French FM: no indication of Russian action in Ukraine

PARIS REUTERS Feb 2- There are no indications at this stage to suggest that Russia is ready to take action in Ukraine, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told France 2 Television on Wednesday.

US sending nearly 3,000 troops to Eastern Europe

WASHINGTON/MOSCOW, Feb 2 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden has approved sending additional forces to eastern Europe, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday, as Washington reinforces its allies against what it describes as a Russian threat to invade Ukraine.

U.S., Britain, Canada issue new Myanmar sanctions

The United States, Britain and Canada Monday, imposed sanctions against additional officials in Myanmar, in measures timed to mark one year since the military seized power and plunged the country into chaos.

Russia denies responding to US on security proposals - RIA

MOSCOW, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Russia has sent follow-up questions rather than a response to the United States in their exchange on Moscow’s demands for security guarantees, a senior Russian diplomat was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

New Zealand relents on woman offered refuge by Taliban

WELLINGTON AFP Feb1, 2022-A pregnant New Zealand journalist who claimed to have nowhere to go but Afghanistan will be allowed to return home, after officials granted her an exemption from strict Covid-19 entry restrictions amid public outcry

US prepared to sanction Russian elites close to Putin

The United States and its allies have prepared a list of Russian elites in or near Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle to hit with economic sanctions should Russia invade Ukraine, a senior administration official said on Monday.

UAE intercepts ballistic missile fired from Yemen

The United Arab Emirates said on Monday it intercepted a ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement as the U

African Union suspends Burkina Faso after military coup

OUAGADOUGOU, Jan 31 Reuters- The African Union has suspended Burkina Faso from all its activities in response to last week’s military coup, effective until constitutional order is restored, the AU said on Monday. “Council decides in line w

Rejected by New Zealand, pregnant TV reporter turns to Taliban

New Zealand reporter Charlotte Bellis who got pregnant while working in Qatar for broadcaster Al Jazeera, revealed Friday, that she had to turn to the Taliban for help after her own country said she couldn’t return due to Covid-19 curbs.

Tensions rise as N.Korea tests largest missile since 2017

Tensions over North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programmes have risen yet again after North Korea test fired a medium-range ballistic missile with a potential range of thousands of kilometres on Sunday, its largest missile test since 2017.

Boston ties snow record as ‘bomb cyclone’ batters eastern US

Blinding snow whipped up by powerful winds pummeled the eastern United States into Sunday’s early hours, as one of the strongest winter storms in years triggered transport chaos and power outages across a region of some 70 million people.

Indian village mourns family who froze to death

Relatives and neighbours of the Indian family who froze to death near the US-Canada border last week said the father repeatedly failed to secure better paid jobs in recent years, prompting them to take a risky trip aided by an illegal migrant network.

Russia doesn’t want war but will defend its interests: Lavrov

Moscow doesn’t want war but will not allow its interests to be ignored, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday as tensions continue to simmer over Ukraine.

Confusion over publication of Downing Street ‘Partygate’ report

Jan 28-An inquiry into COVID-19 lockdown-breaking gatherings in Downing Street that might determine the future of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson could be delayed after the police asked for the report to make only “minimal reference” to those events.

Lavrov: US-NATO fail to address Russian concerns

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed Moscow had received a written response from the US to his country’s requests for assurances over NATO expansion and expressed disappointment over the lack of concessions.

England lifts Omicron restrictions

England on Thursday lifted coronavirus restrictions imposed to tackle the Omicron variant, with masks no longer required in enclosed places and vaccine passports shelved.

Russian, Ukrainian officials meet in bid to ease tensions

Russian and Ukrainian delegations met in Paris for talks on Wednesday in a bid to defuse soaring tensions, with France seeking to usher both sides down a “path to de-escalation”.

PM Johnson refuses to resign over lockdown parties

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday rejected opposition calls to resign for attending lockdown parties but accepted that a rule that ministers should lose their jobs if they had knowlingly misled parliament applied to him.

Russia launches new military drills as tensions rise over Ukraine

Russia on Tuesday launched new military exercises near Ukraine and in annexed Crimea as it accused the United States of ratcheting up tensions by putting several thousand of its own troops on alert.

British police launch investigation into Downing Street parties

British police said on Tuesday they had opened an investigation into possible COVID lockdown breaches at Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Downing Street residence after receiving evidence from an internal government probe into a series of gatherings.

UK threatens Russia with sanctions if Ukraine ‘puppet regime’ installed

Russia will face severe economic sanctions if it installs a puppet regime in Ukraine, a senior UK minister said on Sunday after Britain accused the Kremlin of seeking to install a pro-Russian leader there.

German navy leader quits after calling for ‘respect’ for Putin

The head of Germany’s navy has resigned amid furore about comments he made that Russian President Vladimir Putin deserves “respect” and that the Crimean Peninsula “will never come back” to Ukraine, the Defence Ministry confirmed on Saturday.

India reports over 300,000 new Covid cases in last 24 hours

India reported over 300,000 new COVID-19 infections for the fourth straight day even though the caseload over the last 24 hours was slightly lower than a day before, data released by the government on Sunday showed.

Tonga faces further eruptions and ‘unprecedented disaster’

New Zealand’s Foreign Ministry warned, Tuesday further eruptions of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano were likely, posing yet another tsunami risk for Tonga and New Zealand, CNN reported.

All homes on one of Tonga’s island destroyed, three dead

All the homes on one of Tonga’s small outer islands have been destroyed by a massive volcanic eruption and tsunami, with three people so far confirmed dead, the government said on Tuesday in its first update since the disaster struck.

3 killed in Abu Dhabi by Houthi drone attack

3 people were killed after 3 fuel trucks exploded and a fire broke out near Abu Dhabi airport on Monday in what Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group said was an attack deep inside the United Arab Emirates, the region’s commercial and tourism hub.

Johnson’s office apologizes to Queen for party on eve of funeral

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office apologized to Queen Elizabeth on Friday after it emerged that staff had partied late into the night in Downing Street on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral, at a time when mixing indoors was banned.

UK Johnson’s future uncertain after lockdown party apology

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s premiership was in the balance on Thursday as he faced calls from within his Conservative Party to resign after he admitted attending a party at his official residence during a coronavirus lockdown.

Ethiopia PM must end Tigray conflict: Nobel committee

The committee that awards the Nobel Peace Prize appealed on Thursday to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who won the award in 2019, to halt the conflict unfolding in the country’s northern region of Tigray.

India’s cities could see COVID-19 cases peak next week

New COVID-19 infections in Indian cities such as capital New Delhi and Mumbai could peak next week after rising rapidly, experts said on Thursday, as the country reported the highest number of daily cases since late May.