N.Korea remains unresponsive to regular contact via military hotline for 2nd day

Seoul (IANS) North Korea remained unresponsive to regular contact via a military hotline for the second day on Saturday, military officials said.

The North did not respond to the regular 9 a.m. opening call between the two sides after daily…

China launches military drills around Taiwan

Taipie (IANS) China announced on Saturday the starting of three days of military exercises around Taiwan, a move that comes just days after the island's president met the US House Speaker in defiance of repeated threats by Beijing.

The…

Tensions mount in Gaza after Israel intensifies airstrikes

Gaza/Jerusalem (IANS) Israel on Friday intensified airstrikes on military posts in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, in response to rockets fired at several parts in the Jewish state, escalating tensions with Palestine over the past three days the Israeli…

Lack of Wuhan data disclosure by China is simply inexcusable: WHO

New Delhi (IANS) The World Health Organisation (WHO) has slammed China once again, saying the country should have shared viral samples from Wuhan which was the epicentre of the pandemic, immediately, and not three years later.

Maria Van Kerkhove,…

West did not give diplomacy a chance in Ukraine: Brazil's Lula

Brasilia (IANS) Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said that neither Ukraine nor Russia can achieve every goal they've set in their conflict, but need a mediator to facilitate peace talks, while faulting the EU and the US were…

S.Korea, US hold air drills involving strategic bomber

Seoul (IANS) South Korea and the US on Wednesday held combined air drills, involving at least one American B-52H strategic bomber, amid joint efforts to sharpen deterrence against evolving North Korean threats, the Defence Ministry in Seoul said.

Russian defector sheds light on Putin's 'secret train' network

London (IANS) A senior Russian security officer who defected last year has given "rare insight into the paranoid lifestyle" of President Vladimir Putin, detailing a "secret train network, identical offices in different cities, a strict personal quarantine…

Ukraine gets $2.7bn from new IMF programme

Kiev (IANS) Amid Russia's ongoing war against Kiev, Ukraine received the first tranche of $2.7 billion from the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) new aid programme, a top official said here.

"We thank our partners for their quick…

One dead, 30 injured in Netherlands train derailment

The Hague (IANS) At least one person was killed and 30 others were injured after a passenger train derailed on Tuesday in Voorschoten, a small town in the western Dutch province of South Holland following a collision with a construction crane.

Progressing British Muslims

Superficial concerns have been raised both within and outside the UK about the status of the Muslim population, though the census statistics convey something positive.

UK's Office of National Statistics (ONS), last week released the…