At least 24 people died and more than a dozen were missing after landslides and flash floods triggered by several days of heavy rain hit northern India, officials said Tuesday. Forecasters have also warned of more downpours in the coming days in the southern state of Kerala where floods have …
Read More »Russia’s Putin won’t attend G20 summit to be held in Rome in person
Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the G20 summit in Rome in person this month due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, but will take part in it via video link, the Kremlin said on Tuesday. The Kremlin said Putin informed Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi about his plans …
Read More »Portugal seizes cocaine worth $232 mln onboard yacht in Atlantic Ocean
Portuguese and Spanish authorities have seized 5.2 tons of cocaine from a sailboat on the high seas and arrested three suspects, in Portugal’s largest drug bust in 15 years and a world-record haul from a sailboat, police said on Monday. With the cocaine bales piled up behind him at a …
Read More »Five critically endangered monkeys shot dead in Vietnam
Poachers in Vietnam have shot dead five critically endangered langurs, a type of monkey killed for bushmeat and traditional medicine, state media said Tuesday. Rangers and police found the dead gray-shanked douc langurs during a regular patrol of forests in Quang Ngai province. Restricted to the forests of central Vietnam, …
Read More »US condemns North Korea ‘ballistic missile launch’: Pentagon
The United States military on Tuesday condemned North Korea for a suspected ballistic missile launch and called on the country to “refrain from any further destabilizing acts.” “We are aware of the North Korean ballistic missile launch this morning into the Sea of Japan and are consulting closely with the …
Read More »EU warns Poland it will pay for challenging common law
The European Commission’s chief executive warned Poland on Tuesday that its challenge to the supremacy of European Union law called into question the very foundations of the 27-nation bloc and could not go unpunished. Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal ruled last week that parts of EU law are incompatible with the Polish …
Read More »Japan kicks off election campaign as support for the ruling LDP dips
Japan on Tuesday kicked off its first official day of campaigning ahead of the Oct. 31 general election, with a media poll showing support for the ruling party easing, in a blow for recently installed prime minister Fumio Kishida. Support for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was at 38.8 …
Read More »Ecuador president declares state of emergency over drug violence
Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso on Monday declared a state of emergency in the country grappling with a surge in drug-related violence, and ordered the mobilization of police and military in the streets. “Starting immediately, our Armed Forces and police will be felt with force in the streets because we are …
Read More »Chinese, Russian navy ships jointly sail through Japan strait
A group of 10 military vessels from China and Russia sailed through a narrow strait separating Japan’s main island and its northern island of Hokkaido on Monday, the Japanese defense ministry said on Tuesday. It was the first time Japan, which closely monitors military exercises in its region, has confirmed …
Read More »New Zealand COVID-19 cases hit record high despite vaccination push
New Zealand recorded its highest number of daily coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic on Tuesday as a Delta-variant outbreak that dashed the nation’s “Covid Zero” hopes showed no signs of easing. Health authorities announced 94 new virus cases, exceeding the previous daily record of 89 set in …
Read More »6 Magnitude Earthquake hit Eastern Mediterranean felt in Egypt, Lebanon
An earthquake struck off the Greek island of Karpathos early on Tuesday, shaking towns and cities across the eastern Mediterranean, witnesses and media said. There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage, however. “Really felt that one… Lasted for 30 seconds,” a witness in Lindos, Rhodes, said in …
Read More »Czech president Zeman unable to fulfil duties, senate speaker reveals, as leader spends 8th day in intensive care
The speaker of the Czech upper house has said that the country’s president Milos Zeman is unable to carry out his duties, having spent a week in intensive care, and is unlikely to return to office in the coming weeks. Speaking on Monday, Senate speaker Milos Vystrcil told reporters that …
Read More »Azerbaijan accuses Armenia at UN court of laying mines
Azerbaijan accused rival Armenia at the UN’s top court on Monday of laying landmines as part of a campaign of “ethnic cleansing” despite the end of last year’s war. Both countries have lodged tit-for-tat cases at the International Court of Justice seeking emergency measures against alleged racial discrimination, with Armenia …
Read More »Sarkozy aides, allies on trial in France for alleged polling fraud
Five aides and allies of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy were set to go on trial on Monday for allegedly misusing public money and cronyism, adding to the former head of state’s legal problems. Sarkozy’s former chief of staff Claude Gueant and ex-advisor and consultant Patrick Buisson are among those …
Read More »Three new cases of Ebola recorded in eastern Congo
Three new Ebola cases have been confirmed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, bringing the total to five in the last 10 days, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday. Health officials have said the latest flare-up of the virus appeared to be linked to the massive 2018-20 outbreak, …
Read More »Poland PM warns EU leaders of threat to bloc’s future
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told fellow European Union leaders in a letter Monday that the EU risked becoming a “centrally managed organism run by institutions deprived of democratic control”. Morawiecki said this was “a dangerous phenomenon that threatens the future of our union”. Poland’s populist right-wing government has been …
Read More »Thousands of migrant workers in Kashmir moved to secure locations, hundreds flee
Indian authorities have moved thousands of migrant workers in Kashmir to safer locations overnight, while hundreds have fled the Himalayan valley after a wave of targeted killings, two security officials said on Monday. Suspected militants have killed eleven civilians, including five migrant workers, in Kashmir since early October despite a …
Read More »Former US Secretary Colin Powell dies of COVID-19 complications
Colin Powell, the first black US secretary of state and top military officer, died on Monday at the age of 84 from COVID-19 complications, his family said in a statement. “He was fully vaccinated. We want to thank the medical staff at Walter Reed National Medical Center for their caring …
Read More »Rights group blasts use of FIFA to whitewash Israel’s crimes
A UK-based rights group has slammed the FIFA president for participating in a “political activity” in the occupied al-Quds, denouncing his suggestion to hold the 2030 World Cup in the Occupied Palestine. Gianni Infantino took part in the inauguration ceremony of “The Friedman Center for Peace through Strength” on October …
Read More »Russia shuts mission to NATO in spy row retaliation
Russia said on Monday it would halt the activities of its diplomatic mission to NATO after the Western military alliance expelled eight Russians saying they were spies. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also said staff at NATO’s military mission in Moscow would be stripped of their accreditation from Nov. 1, and …
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