War, climate change, mental illness and online misinformation are rising threats Protracted conflicts, the worsening climate crisis, a rising level of mental illness among young people, and online misinformation are some of the most concerning emerging global threats to children, cautions UNICEF. In an open letter issued by the organisation’s …
Read More »Is the reign of ‘King Bibi’ over?
Deadlock continues as main parties fail to reach consensus Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suffered a major political setback on Tuesday when results of parliamentary election were out. Mr. Netanyahu, Israel’s longest serving Prime Minister who was in power for 10 consecutive years and was hoping to win a fifth …
Read More »Abolish executive presidency: Ranil backers
The proposal, made by the Prime Minister’s allies, did not find many takers at Cabinet meeting Backers of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday proposed abolishing the country’s highly-controversial executive presidency, but with few takers in the Cabinet it was thwarted, according to those present at the discussion. The move …
Read More »U.S. backs Saudi’s ‘right to defend itself’
Iranian regime’s threatening behaviour will not be tolerated, says Secretary of State Pompeo U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday that America backs Saudi Arabia’s “right to defend itself” after a weekend attack targeted the heart of its oil industry, comments coming after he described the assault as …
Read More »J&K global investors’ summit put off
The Jammu and Kashmir government has shelved the global investors’ summit scheduled for October. Governor Satya Pal Malik on Thursday reviewed the preparedness for holding the summit, and decided “to reschedule it to 2020 in consultation with the Union government”. “This is to give the Industries and Commerce Departments reasonable …
Read More »‘Howdy, Modi!’ may reveal ‘mini-deal’
Trump and Modi may announce a limited package of trade-related agreements at Houston event India and the U.S. are expected to announce the resolution of some of their trade-related differences on medical equipment caps, ICT (information and communication technology) tariffs and market access for agricultural produce. They are in discussions …
Read More »Taliban asks voters to stay away
Electoral rallies and gatherings could become potential targets, warn insurgents The Taliban warned Afghans on Tuesday to keep away from election rallies and ordered its fighters to “stand against” the planned September vote. The militants and other insurgent groups conducted frequent attacks during previous elections, and this year’s campaign season …
Read More »‘No satisfactory answer on Easter day lapse’
Sri Lankan PM tells inquiry panel that he was not informed about the terror threat despite prior intel “I am yet to get a satisfactory response on why I was not briefed about the Easter Sunday terror threat,” Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has said, suggesting that the Sri Lankan government …
Read More »No Red Notice yet against Sandesara
Group faces allegations of bank loan fraud involving Rs. 8,100 crore. The Interpol is yet to issue Red Notices against Chetan and Nitin Sandesara, promoters of the Vadodara-based Sterling Biotech Limited group which faces allegations of bank loan fraud involving Rs. 8,100 crore. The Enforcement Directorate, which is pursuing a …
Read More »U.S. senator seeks probe into FaceApp
Russian-made FaceApp is caught in a political storm The chart-topping Russian-made FaceApp, which allows users to see how they will look as they age, is in the eye of a political storm in the U.S., with one senator urging an FBI investigation into its “national security and privacy risks”. A …
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