UN launches joint appeal for Syria: ‘Apathy is not an option’
May 11, 2022, at 09:09 pm
New York: As Syria begins 12 years of conflict amidst soaring humanitarian needs, UN agency heads launched during a European Union conference on Tuesday, a joint appeal for $10.5 billion.
Ukraine: UN rights office probe spotlights harrowing plight of civilians
May 11, 2022, at 08:31 pm
New York: Almost 76 days since Russia invaded Ukraine, countless civilians remain caught up in the horror and destruction of war, UN rights investigators said on Tuesday.
Bill Gates tests COVID-19 positive, says he is suffering 'mild symptoms'
May 11, 2022, at 03:11 pm
New York: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on Tuesday said he has tested COVID-19 positive.
Elon Musk says he would reverse Donald Trump's Twitter ban
May 11, 2022, at 02:50 pm
Washington: Tesla chief Elon Musk has said he will reverse former US President Donald Trump's ban from Twitter if his bid to buy the micro-blogging platform is successful.
Protesters found damaging public properties could be shot at, Sri Lanka govt warns
May 11, 2022, at 04:01 am
Colombo/IBNS: Sri Lanka on Tuesday said those found damaging public property or harming others could be shot at, a day after violent clashes left seven people dead and more than 200 injured, which also prompted Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to resign.
Luxury hotel belonging to personal Shaman of Sri Lankan president burned down by protesters
May 11, 2022, at 12:02 am
Colombo: Protesters have torched a luxury hotel in Anuradhapura, said to belong to the personal Shaman of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and also burnt her residence, according to reports.
Putin triggers more health rumours as he covers legs with blanket at Victory Day Parade
May 10, 2022, at 11:49 pm
Russian President Vladimir Putin has again sparked speculations over his health as he covered his legs with a thick green blanket as he sat between senior dignitaries and World War II veterans at Victory Day celebrations in Moscow's Red Square, media reports said.
Sri Lanka stock market closed amid nationwide protests
May 10, 2022, at 11:42 pm
Colombo: Sri Lanka's Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) declared on Tuesday a market holiday as a nationwide curfew was imposed due to street unrest.
DR Congo: UN chief calls for probe into deadly armed attacks on mining site
May 10, 2022, at 11:32 pm
New York: UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to investigate deadly armed group attacks in Djugu Territory, Ituri Province, on Sunday.
Sri Lanka: Protest outside naval base amid reports of ex-PM's presence
May 10, 2022, at 11:23 pm
Colombo: Tension prevailed in the Island Nation as a protest was held on Tuesday in front of Sri Lanka's Trincomalee Naval Base headquarters after reports surfaced of former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and family members being in the base owing to security reasons.
Guterres expresses solidarity as Moldova grapples with fallout of Russia’s war in Ukraine
May 10, 2022, at 11:19 pm
New York: Moldova, the most fragile of war-torn Ukraine’s neighbors, needs and deserves massive support to match its generosity as a recipient of nearly half a million refugees, and to preserve its own stability, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday.
High-level UN conference debates precious commodity: Land
May 10, 2022, at 07:51 pm
New York: The 15th session of the Conference of Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), kicked-off on Monday, in the Ivorian "economic" capital.
Guterres welcomes new acting chief of UN projects services
May 10, 2022, at 07:40 pm
New York: The UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) welcomed on Monday, Secretary-General António Guterres' appointment of Jens Wandel as its ad interim chief.
Afghanistan: Nearly 20 million going hungry
May 10, 2022, at 06:46 pm
New York: Nearly 20 million people in Afghanistan – almost half the population – are facing acute hunger, humanitarians warned in a UN-backed report, published on Monday.
Nicaragua: New law heralds damaging crackdown on civil society, UN warns
May 10, 2022, at 06:43 pm
New York: Under the guise of preventing money-laundering and cutting off terrorist financing, a new law in Nicaragua further restricts the functioning of civil society, “contrary to the country’s human rights obligations”, the spokesperson for the UN human rights office (OHCHR) said on Monday.
Sri Lanka: Outgoing PM Mahinda Rajapaksa evacuated by troops
May 10, 2022, at 05:05 pm
Colombo/UNI: Former Sri Lanka Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa was evacuated by heavily armed troops from his official residence in Colombo on Tuesday after thousands of protesters broke through the main gate.
UN expresses concern over Taliban's hijab order
May 10, 2022, at 02:55 pm
United Nations: UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous on Monday voiced concern over the Taliban's new restrictions on Afghan women.
Bolivia: Four people die in stampede
May 10, 2022, at 02:42 pm
La Paz: at least four people died when an apparent tear gas grenade exploded, causing a stampede in the Bolivian city of Potosi on Monday, media reports said.
Sri Lanka: President Gotabaya Rajapaksa accepts resignation of PM Mahinda Rajapaksa
May 10, 2022, at 02:15 pm
Colombo: President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has accepted the resignation of his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Prime Minister, a gazette notification issued by the Sri Lankan Presidential Secretariat said late on Monday night.
May 10, 2022, at 05:54 am
Canberra: Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne has expressed concern over the security arrangement between China and Solomon Islands.
China concludes military exercises close to Taiwan
May 10, 2022, at 05:31 am
Beijing: China has conducted three-day military drills east and south-west of Taiwan, said the Eastern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China.
Pakistan: Only 3 CPEC projects in Gwadar completed so far
May 10, 2022, at 05:27 am
Islamabad: Pakistan, a nation which considers China as a key ally, has completed only three China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects in Gwadar having value of over $300 million, media reports said on Monday.
'Dirty politics' brought PKLI to grinding halt, regrets Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif
May 10, 2022, at 05:22 am
Lahore, Pakistan: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said "dirty politics" kept the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute (PKLI) non-operational for the past two years.
Canada's analyst predicts soaring gas prices by five cents this week
May 10, 2022, at 05:10 am
Toronto/IBNS: Gas prices could go up another five cents across Canada if Russia decides to intensify its assault on Ukraine, a leading energy price expert, Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy was reported to say.
Data shows permanent populations of 10 provincial-level regions in China dropped in 2021
May 10, 2022, at 04:58 am
Beijing: Chinese statistics authorities have shown in its data that permanent populations of at least 10 provincial-level regions on the Chinese mainland fell in 2021.
Three million people will overcome all hurdles to reach Islamabad: Imran Khan
May 10, 2022, at 04:54 am
Islamabad: Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday said three million people would overcome all barricades put up by the current government and reach Islamabad on his call.
Sri Lanka MP, ex-minister's houses set ablaze by protesters
May 10, 2022, at 04:42 am
Colombo/IBNS: The houses of a Sri Lankan legislator and a former minister were set ablaze on Monday evening in the biggest clashes in weeks of anti-government protests in the island nation.
Sri Lankan PM Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns amid nationwide protests
May 09, 2022, at 10:40 pm
Colombo: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Monday resigned from his position as nationwide protests continued against his government's handling of the financial crisis.
Sri Lanka: Curfew imposed in Colombo after clashes between protesters
May 09, 2022, at 09:31 pm
Colombo: A curfew was imposed by the police in Sri Lanka on Monday after tensions arose following clashes between protesters in Colombo.
Chinese Communist Party’s position on Taiwan is far from consistent: Dutch ex-diplomat
May 09, 2022, at 08:55 pm
Beijing: Former Dutch diplomat Gerrit van der Wees has said the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) leader Mao Zedong had refuted claims over Taiwan, a region which is engaged in a conflict with Beijing.