Category: WORLD NEWS

Sri Lanka’s controversial wartime defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa will lead the country after ruling party candidate Sajith Premadasa conceded the hotly contested presidential poll on Sunday, marking the return of the powerful Rajapaksa dynasty known for its pro-China tilt, amidst security challenges following the Easter Sunday terror attacks that killed 269 people.Rajapaksa, 70, defeated Premadasa, 52, by more than 13 lakh votes, according to the official results.Rajapaksa, who will succeed President Maithripala Sirisena for a five-year term, will be sworn in as the seventh executive president of Sri Lanka on…

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A State Department official told impeachment investigators Friday that he overheard President Donald Trump talking with a US ambassador about investigations in Ukraine, according to people familiar with the testimony. David Holmes, the political counsel at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, said Trump was talking so loudly that Ambassador Gordon Sondland had to hold the phone from his ear. Holmes said that allowed others at a restaurant in Kyiv to overhear the call that’s now part of the impeachment inquiry, according to one of the people, who were unauthorized to…

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  Pakistan does not deny sending terrorists to India, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar told French daily Le Monde this week, adding that if Islamabad is serious about establishing friendlier relations with New Delhi it must hand over wanted criminals and terrorists like Dawood Ibrahim and Hafiz Saeed. “The relationship is difficult since many years, mainly because Pakistan has developed an important terrorist industry and sends terrorists to India to carry out attacks. Pakistan itself does not deny this situation,” Mr Jaishankar said. “Now, tell me: which country would be willing…

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The UK chapter of the Baloch National Movement (BNM) and associated organisations called on the Indian government to challenge the atrocities of the “rogue state of Pakistan” and assist Balochistan’s freedom movement. At a memorial event to mark Baloch Martyrs’ Day in London on Wednesday, members of the BNM as well as groups such as the World Sindhi Congress and Baloch Students Organisation Azad paid tributes to those killed in their fight for Baloch freedom over the years and branded the UK government “hypocritical” for its silence on the human…

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Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday accepted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation to be the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations next year. Modi, who is in Brazil for the 11th BRICS Summit which will focus on building mechanisms for counter-terrorism cooperation and strengthen India’s ties with the world’s five major economies, met Bolsonaro on the sidelines of the meeting and spoke about diversifying cooperation for the benefit of the people. The two leaders held “fruitful talks” to strengthen bilateral ties. Prime Minister Modi invited Bolsonaro to the Republic…

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The closed doors of the Trump impeachment investigation are swinging wide open.When the gavel strikes at the start of the House hearing Wednesday morning, America and the rest of the world will have the chance to see and hear for themselves for the first time about President Donald Trump’s actions toward Ukraine and consider whether they are, in fact, impeachable offenses.It’s a remarkable moment, even for a White House full of them.All on TV, committee leaders will set the stage , then comes the main feature: Two seasoned diplomats, William…

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China on Monday objected to the US’ plan to take up the issue of the Dalai Lama’s successor to the United Nations, accusing Washington of “misusing” the world body to interfere in its internal affairs.China has been asserting that its assent to the Dalai Lama’s successor is a must as the Tibetan spiritual leader turned 84 in July this year.Sam Brownback, the US ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom who recently met the Dalai Lama at Dharamsala, said the US wanted the UN to take up the Dalai Lama’s succession issue.While…

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Hong Kong’s police watchdog is currently unequipped to investigate the force’s handling of months of pro-democracy protests, a panel of international experts appointed by the city’s own government has found. The international finance hub has been upended by five months of huge and increasingly violent rallies, but Beijing has refused to give in to most of the movement’s demands. One of the core demands, alongside fully free elections, is an independent inquiry into the police, who have been left to battle protesters for 24 consecutive weeks and are now loathed…

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A Hong Kong university student who fell off a parking garage after police fired tear gas during clashes with anti-government protesters died Friday in a rare fatality after five months of unrest, fueling more outrage against authorities in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. The Hospital Authority said the 22-year-old died Friday morning, but didn’t provide further details. The government expressed “great sorrow and regret” over Chow Tsz-Lok’s death and police said they will propose a public inquest. Some 1,000 masked protesters marched through the busy central district at lunchtime, chanting “Disband…

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US House impeachment investigators on Tuesday summoned President Donald Trump’s acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney for a deposition, saying he has “substantial first-hand knowledge” of Trump’s efforts to pressure Ukraine. Mulvaney is the latest administration official to be ordered to testify with the impeachment probe closing in around those nearest the president as it proceeds into a new public phase, in which transcripts of closed-door testimony are being released.Mulvaney is the highest-ranking White House official to be summoned in the probe, although he is unlikely to comply given the…

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