Category: WORLD NEWS

The world marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Sunday amid a revival of hate-inspired violence and signs that younger generations know less and less about the genocide of Jews, Roma and others during World War II. In Poland, which was under Nazi German occupation during the war, a far-right activist who has been imprisoned for burning the effigy of a Jew gathered with other nationalists Sunday outside the former death camp of Auschwitz ahead of official ceremonies remembering the 1.1 million people murdered there. Since last year’s observances, an 85-year-old…

Read More

Berlin, Jan 26 (DIN NEWS) German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called on every single citizen to help fight anti-Semitism ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Merkel said Saturday in her weekly podcast: “Today we are seeing a very different kind of anti-Semitism: there’s the hatred of Jews by our local people, but also by Muslim migrants.” In recent years, Germany has seen a rising number of often violent attacks against Jews which led the government to appoint a commissioner against anti-Semitism. It’s also funding the creation of a national registration…

Read More

President Donald Trump has said he struck a “very fair deal” with India by making it cut the tariffs on the iconic motorcycle Harley-Davidson by half in just about two minutes, but rued the “high” Indian duties on American whisky. India in February last year slashed the customs duty on imported motorcycles like Harley-Davidson to 50 per cent after Trump called it “unfair” and threatened to increase the tariff on import of Indian bikes to the US. At a White House event on the Reciprocal Trade Act on Thursday, Trump…

Read More

Canada’s ambassador to China said he thinks a top Chinese executive has a strong case to avoid extradition to the United States and said he hopes she will be released soon in remarks one of his predecessors called “mind-boggling.”  Ambassador John McCallum told Chinese language media in Markham, Ontario, on Tuesday that Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou has “quite good arguments,” including “political involvement by comments from Donald Trump on her case.” Canada arrested the daughter of Huawei’s founder at the request of the US on Dec 1. Meng is wanted on…

Read More

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan will hold Syria talks in Moscow on Wednesday, with Turkey saying they will focus on Ankara’s so-called “security zone” in northern Syria. The two leaders are on opposite sides of the conflict: Russia provides critical support to the Syrian government, while Turkey has backed rebel groups fighting President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.Despite this, they have worked closely to find a political solution to the seven-year conflict. Russia and Turkey have agreed to coordinate ground operations in Syria following US President Donald…

Read More

Kabul residents have long run the gauntlet of suicide attacks and bombs. This winter, however, they face another deadly threat: air pollution.For weeks a thick layer of toxic smog has blanketed the sprawling city as cold air traps pollution caused by people burning coal, wood, car tyres and even garbage to stay warm.The choking contamination peaks in evenings and early mornings when temperatures plunge below zero.Dangerous particulate matter, including toxins like sulphate and black carbon, hang in the air like a thick curtain, reducing visibility and making breathing difficult. Residents…

Read More

US President Donald Trump has launched a new plan to end a government shutdown, which has been ongoing for nearly a month, by offering protection from deportations for some undocumented immigrants in exchange for USD 5.7 billion for constructing a wall on the US-Mexico border. The Democrats, however, rejected the deal as a “non-starter” and called on Trump to open the government before negotiations on immigration could start.Trump, who made his offer during a televised speech from the White House, offered that he would give protection from deportation for young…

Read More

US President Donald Trump will hold a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in late February on Pyongyang dismantling its nuclear and missile programmes, the White House has announced. The two leaders had met on June 12 last year in Singapore for the first summit.While the White House did not identify a location for the second summit between the two leaders, according to media reports preparations were under way to host the summit, most likely in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi or coastal city of Danang.The announcement came after Trump met…

Read More

Pakistan’s Supreme Court Thursday ordered the government led by Prime Minister Imran Khan to lift the travel ban imposed on opposition leader Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and the Sindh Chief Minister, and asked the country’s anti-corruption body to probe their involvement in Rs 35 billion ‘fake accounts case’.As many as 172 suspects were placed on the Exit Control List (ECL) on the recommendations of a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) formed by the apex court. A person cannot fly abroad if his name is placed on the ECL.The Supreme Court, in a detailed…

Read More

Sri Lanka’s former president Chandrika Kumaratunga Tuesday blamed President Maithripala Sirisena for the 51-day power tussle in the island nation, saying the SLFP party would not approve his plans to have an alliance with former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa.In a strongly-worded letter to the President, Kumaratunga called for an urgent meeting with him to discuss the future of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).The island nation witnessed a 51-day political crisis after Sirisena controversially sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickeremesinghe and installed Rajapaksa in his place on October 26.Sirisena later dissolved Parliament,…

Read More