International Affairs

Windrush Scheme: 455 Indians get citizenship More than 450 Indians have confirmed their British citizenship under the government’s ‘Windrush Scheme’, set up in the wake of an immigration scandal last year. In an update to Parliament on Thursday, Home Secretary Sajid Javid said at least 455 Indians confirmed their nationality …

Two identical legislation backed by top companies from Silicon Valley, like Google, have been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate to end the per-country limit on green cards. They could benefit thousands of Indian professionals waiting to gain permanent legal residency. In the Senate, Republican Mike Lee …

The French government took a dig at Italy’s populist leaders and the country’s economic problems on Friday, while defending its decision to recall its Ambassador to Rome. Paris summoned back its Ambassador in Rome for consultations on Thursday for the first time since Second World War, a symbolic move that …

The Taliban demanded a new Constitution for Afghanistan and promised an “inclusive Islamic system” to govern the war-torn country at a rare gathering with senior Afghan politicians in Russia on Tuesday that excluded the Kabul government. The manifesto, outlined in Moscow, comes a week after the Taliban held unprecedented six-day …

Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on Tuesday said the country must develop new types of missile systems in the next two years after Washington and Moscow ripped up a key arms control treaty. The United States has repeatedly accused Russia of violating the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) agreement and on …

The U.S. special envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, on Monday briefed South Korea’s top security advisor, Chung Eui-yong, on Washington’s stance ahead of a working-level meeting with the North’s delegation on Tuesday. The meeting will discuss the agenda of the much-anticipated second summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un. …

Britain on Monday will seek to reassure foreign investors worried about Britain leaving the EU after Japanese automaker Nissan said it was scrapping a major planned investment less than two months before Brexit. Prime Minister Theresa May was due to hold a conference call with around 55 chairmen and chief …

Move comes after an ultimatum given to President Nicolas Maduro to call fresh elections expired Eleven European nations joined the U.S. in recognising opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s interim President on Monday, heightening a global showdown over Nicolas Maduro’s socialist rule. The EU members’ coordinated move followed the expiry …

They can help meet the labour shortage caused by a rapidly ageing population The paperwork never ends for Yoshiko Nishimasa. There are the meticulous logs she must fill out every day, not to mention the pages of work she carefully checks and approves. She even keeps daily records of conversations, …

Germany said on Monday that it had banned Iranian airline Mahan Air from its airports, in an escalation of sanctions adopted by the European Union (EU) against Tehran over attacks on opponents in the bloc. The move was necessary to protect Germany’s “foreign and security policy interests”, Foreign Ministry spokesman …

France’s data watchdog on Monday announced a fine of €50 million ($57 million) on U.S. search giant Google, using the EU’s strict General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for the first time. Google was handed the record fine from the CNIL regulator for failing to provide transparent and easily accessible information …

U.S. Senator Kamala Harris announced on Monday that she is running for President, joining an already-crowded field of Democrats who are making or considering bids to take on Donald Trump. “The future of our country depends on you and millions of others lifting our voices to fight for our American …

More than 100 African migrants who set off in a rickety, inflatable dingy have died in a wreck off the Libyan coast, humanitarian workers said on Saturday, in what was the deadliest such episode in recent months. The scale of the catastrophe became clear after three survivors, two Sudanese and …

President denied the House Speaker a military plane to visit American troops in Afghanistan She imperiled his State of the Union address. He denied her a plane to visit troops abroad. The shutdown battle between President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is playing out as a surreal game …

British Prime Minister Theresa May scrambled to put together a new Brexit strategy after MPs rejected her EU divorce deal, and insisted she could not rule out a potentially damaging “no-deal” split. The world’s fifth-largest economy is in political turmoil and grasping for solutions that could smooth its planned departure …

On a mountain slope overlooking Hong Kong, Giovanni Lam waits for the right gust of wind to send him soaring skywards, one of a growing number of paragliders using flight to escape the dense urban sprawl below.f Patience is rewarded in paragliding, explained Mr. Lam, a university lecturer and youth …

Drug maker Lupin said it had received approval from the U.S. health regulator to market Lurasidone Hydrochloride tablets in the U.S. The firm can sell its product, which is a generic version of Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s Latuda tablets, in strengths of 20 mg, 40 mg, 60 mg, 80 mg and …

President Donald Trump will visit the U.S.-Mexican border this week, his spokeswoman said on Monday, in the latest bid to pressure Congress over border wall negotiations that have led to a partial government shutdown. He will “travel to the Southern border on Thursday to meet with those on the frontlines …

Malaysia’s royals prepared on Monday to pick a new king to replace Sultan Muhammad V, who abdicated in a historic first after reportedly marrying a Russian former beauty queen, holding a special gathering at the national palace. As the country reacted with shock to the news, Malaysia’s Islamic royal families …

President Donald Trump on Monday sought to end fears of an abrupt U.S. pullout from Syria, saying the fight against the Islamic State group was not over and that withdrawal would be done in a “prudent” manner. “We will be leaving at a proper pace while at the same time …