Eight killed as Russian firefighting plane crashes in Turkey
ISTANBUL: A firefighting plane from Russia crashed on Saturday in a mountainous area in southern Turkey, killing the eight crew members and emergency workers aboard, Russia’s Defence Ministry said. The Russian ministry said five Russian and three Turkish citizens were on the amphibious Beriev BE-200, which crashed while trying to land in Turkey’s Adana province. […]
WHO moves to take politics out of virus origin debate
GENEVA: The World Health Organization said on Friday it was setting up a new group to trace the origins of the coronavirus, seeking to end what it called “political point scoring” that had hampered investigations. The inability of the WHO to say where and how the virus began spreading has fuelled tensions among its members, […]
Maharashtra Governor Meets Amit Shah Hours After HC Ruling On MLC Nominations
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari held a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi soon after the Bombay High Court’s ruling on the MLC nominations. The Raj Bhavan termed the meeting as a “courtesy call”. The Bombay High Court Friday ruled that the state governor was duty-bound to decide on the MLC nominations […]
UK sends troops to evacuate staff and citizens in Afghanistan
LONDON: Britain will deploy hundreds of military personnel to Afghanistan to help British nationals and local translators get out of the country, defence secretary Ben Wallace said on Thursday as the security situation there worsens. The British embassy in Kabul will be moved to a more secure location and will remain manned by only a […]
Himachal Landslide: Death Toll Rises To 15 As Two More Bodies Recovered
The death toll in the Kinnaur landslide in Himachal Pradesh rose to 16 on Friday with the recovery of two more bodies. According to updates from Kinnaur DC, Abid Hussain Sadiq, the rescue operation resumed at 5:30 am. Two dead bodies were recovered at 6:30 am. The rescue operation was halted for some time due […]
Taliban could take Kabul in 90 days: US intelligence
KABUL: Taliban fighters could isolate Afghanistan’s capital in 30 days and possibly take it over in 90, a US defence official said on Wednesday citing US intelligence, as the resurgent militants took control of an eighth provincial Afghan capital. The official said that the new assessment of how long Kabul could stand was a result […]
Maharashtra Records 5,560 New Covid-19 Cases, 163 Deaths
Maharashtra on Wednesday reported 5,560 new coronavirus cases and 163 fatalities, a health department official said. The highest number of deaths- 69- was reported in the Pune region. The caseload in the state thus rose to 63,69,002, while the death toll reached 1,34,364, he said. Around 6,944 patients were discharged from hospitals. On Tuesday the state had […]
Taliban seize seventh Afghan provincial capital
KABUL: The Taliban seized another Afghan provincial capital on Tuesday — the seventh in less than a week — as tens of thousands of people fled their homes in the north for the relative safety of Kabul and other centres. A provincial lawmaker said the insurgents had taken Farah city, capital of the same-named province […]
Himachal Pradesh: Schools Closed Again Till Aug 22, RTPCR Test Must For Tourists
With Covid active cases already over 2,300 within a fortnight, the Himachal Pradesh government has decided to close all schools and educational institutions till August 22. The schools were opened only on August 2 but with a sudden surge in Covid cases, including those reported among the children, the government has taken a quick call to shut down […]
Taliban resurgence: US asks Afghan forces to fend for themselves
If the Taliban had seized three provincial capitals in northern Afghanistan a year ago, like they did on Sunday, the American response would most likely have been ferocious. Fighter jets and helicopter gunships would have responded in force, beating back the Islamist group or, at the very least, stalling its advance. But these are different […]