World

Myanmar military, MNDAA agree ceasefire, China says

BEIJING, Jan 20 The Myanmar military and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) signed a formal agreement for a ceasefire that began on Saturday, China’s Foreign Ministry said, halting fighting near the border of both countries.The tw..

Bangladesh's interim Government to seek Interpol support to repatriate Hasina

DHAKA, Nov 10 : Bangladesh's interim government on Sunday said it will seek Interpol's assistance in repatriating deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina from India, and other "fugitives", to face trial for alleged crimes against humanity.Hasina and her part..

Trump wins, says “God spared my life...”

New Delhi, Nov 6 Donald Trump thanked his supporters today and described it as a "magnificent victory for the American people" as he made one of the most stunning comebacks in US political history with his win over Kamala Harris. He also referred to the J..

Myanmar rebels take the road to Mandalay

Kutkai, Oct 26 Winding through the lawless, rugged hills of northern Myanmar, National Highway 3 links a stunning series of victories by ethnic rebels and pro-democracy fighters in their war against the junta.Continuing with their offensive launched a yea..

Armed groups snub Myanmar junta's peace offer

BANGKOK, Sep 28Myanmar’s anti-regime groups have dismissed the junta’s offer of peace talks as dishonest and evidence that the regime is losing.The junta on Thursday issued an “offer to resolve political issues with political means”..

Bangladesh to extradite Sheikh Hasina from India, try her on mass killing charge

Dhaka, Sep 8 : Bangladesh will take necessary steps to extradite deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina from India to try her on charges of mass killings during the student-led mass movement against her government, the newly-appointed chief prosecutor of th..

US warns Iran faces "cataclysmic" consequences if it strikes Israel

Washington, Aug 17A US official warned Friday that Iran would face "cataclysmic" consequences and derail momentum toward a Gaza truce if it strikes Israel in response to the killing of a top Hamas official.The United States "would encourage the Iranians -..

Months ago, Hasina had claimed she got an 'offer' from 'White Man'

NEW DELHI, Aug 6Months before her tragic fall as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina had claimed that "conspiracies" were being hatched to topple her Government and that she may be assassinated just like her father and independence hero Sheikh..

Protesters storm PM's official residence Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina quits

New Delhi, Aug 5Sheikh Hasina has quit as Bangladesh Prime Minister and the Army has taken control amid violent protests demanding her exit. Bangladesh Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman told the media that the Army will form an interim Government and has ..

"Must ensure full respect for LAC, past agreement": S Jaishankar to Chinese counterpart

Vientiane (Laos), Jul 25 : External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar Thursday met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi here and emphasised the need to ensure "full respect" for the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and past agreements to stabilise the bilateral ties.T..

B'desh turns back fleeing Myanmar soldiers at border

TEKNAF, Jul 16 Bangladesh stopped dozens of Myanmar security personnel from crossing into its territory to flee advancing rebel forces, a local Government official based near their river border said Tuesday.Clashes have rocked Myanmar's western frontiers ..

'Europe could die,' Macron warns, as he calls for stronger defences

PARIS, Apr 25 : President Emmanuel Macron appealed on Thursday for stronger, more integrated European defences and said the continent must not become a vassal of the United States, as he outlined his vision for a more assertive European Union on the globa..

Iraq executes 11 people convicted of "terrorism"

Nasiriyah, Apr 25 : Iraqi authorities have executed at least 11 people convicted of "terrorism" this week, security and health sources said Wednesday, with rights group Amnesty International condemning an "alarming lack of transparency".Under Iraqi law, t..

The Lyrid meteor shower peaks this weekend, but it may be hard to see it

WASHINGTON, Apr 23The Lyrid meteor shower is underway. But with a nearly full moon in the sky during the peak, it might be tough to see clearly.The Lyrids occur every year in mid-to-late April. This year's peak activity happens Sunday into Monday, with 10..

Hundreds of Philippine schools suspend classes over heat danger

MANILA, Apr 2Hundreds of schools in the Philippines, including dozens in the capital Manila, suspended in-person classes on Tuesday due to dangerous levels of heat, education officials said.The country's heat index measures what a temperature feels like, ..

Terror attack in Russia kills 115

MOSCOW, Mar 23 Russian authorities detained 11 people, State media reported Saturday, after gunmen stormed a concert hall in Moscow in a grisly attack that left at least 115 people dead.Russia’s Investigative Committee said four of those detained we..

Maldives President seeks debt relief from India amid strained ties

Male, Mar 22 : Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has struck a reconciliatory tone after his anti-India rhetoric, saying India will continue to remain his country's “closest ally” as he sought a debt relief from New Delhi. The Maldives owed app..

