Quad summit: No ‘small cliques’ should be formed, says China
Beijing: China on Monday criticised the Quad, saying no “small cliques” should be formed, as it accused some countries of trying to “sow discord” among regional nations by “hyping” the ‘China threat’ and asserted that they will not succeed. Quad countries involving the US, India, Australia and Japan held their first virtual summit on Friday […]
China aims to vaccinate 70-80% of population by mid-2022
Beijing: China is aiming to vaccinate 70-80 per cent of its population by the end of this year or mid-2022, the head of the country’s Center for Disease Control said Saturday. With four approved vaccines, China will vaccinate 900 million to 1 billion people, Gao Fu, the CDC head, said in an interview with Chinese […]
Pakistani university expels students for ‘hugging’ on campus
Lahore: A top Pakistani university has expelled two students for hugging and proposing on campus, after a video of the incident went viral on social media. A special disciplinary committee of the University of Lahore held a meeting on Friday and summoned the two students but they failed to appear. The committee then decided to […]
Myanmar protests: Four killed as forces continue crackdown on protesters
Mandalay (Myanmar): Security forces in Myanmar on Saturday again met protests against last month’s military takeover with lethal force, killing at least four people by shooting live ammunition at demonstrators. Three deaths were reported in Mandalay, the country’s second-biggest city, and one in Pyay, a town in south-central Myanmar. There were multiple reports on social […]
Eight people killed in Afghan bomb blast
UN slams high civilian deaths
Kabul: A powerful car bomb killed at least eight people and injured 47 in Afghanistan’s western Herat province, officials said Saturday. The death toll in the explosion late Friday that also destroyed 14 houses is expected to rise because several of the injured were critical, said Rafiq Sherzai, a spokesman for the provincial hospital. One […]
Cooperation between countries should not target third party: China on Quad summit
Beijing: Ahead of the Quad summit on Friday, China said exchanges and cooperation between countries should contribute to mutual understanding rather than targeting a third party and refrain from pursuing exclusive blocs . US President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will attend the virtual […]
A year on, WHO struggling to manage pandemic response
Geneva: When the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic one year ago Thursday, it did so only after weeks of resisting the term and maintaining that the highly infectious virus could still be stopped. A year later, the U.N. agency is still struggling to keep on top of the evolving science of COVID-19, […]
Working on political settlement, ceasefire in Afghanistan: US
Washington: The United States is working closely with Afghan parties to encourage progress on a political settlement and a comprehensive ceasefire, the Biden Administration said on Tuesday, asserting that any durable outcome has to be Afghan-led and Afghan-owned, and it is not for the US to dictate the deals. Special US Representative for Afghanistan, Zalmay […]