Category: WORLD NEWS

 India, which ensured the safe return of about 22,500 of its citizens from Ukraine, also assisted in the evacuation of nationals from 18 other countries, India’s top envoy at the UN has said, as he voiced concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the war-torn country. Speaking at the UN Security Council briefing on Ukraine on Thursday, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti said there was an “urgent need to address the humanitarian needs of the affected population. He underscored that it is important that humanitarian…

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Two weeks into its war in Ukraine, Russia has achieved less and struggled more than anticipated at the outset of the biggest land conflict in Europe since World War II. But the invading force of more than 150,000 troops retains large and possibly decisive advantages in firepower as they bear down on key cities. Moscow’s main objective toppling the Kyiv government and replacing it with Kremlin-friendly leadership remains elusive, and its overall offensive has been slowed by an array of failings, including a lack of coordination between air and ground…

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The House overwhelmingly approved legislation Wednesday night that would ban Russian oil imports to the United States, an effort to put into law the restrictions announced by President Joe Biden in response to the escalating war in Ukraine. Going further than Biden’s import ban on Russian oil, the bill making its way through Congress would also encourage a review of Russia’s status in the World Trade Organization and signal U.S. support for sanctions on Russian officials over human rights violations, as the U.S. works to economically isolate the regime. Lawmakers…

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As part of its efforts to address the global supply chain crisis, the Joe Biden administration plans to collaborate with India on building resilient supply chains and promote a transparent rules-based trading system for market economies and democracies, the US Trade Representative has told Congress. In its 2021 Annual Report to Congress, the US Trade Representative (USTR) said the United States and India share a dynamic and important trade and investment relationship. In 2021, the United States and India relaunched the United States India Trade Policy Forum (TPF), which had…

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The humanitarian crisis in Ukraine has deepened as Russian forces intensified their shelling and food, water, heat and medicine grew increasingly scarce, in what the country condemned as a medieval-style siege by Moscow to batter it into submission. A third round of talks between the two sides ended Monday with a top Ukrainian official saying there had been minor, unspecified progress toward establishing safe corridors that would allow civilians to escape the fighting. Russia’s chief negotiator said he expects those corridors to start operating Tuesday. But that remained to be…

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has an unusual new partner in his campaign to defend his country Global Citizen, the international nonprofit fighting extreme poverty. Zelenskyy and Global Citizen on Sunday released the first of what they hope will be daily calls to action for the nonprofit’s millions of members, as well as its governmental, corporate and philanthropic partners. The video messages will feature Zelenskyy speaking about Ukraine’s battle against Russia paired with steps supporters can take to help, provided by Global Citizen. The Ukrainian president’s first message sought the world’s…

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The UN human rights office says 227 civilians have been killed and another 525 injured in its latest count of the toll in Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s military invasion that began a week ago. The office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights says the tally eclipses the entire civilian casualty count from the war in eastern Ukraine between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces in 2014 which left 136 dead and 577 injured. The rights office admits that the figures so far are a vast undercount. It…

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Accusing his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of waging a “premeditated and unprovoked” war against Ukraine, President Joe Biden in his maiden State of the Union Address said the United States is ready to tackle the challenge posed by him. “Throughout our history we’ve learned this lesson when dictators do not pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos. They keep moving. And, the costs and threats to America and the world keep rising,” Biden said addressing the joint session of the Congress in his first State of the…

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US President Joe Biden said on Monday Americans should not worry about a nuclear war after Moscow put its nuclear deterrent on high alert amid a barrage of Western reprisals over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In response to a question about whether US citizens should be concerned about a nuclear war breaking out, Biden said “no.” White House officials said earlier in the day the United States sees no reason to change its nuclear alert levels at this time, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said. But it’s also important…

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 Health authorities in Guatemala say over a million doses of the Russian Sputnik coronavirus vaccine have expired, because nobody wanted to take the shot. Francisco Coma, the country’s health minister, said Monday that there was a rejection among the population toward the vaccine, even though a lot of Guatemalans remain unvaccinated. Only about 43% of the country’s 12.6 million inhabitants over age 11 are fully vaccinated, in a country whose total population is 17 million. It was unclear if people had any particular doubts about the Russian vaccine, or if…

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