International News Updates

United Nations: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday welcomed Pakistan’s offer to release Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured when his MiG-21 went down in Pakistan-occupied territory. His Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters: “The report of the release of the Indian pilot by the Pakistani authorities would be very much a welcome step. We would […]

Islamabad: Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has admitted that Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar is in Pakistan and is “very unwell”, adding that Islamabad is open to “any step” that will lead to a de-escalation of tensions with India. Qureshi’s remarks during an exclusive CNN interview on Thursday came after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran […]

Islamabad: Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Friday announced he will not attend a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the UAE due to his Indian counterpart’s presence at the event. India has been invited for the very first time to attend the Foreign Ministers’ conclave in Abu Dhabi on March […]

Washington: US President Donald Trump has asked China to remove all of its tariffs on American agricultural products, pointing to his decision to delay a second round of tariffs and to improving trade relations with Beijing. “I have asked China to immediately remove all tariffs on our agricultural products (including beef, pork, etc.) based on […]

Washington: At least 22 people were killed in the US state of Alabama as a cluster of storms ripped through the country’s Southeast region, spawning multiple tornadoes and leaving a trail of destruction. The first tornado warning in central Alabama went out at around 1 p.m. on Sunday. As the storms pushed east, the tornadoes […]

United Nations: Members of the Indian community and international supporters have held a protest outside the UN headquarters demanding that the international organisation act against Pakistani leaders abetting terrorism and impose an arms embargo on Islamabad. The protest on Sunday by about 400 people also included concerned citizens from the US, Bangladesh, Caribbean countries, Sri […]

Washington: Fifty nine Nobel laureates have written letters to the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan urging them to “defuse the rising tensions” between the two countries, according to a statement. A letter signed by the Nobel laureates, under the aegis of the Laureates and Leaders for Children — a platform founded by Nobel peace […]

London: Ministers from the G7 countries will meet in person for the first time in two years on Monday in London, where they will discuss the withdrawal of foreign troops…

New York: US President Donald Trump has announced that he was ending India’s $5.6 billion trade concessions under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) programme accusing New Delhi of not providing Washington “equitable and reasonable access” to its markets. Trump, who is on a mission to expand marker access abroad and end trade deficits, made […]

Islamabad: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Tuesday reinstated a ban on the airing of Indian content on local television channels. The top court set aside an earlier ruling by the Lahore High Court (LHC) and reinstated a 2016 policy of the federal government banning the transmission of Indian content on local television channels, Geo News reported. […]

Islamabad: Pakistan Punjab’s Information Minister Fayyaz ul Hassan Chohan of the ruling PTI was sacked on Tuesday over his derogatory remarks against the Hindu community which drew intense criticism from members of his party and social media users. While Dawn News quoted Shahbaz Gill, the spokesperson for Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, as saying that […]

New York: A former director of the technology giant Cisco Systems, Prithviraj R. Bhikha, has been charged in a $9.3 million fraud using shell companies, according to federal prosecutor David L. Anderson. He was arrested at the San Francisco International Airport on March 1. Bhikha has been charged with wire fraud, Anderson announced on Tuesday after […]

Islamabad: The US has changed its visa policy in different categories for Pakistanis, Geo TV reported on Wednesday. An official notification announcing revision of the visa policy rules was issued by the US Consulate in Islamabad on Tuesday. According to Geo TV, while work and missionary visas have been reduced from five years to one year, […]

United Nations: While admitting that poverty has fallen in India, UN Human Rights High Commissioner Michele Bachelet cautioned that divisive policies will undermine the country’s economic growth. Addressing the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday, she said that there had been “significant poverty reduction in overall terms”, but added that “inequality remains a serious […]

Nairobi: UN Environment Acting Executive Director Joyce Msuya has issued a forceful call to nations for action ahead of the fourth UN Environment Assembly slated to take place here from March 11 to 15. “Time is running short,” Msuya wrote in a letter to UN member states. “We are past pledging and politicking. We are […]