Myanmar jails 2 Reuters reporters for 7 years

Yangon (IANS) A Myanmar court here on Monday jailed two Reuters reporters for seven years for breaching the Official Secrets Act while investigating violence against the Rohingya Muslims, a ruling which drew widespread flak.

Reporters Wa Lone…

US military to cancel $300 mn Pakistani aid

Washington, (IANS) The US military has announced that it was cancelling $300 million in aid to Pakistan over what it calls Islamabad's failure to take action against militant groups.

Pentagon spokesman Lt Col Kone Faulkner on Saturday said…

Trump threatens to pull US out of WTO

Washington, Aug 31 (IANS) President Donald Trump has threatened to withdraw the US from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) if the body fails to change the way it treats America.

"If they don't shape up, I would withdraw from the WTO,"…

Our troops not to be posted much longer in Afghanistan: US

Washington, Aug 29 (IANS) The Pentagon repeated on Tuesday that the presence of US troops in Afghanistan will not last much longer, but stressed the importance of their deployment in the region to avoid further attacks on the US like those on September…

Pakistan bans VIP protocol at airports

Islamabad, Aug 27 (IANS) The Pakistan government has banned VIP protocol given by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to influential people at airports across the country, the media reported on Monday.

The decision came into force…

N.Korea releases Japanese citizen on 'humanitarian' grounds

Seoul, Aug 27 (IANS) North Korea has released a Japanese citizen held in custody for allegedly violating its law, saying that the decision was made "on the principle of humanitarianism", its state-run media reported.

Pyongyang's…

Trump asks Pompeo to cancel N.Korea trip

Washington, Aug 25 (IANS) US President Donald Trump has asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to cancel his upcoming trip to North Korea, citing the lacking of progress on the Peninsula denuclearization.

Trump on Friday tweeted that "I…

NGO reports custodial deaths, tortures in China's Xinjiang

Washington, Aug 24 (IANS) A US-based NGO on Friday said that there were credible reports of Muslim re-education centres in China's Xinjiang region where custodial deaths and torture were taking place.

"Credible reports of deaths in…

Over 100 towns in Sri Lanka stop cigarette sales

More than 100 towns across Sri Lanka have joined a campaign to discourage smoking by voluntarily boycotting the sale of cigarettes, as the government steps up efforts to make the country tobacco-free.

The Health Ministry said on Wednesday that…

US sanctions individuals, entities over Russia, N.Korea ties

The US Treasury Department has announced a fresh round of sanctions targeting individuals and entities linked to Russia and North Korea, accusing them of helping circumvent existing US and international restrictions.

In one announcement, the…