As US states loosen COVID-19 restrictions, projections raise toll sharply

New York (IANS) With about half of the 50 US states beginning to relax the COVID-19 restrictions without fully meeting the criteria for it, new models of the pandemic's deadly force say a sharply higher death toll is possible.

A day after…

US will have COVID-19 vaccine by year's end: Trump

Washington, May 4 (IANS) US President Donald Trump expressed confidence that the country would have a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the year and revised the number of deaths due to the disease in America up to a minimum of 80,000.

"We are…

Iran denies harming Afghan citizens in border incident

Tehran (IANS) Iran has rejected reports claiming that Iranian border guards had tortured and thrown Afghans into a river to prevent their illegal entry into the country, the media reported.

"The incident affecting a number of Afghanistan's…

Enforced disappearances of Pakistanis; Baloch, Pashtun activists killed

New Delhi/Islamabad (IANS) The killings of a Baloch journalist and a Pashtun human rights activist last week, have given credence to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan's (HRCP) verdict that the enforced disappearances of Pakistanis were "either…

Gunshots fired from N.Korea hit S.Korean DMZ guard post

Seoul (IANS) Multiple gunshots fired from North Korea on Sunday hit a South Korean guard post inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), prompting the latter to broadcast a warning and retaliate, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) here said.

The gunshots…

Trump bans use of foreign power grid equipment citing security risk

Washington (IANS) US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to ban the import and use of certain power grid equipment, so as to "secure the country's bulk-power system".

"Foreign adversaries are increasingly creating and exploiting…

Contradicting US intel, Trump says COVID-19 developed in lab

Washington (IANS) US President Donald Trump said he has evidence that the novel coronavirus originated in a lab in Wuhan, China, an unproven theory that contradicts the country's National Intelligence, which hours earlier had rejected claims of…

Commission accuses Pak of subjugating Gilgit Baltistan, grabbing its land

New Delhi/Islamabad (IANS) The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has slammed the Imran Khan-led government for continuing with the policy of subjugation of the Gilgit Baltistan (GB) region, a part India's Jammu and Kashmir under Pakistan's…

India visit reaffirmed commitment to strategic partnership: Trump

New York (IANS) While declaring May as Asian American Heritage Month, US President Donald Trump recalled his visit to India as "a demonstration of our nation's enduring friendship with one of the world's largest and most diverse countries".

US discussing restructuring supply chains with India: Pompeo

New York (IANS) With nations around the world battered by their dependence on China for vital supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that Washington was discussing restructuring global supply chains with…