Canada advisory committee recommends pausing AstraZeneca vaccine shots: Statement

Mar 30, 2021, at 02:48 pm

Toronto/Sputnik: Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunizations (NACI) is recommending a pause in inoculating Canadians under the age of 55 with the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine citing safety concerns.

Traffic resumes in Suez Canal after giant stranded ship refloated

Mar 30, 2021, at 02:43 am

Cairo/IBNS: Shipping traffic through Egypt's Suez Canal resumed on Monday after a giant container ship blocking the waterway has been refloated in the early hours.

Russia highlights Northern Sea route's potential after Suez Canal mishap

Mar 30, 2021, at 12:06 am

Moscow/Sputnik: The Northern Sea Route (NSR), which runs along Russia’s Arctic coast, dramatically slashes journey times for goods shipped from Asia to Europe and has a huge potential to ramp up cargo traffic, the Russian Ministry of Energy said on Monday after a stranded megaship caused almost a week-long shutdown of the Suez Canal.

President of Egypt says operation to unblock Suez Canal successfully ended

Mar 30, 2021, at 12:02 am

Cairo/Sputnik:  Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi said on Monday that an operation to refloat giant container ship Ever Given that was stuck for nearly a week in the Suez Canal has successfully ended.

Pakistan: Stepfather arrested for allegedly raping, murdering five-year-old

Mar 29, 2021, at 11:25 pm

Islamabad: Pakistan police have arrested the stepfather for allegedly raping and murdering a five-year-old girl, media reports said.

EU condemns crackdown on Myanmar protesters

Mar 29, 2021, at 10:24 pm

Brussels/UNI: European Union foreign policy Chief Josep Borrell has condemned Saturday's crackdown by Myanmar's security forces’ on protestors that reportedly left dozens of them dead.

Watchdog urges France to review counter-Islamism bill over discrimination concerns

Mar 29, 2021, at 10:08 pm

Moscow/Sputnik: A prominent human rights watchdog called on France on Monday to scrap or amend several provisions of a draft law aimed at strengthening the protection of French Republican values, such as freedom of speech, warning that the bill as it is carries discrimination risks for Muslims.

Afghanistan: Car bomb blast Helmand leaves 2 soldiers killed, 4 Injured

Mar 29, 2021, at 07:03 pm

Kabul/Sputnik/UNI: Two Afghan soldiers were killed and four others were injured as a result of a car bomb explosion at a security checkpoint in the country's southern province of Helmand, a security source told Sputnik on Monday.

Joe Biden 'does not care' about Donald Trump’s plan to visit border

Mar 29, 2021, at 05:29 pm

Moscow/Sputnik/UNI: US President Joe Biden has said he does not care about the plans of the former US President Donald Trump to visit the southern border over the next few weeks.

Chinese tech firms now facing another US challenge

Mar 29, 2021, at 04:54 pm

Washington: The US Securities and Exchange Commission has started implementing an ex-President Donald Trump era law which might soon make certain New York-listed Chinese tech firms take the decision of leaving the nation.

Xinjiang sanctions: China imposes restrictions on 9 UK citizens

Mar 29, 2021, at 04:50 pm

Beijing: The Chinese government has imposed sanctions against UK citizens  in response to London's sanctions on Beijing  over the issue of alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang region.

Xinjiang sanctions: Boris Johnson slams China

Mar 29, 2021, at 04:41 pm

London: British PM Boris Johnson has slammed China for imposing sanctions on nine UK individuals and four entities and said the freedom to speak out in opposition against the abuse faced by Uyghurs in Xinjiang is fundamental.

Suez Canal blockage : Stranded container ship Ever Given re-floated, says Inch Cape

Mar 29, 2021, at 04:30 pm

Cairo/IBNS: Ever Given, the stranded container ship blocking the Suez Canal, has been refloated in the early hours of Monday and is currently being secured, Inch Cape Shipping Services tweeted.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu raises 'Uyghur' issue during his meeting with Chinese counterpart

Mar 29, 2021, at 04:29 pm

Ankara:  Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has conveyed the  'sensitivity' and 'thoughts' regarding the treatment meted towards Uyghur Muslim community by China during his interaction with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

China: Parents of missing Uyghur children describe horror of family separation

Mar 29, 2021, at 04:09 pm

Beijing: The exiled families of Uyghur children held in state “orphanages” in the Chinese region of Xinjiang described the torment of being separated in a new piece of Amnesty International research released today.

