Canada, China expel envoys in escalating row
SHANGHAI: China said on Tuesday it was expelling Canada’s consul in Shanghai, in a tit-for-tat move after Ottawa announced it was sending home a Chinese diplomat accused of trying to intimidate a lawmaker. The expulsions have plunged the two nations into a fresh diplomatic row after years of souring relations. They follow an outcry in […]
Iran sports boss quits after women compete unveiled
TEHRAN: The head of Iran’s athletics federation resigned on Sunday over a sporting event featuring women without the mandatory headscarf, state media reported, as the Islamic republic toughens enforcement of hijab rules. “Hashem Siami resigned from his post due to the controversies that arose from the endurance (running) race organised in Shiraz” in Iran, official […]
Riots in Kenya as opposition protests ‘cost of living’
NAIROBI: Kenyan riot police fired tear gas on opposition MPs on Tuesday as sporadic violence erupted during fresh anti-government demonstrations over a cost-of-living crisis and last year’s disputed election. Tear gas canisters were launched at members of opposition leader Raila Odinga’s Azimio la Umoja (One Kenya) coalition near President William Ruto’s office in downtown Nairobi, […]
PM reiterates commitment to bring back national heritage from abroad
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday reiterated his government’s commitment to bring back national heritage from abroad. He said this while responding to a tweet by Union Minister G Kishan Reddy saying that a metal idol of Lord Hanuman that was stolen from a Vishnu Temple of Ariyalur district, dated back to the […]
Sudan evacuations speed up during fighting lull
European nations, China and others from around the world raced to extract thousands of their citizens from Khartoum on Monday during an apparent lull in fierce fighting between the army and a paramilitary force. The sudden eruption of violence between the military and the well-armed Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group on April 15 has […]
“Elections can happen any time, we are prepared”: Uddhav Thackeray
With the Uddhav Thackeray faction’s plea, challenging last year’s change of guard in Maharashtra, pending arbitration in the Supreme Court, the former Maharashtra chief minister on Sunday said elections can happen any time and they were “prepared”. Addressing a public meeting in Jalgaon on Sunday, Uddhav, who now heads the Shiv Sena (UBT), said, “Elections […]
Foreign states rush to evacuate from Sudan, US and UK pull out diplomats
The United States and the United Kingdom said their armed forces helped staff from both embassies get out of Sudan, but evacuations by some other countries faced problems on Sunday as rival military factions battled in the capital Khartoum. The eruption of fighting eight days ago between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) […]
Beijing hospital fire death toll rises to 29, director detained
The death toll in a fire that ripped through a hospital in China’s capital Beijing has risen to 29, a city official said Wednesday. The fire at the Beijing Changfeng Hospital in the Fengtai District broke out at around 1pm (5am GMT) on Tuesday and was extinguished about half an hour later. Li Zongrong, deputy […]
UN warns of exit from Afghanistan in May
UNITED NATIONS: The UN warned on Tuesday that it would pull out of Afghanistan in May if the Afghan Taliban do not allow its local women staff to return to work. Also on Tuesday, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) released a study, which warned that restrictions on women’s rights will worsen economic catastrophe in […]
Loss of lives in Maharashtra bus accident deeply distressing: President Murmu
New Delhi : The loss of lives in a bus accident in Maharashtra’s Raigad is deeply distressing, President Droupadi Murmu said on Saturday, and offered condolences to the bereaved families. “I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured,” she said. Thirteen persons, including at least five minors, were killed and 29 others injured after […]