent ethics adviser, why he believed that the partygate fine issued to him by Scotland Yard did not breach the country’s Ministerial Code. Lord Christopher Geidt, who reports directly to the Prime Minister in an advisory capacity, said in an annual […]
EU bans imports of most Russian oil
Brussels: In the most significant effort yet to punish Russia for its war in Ukraine, the European Union agreed to ban the overwhelming majority of Russian oil imports after tense negotiations that exposed the cracks in European unity. From the moment Russia invaded on Feb. 24, the West has sought to hit Moscow’s lucrative energy […]
Eurozone inflation hits record 8.1% amid rising energy costs
London: Eurozone inflation hit a record 8.1% in May amid surging energy and food costs fueled in part by Russia’s war in Ukraine. Annual inflation in the 19 countries that use the euro currency soared past the previous record of 7.4% reached in March and April, according to the latest numbers published Tuesday by the […]
Denmark holds referendum on EU defence amid Ukraine war
Copenhagen: Historically skeptical about European Union efforts to deepen cooperation, Danish voters on Wednesday will choose whether to abandon the country’s decision three decades ago to opt out of the bloc’s common defence policy. The Danish referendum comes as the latest example of European countries seeking closer defence links with allies in response to Russia’s […]
21 bodies recovered from Tara Air plane crash site in Nepal
Kathmandu: Rescuers on Monday recovered 21 bodies from the wreckage site of the Tara Air plane that crashed in Nepal’s mountainous Mustang district on Sunday with 22 people on board, including four Indians, minutes after taking off from the tourist city of Pokhara, officials said. The turboprop Twin Otter 9N-AET plane went missing on Sunday […]
Afghanistan should never be allowed to be used by terror outfits: China
Beijing: Security situation in Afghanistan is a prerequisite for its development, China said on Monday as it highlighted the consensus at the recent Dushanbe meeting of the regional countries that the war-torn nation should never be allowed to be used by terrorist organisations. Replying to a question on the 4th Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan […]
Following High Court’s directive, Pakistan government sets up a panel to formulate a policy on enforced disappearances
Islamabad: The Pakistan government on Monday has set up a committee to formulate a policy to deal with the issue of enforced disappearances in the country after a high court asked heads of successive governments to explain how such a festering issue had become a “state policy.” The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Sunday directed […]
Fate of 4 Indians and 18 others unclear as bad weather hampers efforts to locate missing Nepal plane
Kathmandu: The fate of 22 people, including four members of an Indian family, on board a Nepalese airlines plane remained unclear as bad weather and blankets of clouds made it difficult to locate the aircraft that went missing on Sunday in the mountainous region of the Himalayan nation minutes after taking off from the tourist […]
US view on China “gone seriously awry”, Chinese FM Wang Yi
Beijing: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sunday that the US view on China has “seriously gone awry” and Beijing will not give in to “blackmail and coercion”, in a sharp retort to his American counterpart Antony Blinken’s remarks identifying China as “the most serious long-term challenge to the international order”. Addressing an audience […]