Taiwan-US coast guard agreement aims to halt Chinese military expansion, feels expert

Mar 29, 2021, at 03:58 pm

Beijing: An analyst has said the Taiwan-U.S. coast guard cooperation memorandum of cooperation has been signed  to counter China’s expansion.

China's plan to build dam is a security risk for India's Northeast: Expert

Mar 29, 2021, at 03:51 pm

Beijing: A senior Indian journalist has opined that if China's planned new hydropower project at the Brahmaputra’s Great Bend comes about then that will be a security risk for India's Northeast region.

Taiwan authorities detain Chinese fishing boat with 13 crew members for fishing illegally

Mar 29, 2021, at 03:41 pm

Taipei: Taiwan authorities have detained a Chinese fishing boat that was seized and its 13 crew members after they were caught fishing illegally near Pengjia Islet off the coast of Keelung, media reports said on Sunday.

Suez Canal will work round the clock to get all ships through after unblocking : Source

Mar 29, 2021, at 03:25 pm

Cairo/Sputnik: The Suez Canal will be working 24/7 after it is unblocked, in order to let through all the vessels that are now waiting for the Ever Given container ship to be moved, a source in the Gulf Agency Company (GAC), the canal’s operator, told Sputnik.

Afghanistan's Ghani to attend Heart of Asia Conference during trip to Tajikistan

Mar 29, 2021, at 03:18 pm

Kabul/Sputnik: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Monday will travel to neighboring Tajikistan, which is hosting the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process conference, the Presidential Palace said.

Pakistan: Hindu temple attacked in Rawalpindi 

Mar 29, 2021, at 03:10 pm

Rawalpindi: Unidentified people have attacked an over 100-year-old Hindu temple in Pakistan's Rawalpindi city, media reports said.

Canada offers free Covid vaccines for visitors

Mar 29, 2021, at 01:04 pm

Toronto/IBNS: While visitor inflow continues as border operations function under strict control, the government of Canada showed its benevolence by offering the priced COVID 19 vaccines free of cost to visitors in the country.  

Bangladesh seeks early agreement with India on Teesta water-sharing

Mar 29, 2021, at 04:56 am

Dhaka: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina sought the implementation Teesta water-sharing agreement and steps to bring down the "border incidents" to zero as she held extensive talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the latter's two-day visit to the country with which his government is seeking to intensify ties and forger a closer multi-dimensional partnership.

Violence spreads across Bangladesh; ten killed, Hindu temples attacked

Mar 29, 2021, at 04:42 am

Deadly clashes between members of Islamist organizations and government forces spread across Bangladesh on Sunday as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded his two-day visit to the country. Anger swelled in the streets after almost ten people got killed in police firing on Friday and Saturday.

Ill-health grounds Pakistan's top opposition leaders

Mar 29, 2021, at 04:26 am

Islamabad: JUI-F chief and the head of the opposition alliance in Pakistan, Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz Sharif have paused their political activities for few days as both of them reported health issues.

Nepal: Dahal’s party to withdraw support from Oli government

Mar 29, 2021, at 04:13 am

Former Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led CPN-MC will withdraw its support from the Oli government, reported the Himalayan Times. The announcement came when key opposition parties in Nepal are yet to form a coalition for the next government.

Xinjiang sanctions: Boris Johnson slams China

Mar 29, 2021, at 04:00 am

London: British PM Boris Johnson has slammed China for imposing sanctions on nine UK individuals and four entities and said the freedom to speak out in opposition against the abuse faced by Uyghurs in Xinjiang is fundamental.

Chinese tech firms now facing another US challenge

Mar 29, 2021, at 03:42 am

Washington: The US Securities and Exchange Commission has started implementing an ex-President Donald Trump era law which might soon make certain New York-listed Chinese tech firms to take the decision of leaving the nation.

Over 90 people killed at Myanmar protests on Saturday - AAPP

Mar 29, 2021, at 02:10 am

Bangkok/Sputnik: The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) in Myanmar says over 90 people died during the Saturday clashes between protesters and security forces.

Australia cut access to parliament's IT over fears of cyber attack from abroad - Military

Mar 29, 2021, at 12:59 am

Moscow/Sputnik: Australia's Assistant Minister for Defense Andrew Hastie said on Sunday that the government cut access to the Parliament's IT and email services in a bid to thwart a cyber attack incoming from a foreign actor.