Category: WORLD NEWS

 India has long borne the brunt of cross-border terrorism, with victims of the dastardly 2008 Mumbai terror attack and the 2016 Pathankot terror act, perpetrated by Pakistan-based terror groups, yet to get justice, New Delhi’s envoy here has told the UN Security Council. Speaking in the Security Council briefing on Threat to International Peace & Security Caused by Terrorist Acts’ on Wednesday, Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador TS Tirumurti reiterated India’s firm belief that terrorism in one part of the world is threat to peace and security of entire…

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Federally funded family planning clinics can continue to make abortion referrals for now, a federal court ruled Tuesday, in a setback for a dozen Republican attorneys general who have sued to restore a Trump-era ban on the practice. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati denied a request by the 12 states to pause rules for the federal government’s family planning program while their case is heard. The states were eager to stop implementation before the next round of federal grants starts rolling out in March. At issue…

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 In a flurry of diplomacy across two continents, President Joe Biden met with Germany’s new leader Monday and vowed the crucial Nord Stream 2 Russia-to-Germany gas pipeline will be blocked if Russia further invades Ukraine. Russia’s Vladimir Putin retorted that the U.S. and its allies are the only ones talking invasion. Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron met for more than five hours in Moscow at the same time Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke at the White House in efforts to defuse the crisis before armed conflict breaks…

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Russia has assembled at least 70 per cent of the military firepower it likely intends to have in place by mid-month to give President Vladimir Putin the option of launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, US officials say. The officials, who discussed internal assessments of the Russian buildup on condition they not be identified, sketched out a series of indicators suggesting Putin intends an invasion in coming weeks, although the size and scale are unclear. They stressed that a diplomatic solution appears to remain possible. Among those military indicators: an…

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Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday said the government will not take money from foreign investors to build infrastructure projects like roads, and instead mobilise funds from small investors willing to put Rs 1 lakh for an assured return of 8 per cent per annum. The minister said a Rs 8,000-crore project to build road over bridges over railway crossings in towns and cities is also under the works, but the announcement will be made after the budget. Gadkari said his department does works of over Rs 5 lakh crore…

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Propelled in part by the wildly contagious omicron variant, the US death toll from COVID-19 hit 900,000 on Friday, less than two months after eclipsing 800,000. The two-year total, as compiled by Johns Hopkins University, is greater than the population of Indianapolis, San Francisco, or Charlotte, North Carolina. The milestone comes more than 13 months into a vaccination drive that has been beset by misinformation and political and legal strife, though the shots have proved safe and highly effective at preventing serious illness and death. It is an astronomically high…

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday a military response to the ongoing Ottawa protest against COVID-19 measures is not in the cards right now.’ Ottawa police Chief Peter Sloly said this week that all options are on the table, including calling in the military, to end the ongoing demonstration that was being called an occupation by some on the city council. Thousands of protesters railing against vaccine mandates and other COVID-19 restrictions descended on the capital last weekend, deliberately blocking traffic around Parliament Hill. Police estimate about 250 remain.…

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday he has tested positive for COVID-19 but is feeling fine and will continue to work remotely from home. Trudeau said two of his children have COVID-19 and a test Monday revealed he has it as been infected as well. And he used a televised virtual press conference to denounce anti-vaccine protesters who filled Canada’s capital to complain about COVID restrictions. Canadians were shocked and quite frankly disgusted by the behaviour displayed by some people in our nation’s capital, Trudeau said. I want to be…

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Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been handed an investigator’s long-awaited report into lockdown-breaching government parties, the government said Monday but findings about the most serious allegations have been withheld pending a police investigation. The Cabinet Office said senior civil servant Sue Gray has provided an update on her investigations to the Prime Minister. Johnson’s office says the report will be published and the prime minister will address Parliament about its findings later Monday. But the update is unlikely to tell the full story about claims that have rocked Johnson’s government.…

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The Pentagon ordered 8,500 troops on higher alert to potentially deploy to Europe as part of a NATO response force amid growing concern that Russia could soon make a military move on Ukraine. President Joe Biden consulted with key European leaders, underscoring US solidarity with allies there. Putting the US-based troops on heightened alert for Europe on Monday suggested diminishing hope that Russian President Vladimir Putin will back away from what Biden himself has said looks like a threat to invade neighboring Ukraine. At stake, beyond the future of Ukraine,…

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