Documents reveal Abraham Lincoln, Joe Biden's 160-year old Civil War connection

WASHINGTON, Feb 19Abraham Lincoln pardoned Joe Biden's great-great-grandfather after a late-night Civil War-era brawl, documents reportedly show, linking the two US presidents across the centuries.The court martial records in the US National Archives, rep..

January was world's warmest on record, say scientists

Brussels, Feb 12The world just experienced its hottest January on record, continuing a run of exceptional heat fuelled by climate change, the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said on Thursday. Last month surpassed the previous warm..

Conscription law enforced in Myanmar

Naypyidaw, Feb 11The Government in Myanmar has announced compulsory military service for all young men and women as the country's turmoil continues.The army seized power from the civilian Government in a coup in February 2021.But in recent months it has b..

"I am so scared": 6-year-old Gaza girl found dead weeks after pleading for help

Gaza City, Feb 10 : Six-year-old Hind Rajab pleaded to be rescued, after her family's car came under fire in war-ravaged Gaza City, leaving her alone, frightened and injured, surrounded by the bodies of her dead relatives."I am so scared," she had said in..

Both Imran Khan, Nawaz Sharif declare victory as Pak elections results drag on

Islamabad, Feb 10 : Former Pakistani prime ministers and bitter rivals Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan on Friday both declared victory in elections marred by delayed results and militant attacks, throwing the country into further political turmoil.Sharif's pa..

25 killed in twin blasts outside Pak candidates' offices in Balochistan

Karachi, Feb 7At least 25 people were killed and 42 others injured on Wednesday in two devastating bomb blasts targeting election offices in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, a day before the general elections in the coup-prone country.In the first..

US lawmakers reject proposal for $17.6 billion military aid to Israel

Washington, Feb 7US lawmakers voted Tuesday to reject a standalone Israel aid bill denounced by critics as a "cynical" bid to thwart a cross-party border security and foreign assistance package that would include cash for war-torn Ukraine.Republicans in t..

Myanmar border guards flee to Bangladesh amid clashes with rebels

Dhaka, Feb 5At least 95 Myanmar border guards, some of them wounded, have fled to Bangladesh over the last few days as fighting intensifies between rebel forces in Myanmar and the junta regime, officials in Bangladesh said on Monday.Since mounting a coup ..

At least 19 dead in Chile forest fires, toll likely to increase: Government

SANTIAGO, Feb 3At least 19 people have died in forest fires raging near Chile’s coast, Interior Minister Carolina Toha said Saturday, warning the toll was likely to climb higher.Fifteen of the 19 victims “have already been identified,” T..

Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan, wife get 14 years jail in corruption case

Islamabad, Jan 31Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan and his wife were sentenced Wednesday to 14 years in jail after being found guilty of graft in a case involving gifts he received while premier.The verdict, a week before national elections, comes..

Ukraine carries out drone attack

Kyiv, Jan 31: Ukraine carried out another drone attack on an oil facility deep inside Russian territory, a military intelligence source in Kyiv told AFP on Wednesday.Kyiv has ramped up strikes on Russian oil and gas facilities over the past two months, pa..

Sniper shoots dead top Myanmar Army official in chopper

Naypyidaw, Jan 30 Four members of the Myanmar security services including a Brigadier General were shot dead by sniper fire on Monday as their helicopter prepared to land, a military source told AFP.Brigadier General Aye Min Naung, his personal security o..

Ex Pak PM Imran Khan gets 10-year jail for exposing official secrets

Islamabad, Jan 30Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison, less than two weeks before the country votes in an election his party has been hamstrung from contesting.Khan's sentence was handed down inside Adiala ..

Israeli agents, disguised as medical staff, kill 3 Palestinians in hospital

Jenin, Jan 30Israeli undercover agents, some disguised as medical staff, raided a West Bank hospital Tuesday and shot dead three Palestinian militants, in the first such operation in eight years.An AFP photographer saw a bullet hole on a pillow covered in..

Japan's precision moon lander has hit its target, but it appears to be upside-down

TOKYO, Jan 28Japan's space agency said Thursday that its first lunar mission hit the tiny patch of the moon's surface it was aiming for, in a successful demonstration of its pinpoint landing system—although the probe appears to be lying upside-down...

Amid war with Russia, Ukraine uncovers $40 million fraud in weapons procurement

Kyiv, Jan 28Ukraine's SBU security service said on Saturday it had uncovered a corruption scheme in the purchase of arms by the country's military totalling the equivalent of about $40 million.The announcement of mass procurement fraud, confirmed by Ukrai..

Myanmar armed group says captured town near India, Bangladesh border

Yangon, Jan 16An armed ethnic minority group in Myanmar has said it captured a town and several junta outposts near the border with Bangladesh and India, in the latest setback for the embattled military.Clashes have rocked Myanmar's western Rakhine and Ch..

