UN Security Council backs Guterres for second term
NEW YORK: The United Nations Security Council backed Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday for a second term, recommending that the 193-member General Assembly appoint him for another five years from Jan 1 of next year. Estonia’s UN Ambassador Sven Jrgenson, council president for this month, said the General Assembly was likely to meet to […]
Taliban ask fearful Afghan interpreters to ‘show remorse’
KABUL: The Taliban said on Monday that Afghans who worked with foreign forces in the past have nothing to fear once international troops leave, as long as they “show remorse”. Thousands of Afghans have received visas to live abroad after serving alongside US and Nato troops — particularly as interpreters — but hundreds more are […]
Mexico Mine Collapse Lead To 4 Dead And 3 Missing
The bodies of three more miners were pulled from a small coal mine in a northern Mexico border state Sunday, bringing to four the number of confirmed dead in the flooding and partial collapse of the shaft. Three miners remained missing, and search efforts continued. The dead miners were found at the small coal mine […]
US to send 13m vaccines to South Asia, other regions
WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that the United States would dispatch seven million Covid-19 vaccines to South and Southeast Asia to help regional governments overcome the pandemic. India, however, will get its share from another tranche of six million vaccines kept aside for the countries experiencing surges, the White House said. Pakistan and […]
UN says pandemic created an ‘unparalleled’ employment crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic has created an “unparalleled” global labour market crisis that will affect the employment market for years, the International Labor Organization said in a report Wednesday. The UN agency said that “all countries have suffered a sharp deterioration in employment and national income, which has aggravated existing inequalities and risks inflicting longer-term scarring […]
Malaysia scrambles jets to intercept Chinese planes
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia scrambled jets to intercept 16 Chinese military aircraft off the country’s coast in the South China Sea, a rare incident that the foreign minister angrily denounced on Tuesday as an “intrusion”. It took place on Monday off the Malaysian part of Borneo island over the fiercely contested waters, where China and Malaysia […]
Members agree to strengthen World Health Organisation
GENEVA: World Health Organisation members agreed on Monday to strengthen the global body at the heart of the pandemic response and give it a more secure financial base from which to tackle future health crises. Many of the details of the concrete measures had to be left to a future date, as members continue to […]
Don’t cross ‘red lines’, Iran’s judiciary tells candidates
TEHRAN: A senior Iranian judiciary official on Sunday warned candidates running in the forthcoming presidential election against crossing the “red lines” of the Islamic republic. Iranians are set to elect a successor to President Hassan Rouhani on June 18, amid widespread discontent over a deep economic and social crisis. The Islamic republic’s candidate-vetting Guardian Council […]
China rails at Biden move to probe virus origins
BEIJING: China hit out at the “dark history” of the US intelligence community on Thursday, after President Joe Biden ordered a probe into the Covid-19 origins which threatens to set the course for relations between world’s top economies. Washington is reviewing its diplomatic position with China on issues spanning trade, technological supremacy and rights, while […]
Japan sees no impact on Tokyo Games from US travel advice
TOKYO: Top Japanese officials said on Tuesday they did not expect a US advisory against travel to Japan due to coronavirus (Covid-19) concerns to affect the Tokyo Olympics — less than two months away — and that US support for the Games was unchanged. The US State Department’s ‘Do Not Travel’ advisory and guidance for […]
