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Deeper ties with France, a volatile LAC: What 2023 may have in store for India

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, presently deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, in a series of ‘New Year’ predictions, speaks of the decline of the West, mocking it. Among other things, he announced that oil would become much more expensive and that the UK would return to the EU. He also […]

Philippines: Onions so expensive they’re being smuggled into the country

Hong Kong CNN  —  From salads to stews, the humble onion is a key ingredient in nearly every Filipino dish. But now, the vegetable costs almost three times more than chicken in the Philippines. Red and white onions were selling for as much as 600 Philippine pesos ($11) per kilogram (2.2 lbs) on Monday, compared […]

What are hardliners’ rules US House adopts to control Speaker McCarthy

Washington: The set of new rules Republicans pushed through the House on Monday make it easier to remove their own speaker, establish new investigatory committees, and make it harder to raise taxes or spend federal money, and could potentially slow ethics investigations. The package, backed by the House on a mostly party-line vote, does not […]

China halts short-term visas in South Korea, first response to COVID-19 curbs

The Chinese embassy in South Korea has suspended issuing short-term visas for South Korean visitors, it said on Tuesday, January 10, the first retaliatory move against nations imposing COVID-19 curbs on travelers from China. The embassy will adjust the policy subject to the lifting of South Korea’s “discriminatory entry restrictions” against China, it said on its official WeChat account. A Chinese embassy […]

China halts short-term visas in South Korea, first response to Covid curbs

The Chinese embassy in South Korea has suspended issuing short-term visas for South Korean visitors, it said on Tuesday, the first retaliatory move against nations imposing COVID-19 curbs on travellers from China. The embassy will adjust the policy subject to the lifting of South Korea’s “discriminatory entry restrictions” against China, it said on its official […]

China halts short-term visas in South Korea, first response to COVID curbs

The Chinese embassy in South Korea has suspended issuing short-term visas for South Korean visitors, it said on Tuesday, the first retaliatory move against nations imposing COVID-19 curbs on travellers from China. The embassy will adjust the policy subject to the lifting of South Korea’s “discriminatory entry restrictions” against China, it said on its official […]

Why Haldwani eviction case is not anti-Muslim: It’s railways versus residents

The recent eviction incident in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani has made headlines, and the matter has been getting aggravated with the anti-Muslim narrative in the national and international media. Deliberate attempts have been made to push the whole case as Modi vs Muslims. After reading different reports and similar cases of the past, it is clear that it […]

Police anti-cybercrime unit identifies sources of ‘fake memo’

THE Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday claimed that it had identified the sources of the supposed memorandum that circulated on social media indicating that the police force had been placed on high alert amid rumors of an alleged destabilization plot in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). In a television interview (Unang Hirit), […]

Technology stock rout helps fuel recovery for short sellers

Tesla’s share price dropped 65 per cent in 2022, providing the biggest payout of last year for short sellers with mark-to-market profits of $US15.8 billion. Tesla bears feasted while Elon Musk sold almost $US23 billion of his holdings in the electric-car maker to fund his takeover of Twitter – a deal that itself resulted in […]

90 per cent of people in China province infected with Covid, says official

Representational image. AFP Beijing: Almost 90 per cent of people in China’s third most populous province have now been infected with Covid-19, a top official said Monday, as the country battles an unprecedented surge in cases. Kan Quancheng, director of the health commission for central Henan province, told a press conference that “as of 6 […]

Asian shares up, extending Wall St gains as US wages slow

Shares have climbed in Asia following a rally on Wall Street, where investors bet that slow US wage gains may augur a cooling of the inflation that has led the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates. Gains in technology shares boosted benchmarks in South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Japan’s markets were closed for a […]

Nepal makes COVID-19 negative report mandatory for all international arrivals

Representational Image. ANI Kathmandu: Nepal again has made the COVID-19 negative reports mandatory for all international passengers, the country’s national flag carrier announced on Sunday. Issuing a notice to all the passengers, the national flag carrier Nepal Airlines said that passengers arriving from the international sector mandatorily must present COVID-19 international certificate or COVID-19 PCR […]

Innovation from Heidiland: how fans funded a ‘silly movie’

Mad Heidi is set in a dystopian Switzerland that has fallen under the fascist rule of an evil cheese tyrant. / Swissploitation Films Gmbh Mad Heidi, a splatter comedy in which the Swiss literature icon Heidi engages in a bloody war against cheese fascists, was released online on December 8. The producers hope to shake […]

PNP warns vs posting of fake news

THE Philippine National Police warned the public against posting fake news as it started investigating the source of an alleged PNP memorandum calling on all units to be on full alert following the resignation of Defense officials. The PNP’s Anti Cybercrime Group on Sunday said that it continues to monitor social media posts with regards […]

CBSE to provide counselling services to students from January

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Saturday announced that the board will start counselling facility for students of classes 10 and 12 from January this year. This will be done with the help of IVRS, tele-counselling and podcasts. CBSE took this decision keeping in mind that students will be appearing for the offline board […]

Will the global community ever recognise Pakistan as a ‘failed State’?

For years if not decades now, some Indian analysts have dubbed neighbouring Pakistan as a ‘failed state’ or a ‘fragile state’. It owes mostly to their prejudices, which stood exposed sooner, and they too have stopped using the pejorative / adjective as frequently as earlier. In comparison, western analysts and scholars have been more circumspect […]

Top UN diplomat asks Taliban to lift bans on women education, work for NGOs

Representational Image. ANI Kabul: Top UN diplomat in Afghanistan met Taliban-appointed education minister Mohammad Nadeem in Kabul on Saturday and called for the urgent lifting of the bans on female education and work for aid agencies. “Afghanistan is entering a new period of crisis. Taliban bans on female education & work for aid agencies will […]

17th edition of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention to begin in Indore today

Cooperative Republic of Guyana President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali will be the chief guest on the occasion. ANI Indore: The 17th edition of the ‘Pravasi Bharatiya Divas’ convention will be held in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore city from Sunday under the theme ‘Diaspora: Reliable partners for India’s progress in Amrit Kaal’, an official said. More than […]

Regaining Badminton supremacy: Chinese whispers that doesn’t get lost in transmission

Some narrations on Chinese badminton acquire mythical contours. Like Chen Yufei actually pre-lived the entire Tokyo Olympics gold simulation in the months before the Games – from taking a similar bus to the stadium, timing that journey to the last microsecond, recreating the warmup, the different opponents, right upto standing on the top podium. Apparently […]

China reopens borders from Hong Kong to mainland China ending its zero-Covid policy

Hong Kong/Beijing: Travellers began streaming into mainland China by air, land and sea on Sunday, many eager for long-awaited reunions, as Beijing opened borders that have been all but shut since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. After three years, mainland China opened sea and land crossings with Hong Kong and ended a requirement for […]

Travellers rush to take advantage of China’s reopening

Beijing: After two years of separation from his wife in mainland China, Hong Kong resident Cheung Seng-bun made sure he was among the first to cross the border following the reopening of crossing points Sunday. The ability of residents of the semi-autonomous southern Chinese city to cross over is one of the most visible signs […]