Defiant Netanyahu says no one can halt Israel’s war to crush Hamas, including World Court

GAZA, Jan 14Israel will pursue its war against Hamas until victory and will not be stopped by anyone, including the world court, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a defiant speech on Saturday, as the fighting in Gaza approached the 100-day mark.Ne..

'We lost hope': Ravaged Gaza nears 100 days of war

KHAN YOUNIS, Jan 11 : Bombed-out neighbourhoods, mass graves dug in the sand, spreading hunger and disease -- as the bloodiest ever Gaza war nears 100 days, besieged Palestinians have endured ever new horrors.More than three months of relentless Israeli b..

Airstrike on PDF stronghold in Myanmar kills 15

OSR/Agencies (AFP)IMPHAL/TAMU, Jan 7 : At least 15 people, including children, have been killed in an air strike on a village in northwestern Myanmar on the Indo (Manipur)-Myanmar border, local media said Sunday.The country has been engulfed by increasing..

Netanyahu says Gaza-Egypt border zone should be under Israeli control

GAZA, Dec 31The border zone between the Gaza Strip and Egypt should be under Israel’s control, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said, as he predicted the war in the Palestinian enclave and on other regional fronts would last many months..

WHO Chief "very concerned" by Gaza infectious disease threat

Geneva, Dec 30World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Friday he was "very concerned" about the growing threat of infectious diseases in the Gaza Strip."As people continue to be massively displaced across the south of Gaza, with som..

Israeli troops killed hostages, mistaking their cries for help as ambush

Jerusalem, Dec 29 : Israeli soldiers ignored cries for "help" when they entered a Gaza building holding three hostages just days before killing them by mistake, said a military investigation published on Thursday.The soldiers also heard "hostages" shouted..

'Not appropriate': Argentina formally rejects invitation to join BRICS

BUENOS AIRES, Dec 29 : Argentine President Javier Milei has sent letters to BRICS leaders to formalize his decision to reject an invitation to join the grouping of major emerging economies, the presidency said Friday.The bloc -- made up of Brazil, Russia,..

Myanmar junta accused of war crimes

YANGON, Dec 21 Myanmar’s military has likely perpetrated indiscriminate attacks on civilians and used banned cluster munitions in its fight against ethnic minority insurgents, Amnesty International said on Dec 21, calling for an investigation of sus..

Israel keeps pounding Gaza, Houthis vow more Red Sea attacks

CAIRO/GAZA, Dec 19Israel kept pounding the shattered Gaza Strip on Tuesday while Yemen’s pro-Palestinian Houthi movement vowed to defy a U.S.-led naval mission and keep hitting Israeli targets in the Red Sea.Israel’s campaign to eradicate Hama..

127 people killed, over 700 injured in China’s worst earthquake in nine years

Beijing, Dec 19At least 127 people were killed and over 700 others injured when a powerful 6.2-magnitude earthquake jolted a mountainous region of northwestern China late Monday night, the deadliest quake in the quake-prone region in nine years.The quake,..

Kuwait Emir Sheikh Nawaf dies at 86

Kuwait, Dec 16: The emir of oil-rich Kuwait, Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, died on Saturday, the royal court said, after three years in power. He was 86."With great sadness and sorrow, we mourn... the death of Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Emir of the..

China brokers temporary truce in Myanmar

BEIJING, Dec 14China has mediated peace talks between Myanmar’s ruling military and rebel groups, and the parties agreed on a temporary ceasefire and to maintain dialogue, Beijing said on Thursday.“China hopes that concerned parties will exerc..

Price of poppy flower pegged at 355 US Dollars per Kg Myanmar is now world's largest source of opium : UN

BANGKOK, Dec 12 Myanmar has become the world's largest source of opium, thanks to domestic instability and a decline in cultivation in Afghanistan, the United Nations said in a report on Tuesday.The 95% decline in opium cultivation in Afghanistan after a ..

Suicide attack on Pakistan army base kills 23: Official

PESHAWAR, Dec 12 : At least 23 people were killed in a suicide bombing at a Pakistan army base on Tuesday, an official said, in an attack claimed by militants affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban.The early-morning attack targeted a base in Dera Ismail Kh..

Israeli tanks reach centre of Khan Younis in new storm of southern Gaza

GAZA/CAIRO, Dec 10Israeli tanks battled their way to the centre of Khan Younis on Sunday in a major new push into the heart of the main city in the southern Gaza Strip.Residents said tanks had reached the main north-south road through the middle of Khan Y..

Nawaz Sharif says he was ousted in 1999 for opposing Kargil plan

Lahore, Dec 10Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday said he was ousted from the government in 1999 by (late) Gen Pervez Musharraf for opposing the Kargil misadventure, as he underlined the importance of having good relations with India..