Intra-Afghan talks: Seize historic opportunity to end years-long conflict: Pak to Afghan leaders
Islamabad: Leaders of Afghanistan must seize the historic opportunity to work together constructively and secure an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political settlement to the years-long conflict in their country, Pakistan said on Saturday at the start of the long-awaited Afghan peace talks in Qatar. The talks were set to take place in March but have […]
India joins inaugural session of intra-Afghan peace talks in Doha
New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said the peace process in Afghanistan must respect sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country as he joined the inaugural session of the intra-Afghan negotiations in Doha through video conference. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Jaishankar’s participation was in response to an invitation extended […]
UN General Assembly adopts resolution to tackle pandemic
United Nations: The UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly approved a resolution on tackling the coronavirus pandemic over objections from the United States and Israel, which protested a successful last-minute Cuban amendment that strongly urges countries to oppose unilateral economic, financial or trade sanctions. The world body adopted the resolution on Friday by a vote of […]
Oxford, AstraZeneca to resume coronavirus vaccine trial
London: Oxford University says trials of a coronavirus vaccine that it is developing with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca will resume, days after being paused due to a reported side-effect in a patient in the UK. In a statement, the university said in large trials such as this it is expected that some participants will become unwell […]
Pandemic’s worst impact on poverty yet to come: UN Expert
Geneva: The United Nations independent expert on poverty has warned that the worst impacts from the coronavirus pandemic on poverty are yet to come, and that measures taken by governments to protect people so far have been insufficient. The social safety nets put into place are full of holes, said Olivier De Schutter, a Belgian […]
Amid tensions with US, Iran begins expansive annual war games
Tehran: Iran’s military Thursday began an expansive annual three-day exercise near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, state TV reported, with the maneuvers taking place amid heightened tensions between the Islamic Republic and the US. Units from the navy and air force and ground forces are participating in a nearly 2 million-square-kilometer (772,200-square-mile) area of the […]
Child mortality rate declined between 1990 and 2019 in India: UN
United Nations: India’s child mortality rate has declined substantially between 1990 and 2019 but the country, along with Nigeria, still accounted for almost a third of all under-five deaths last year, according to a new UN report which warned that COVID-19 pandemic threatens to undo decades of progress in eliminating preventable child deaths globally. The […]
Opening up places of worship, SC seeks Centre’s reply
New Delhi: The Supreme Court asked the Centre on Wednesday to respond to a plea seeking opening of all religious places for worship across the country which have been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde issued the notice to the Ministry of Home Affairs on the […]
