Thursday, 23 Jan, 2025

International

Japan, S Korea, US slap sanctions on N Korea over missile tests

Japan, South Korea and the United States have imposed sanctions on North Korean officials connected to the country’s illicit weapons programmes, with Washington saying Pyongyang’s ballistic missiles “pose grave risks to the region and the entire world”. The US

US Senate votes on deal to dodge nationwide railroad strike

The United States Senate has passed a bill forcing railroad unions to accept a deal that would increase wages to avoid a nationwide strike that was anticipated to have devastating economic effects. The legislation was approved on Thursday by a vote of 80 to 15 and it now heads to

China accuses UK of ‘gross interference’ over Taiwan visit

China has accused a committee of British legislators visiting Taiwan of “gross interference” in its internal affairs and warned that it could be “met with forceful responses”. The ongoing visit to Taiwan by members of the British parliament’s Foreign

Bill Clinton tests positive for COVID

Former President Clinton announced on Twitter Wednesday that he has tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms.  Clinton tweeted that he is “doing fine overall” and is grateful to be fully vaccinated and boosted.  “I’m grateful

China signals zero-Covid relaxation after protests

China's top Covid official has signalled a possible relaxing of the country's strict zero-tolerance approach to the virus, after nationwide protests calling for an end to lockdowns and greater political freedom. Anger over China's zero-Covid policy -- which involves mass

UN warns of social unrest after ‘striking’ drop in global wages

Global wages fell in 2022 for the first time since the global financial crisis due to soaring living costs, threatening to worsen inequality and drive social unrest, the United Nations labour agency has warned. Monthly wages dropped 0.9 percent in real terms in the first half of 2022

Ukraine urges allies to speed up support for winter of war

Ukraine urged Nato members on Tuesday to speed up weapons deliveries and help restore its shattered power grid, as Western allies vowed to bolster support to aid Kyiv through winter in the face of Russia’s attacks. Moscow has unleashed waves of strikes against Ukraine’s

Prannoy Roy: How Gautam Adani will run India's top news network NDTV

Radhika and Prannoy Roy, founders of leading Indian news network New Delhi Television (NDTV), have resigned as directors of a group promoting their company, bringing a conglomerate led by Gautam Adani, one of the world's richest man, closer to taking over the media firm. The BBC looks

48500-year-old 'zombie virus' revived by scientists in Russia

Scientists have triggered new fears of a pandemic after resurrecting a “zombie virus” that’s been under the ice of a frozen lake in Russia for 48,500 years – a new world record. A team of researchers from Russia, Germany and France discovered the “zombie

China Covid: Chinese protesters say police seeking them out

People in China who attended weekend protests against Covid restrictions say they have been contacted by police, as authorities begin clamping down. Several people in Beijing said police had called demanding information about their whereabouts. It is unclear how police might have

Israeli-Palestinian conflict nearing, warns UN envoy

Special Coordinator Tor Wennesland called for stronger international commitment towards the two-State solution and outlined potential ways to move forward.   Surge in violence  “After decades of persistent violence, illegal settlement expansion, dormant negotiations

Rishi Sunak: Golden era of UK-China relations is over

Rishi Sunak has said the so-called "golden era" of relations with China is over, as he vowed to "evolve" the UK's stance towards the country. In his first foreign policy speech, the PM said the closer economic ties of the previous decade had been

China begins inquiries into weekend Covid protests

Chinese authorities have begun inquiries into some of the people who gathered at weekend protests against COVID-19 curbs, three people who were at the Beijing demonstrations told Reuters, as police remained out in numbers on the city’s streets. In one case, a caller identifying

South Korea warns of response not 'seen before’ to North Korea

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol warned of an unprecedented joint response with allies if North Korea goes ahead with a nuclear test, and urged China to help dissuade the North from pursuing banned development of nuclear weapons and missiles. In a wide-ranging interview with

Riots in Belgium, Netherlands as Morocco win at World Cup

Riots broke out in several Belgian and Dutch cities after Morocco’s 2-0 upset win over Belgium at the World Cup Sunday. Police detained about a dozen people after they deployed water cannons and fire tear gas to disperse crowds in Brussels and eight more in the Northern city of

Zelenskyy warns of more Russian missile attacks on Ukraine

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned of new Russian missile attacks on his country, urging defence forces and citizens to be prepared to withstand a new week of strain on the power grid. The warning on Sunday came as snow fell in Kyiv and temperatures hovered around

China protests spread, reports of clashes with police in Shanghai

Hundreds of demonstrators and police have clashed in Shanghai as protests over China’s severe COVID-19 restrictions continued into a third day and spread to several other cities. The latest demonstrations — unprecedented in mainland China since President Xi Jinping took

Ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan calls off long march to avoid ‘chaos’

Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan has called off the ‘long march’ to the capital Islamabad fearing chaos and announced his party would resign from state assemblies in a new bid to push for early elections. “I have decided not to go to Islamabad because

N Korea aims to have ‘world’s strongest’ nuclear force: Kim

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said that his ultimate goal is to possess the world’s most powerful nuclear force, according to state media. Kim made the announcement on Saturday as he promoted dozens of military officers involved in the recent launch of North Korea’s

Taiwan president quits as party head after local election losses

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has resigned as head of the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) after her strategy to frame local elections as showing defiance to China’s rising bellicosity failed to pay off and win public support. Tsai offered her resignation on Saturday