India to host key SCO anti-terror meet today

NEW DELHI: India is set to host a Regional Anti-Terror Structure (RATS) talks under the auspices of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in New Delhi on Monday.

China could drop nuclear bomb on Taiwan, predicts war game exercise

Taipei [Taiwan]: Taiwan has become a hot spot amid the Russia-Ukraine war and according to the latest cross-strait war game exercise China could end up dropping a nuclear weapon if it invades Taiwan.

Tensions escalate between Pakistan’s Punjab, Sindh provinces over water share

Karachi [Pakistan]: Acute water shortage along with a searing heatwave have sparked tensions between Sindh and Punjab in Pakistan over their share of the nation’s water resources.

Satellite images reveal China testing anti-ship ballistic missiles in remote deserts

New satellite images reveal that China has been honing its ship-killing skills for potential future conflicts on new target sites in Xinjiang’s remote Taklamakan Desert, and the targets are meant for testing ballistic missiles.

RUSSIA VOWS ‘MILITARY-TECHNICAL’ RESPONSE IF FINLAND JOINS NATO

The Kremlin, Friday warned it will be forced to take retaliatory “militarytechnical” steps after Finland’s leaders came out in favour of applying to join NATO. Russia’s foreign ministry warned that Moscow “will be forced to take retaliatory steps of military-technical and other characteristics” in order to counter the emerging threats to its national security.

UAE President Sheikh Khalifa dies aged 73

United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has died on Friday aged 73.

Israeli police attack funeral of slain Palestinian journalist

Masked Israeli police officers clashed with Palestinian mourners and at one point charged at the group carrying the coffin of killed Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh at the start of her funeral procession in Jerusalem on Friday.

IHC restrains police from arresting PTI leaders over Masjid-i-Nabwi incident

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday restrained the Islamabad police from registering the FIRs against the leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) including former Prime Minister Imran Khan over Masjid-i-Nabwi incident.

China’s uncertain wheat harvest engenders fear for global economy

Deluges and strict lockdowns in China have disrupted farming in a way that country’s winter wheat harvest next month remains one of the big uncertainties in a global economy that is already struggling with high commodity prices.

China accuses West of encouraging ‘arms race’

In response to Australia’s criticism of its security pact with the Solomon Islands, China has accused Canberra and its partners of encouraging an “arms race” in the South Pacific region.

Israel military kills al Jazeera journalist in West Bank

A prominent Palestinian-American Al Jazeera reporter was shot dead during an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday.

North Korea fires ballistic missiles after Covid-19 outbreak

North Korea fired three ballistic missiles toward the sea off its east coast on Thursday, on the day it first reported a Covid-19 outbreak. It is the latest such move by the country racing to advance its weapons programmes South Korea said.

Over 40 injured after passenger plane catches fire on runway in China’s Chongqing

More than 40 people have been injured after a passenger plane veered off the runway during take-off and caught fire at an airport in southwest China’s Chongqing on Thursday.

Ukraine pushes Russian forces back

Ukrainian forces reported battlefield gains on Wednesday in a counterattack that could signal a shift in the momentum of the war, while Kyiv shut gas flows on a route through Russian-held territory, raising the spectre of an energy crisis in Europe.

Johnson pledges support if Sweden were to be attacked

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday said he had agreed new deals with Sweden and Finland to bolster European security, pledging to support both countries’ armed forces should they come under attack.

Hong Kong police arrest Catholic cardinal, a democratic advocate

Hong Kong’s national security police on Wednesday arrested Cardinal Joseph Zen, one of the most senior Catholic clerics in Asia, and four others who helped run a now-disbanded humanitarian fund for protesters, media reported.

Ukraine says Russia halts gas supplies at key transit point

Ukraine on Wednesday said Russia had halted gas supplies through a key transit hub in the east of the country, fuelling fears Moscow’s invasion could worsen an energy crisis in Europe.

China’s currency hits 18-month low against USD

China’s Yuan hit the lowest mark against the US dollar in the last 18 months on Tuesday, falling to 6.7134 against the USD, the lowest figure since October 30, 2020.

Pakistani rupee plunges to all-time low against US dollar: Report

The Pakistani rupee slumped to an all-time low against the US dollar on Tuesday in the interbank market.

Ukraine pushes Russian troops back in counter-offensive near Kharkiv

Ukraine said on Tuesday its forces had recaptured villages from Russian troops north and northeast of Kharkiv, pressing a counter-offensive that could signal a shift in the war’s momentum and jeopardise Russia’s main advance.

Philippines election winner Marcos tells world to judge him by actions

The son of the disgraced late Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos vowed on Tuesday to work for all people after his stunning election victory, and told the world to judge him by his presidency, not his family’s past.

Even chance world will breach 1.5˚C warming within 5 years: UN

There is an even chance that global temperatures will temporarily breach the benchmark of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels in one of the next 5 years, the United Nations warned Tuesday.

Putin announces no new escalation anticipated on Victory Day

Vladimir Putin exhorted Russians to battle in a defiant Victory Day speech on Monday, but was silent about plans for any escalation in Ukraine, despite Western warnings he might use the event in Red Square to order a national mobilisation.

Elon Musk’s ‘Japan will cease to exist’ tweet provokes anger

Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s tweet on Japan’s low birth rate on Monday triggered a flood of sarcasm and anger as the billionaire suggested that the island nation will “eventually cease to exist”.

Philippines election: Marcos family eye return to power as country votes

Voting has begun in the Philippines, with millions queuing across the islands to choose their next president.

Compelling evidence show Russia committed war crimes : Amnesty

Amnesty International said on Friday there was compelling evidence that Russian troops had committed war crimes, including extrajudicial executions of civilians, when they occupied an area outside Ukraine’s capital in February and March.

Putin to send ‘doomsday’ warning to West

Russian President Vladimir Putin will send a “doomsday” warning to the West when he leads celebrations on Monday marking the 77th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany, Reuters reported Friday.

‘Don’t patronize us’ : India tells Netherlands

India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, TS Tirumurti, has accused the Netherlands of “patronizing” his country after the Dutch ambassador to the UK publicly scolded New Delhi for abstaining on UN General Assembly resolutions on the war in Ukraine.

Covid pandemic killed 13 to 17 million in 2020-21: WHO

The Covid-19 pandemic killed 13.3 to 16.6 million people in 2020 and 2021, the WHO estimated Thursday -- up to triple the number of deaths attributed directly to the disease.

Fighting blocks evacuation of civilians at Ukraine steel plant

Scores of civilians, many of them women and children, remained trapped on Thursday in underground bunkers at a steel works, the last Ukrainian holdout in the ruined city of Mariupol.