International

Australia names ex-PM Kevin Rudd as new US envoy


New York: Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has been appointed the country's next ambassador to the US. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed months of speculation that Rudd, who was in office between 2007 and 2010 and again in 2013, will become the 23rd ambassador to the US, reports Xinhua news agency. Rudd, a former leader of...

“Absolutely don’t believe Britain a racist country”: Rishi Sunak


London: Britain's first Indian-origin Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has defended the UK's record on race amid a brewing row over controversial remarks by a columnist attacking Prince Harry's wife Meghan Markle, who is of African-American heritage. Rishi Sunak was addressing questions posed by reporters during a visit to the Latvian capital of Riga when he spoke...

Covid to grip the world, kill millions in next 90 days: Epidemiologist


New York: 'After the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, China is experiencing a massive surge in coronavirus cases. Hospitals are completely overwhelmed in China,' reported Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist and health economist. The epidemiologist estimates that more than 60 per cent of China and 10 per cent of the earth's population are likely to be infected over...

Indian student at Cambridge solves Panini’s 2,500-year-old Sanskrit grammatical problem


A grammatical problem that perplexed scholars since the 5th century BC has been solved by a Cambridge University student and could “revolutionize the study of Sanskrit”, a professor said, Independent reported.  Indian doctoral student Rishi Rajpopat, 27, decoded a rule taught by Panini, master of the ancient Sanskrit language who lived around two-and-a-half-thousand years ago,...

IAF conducts major drill amid China border tension


New Delhi: The Indian Air Force, bolstered by its full complement of Rafale combat jets, on Thursday launched a major exercise covering the Northeastern region amid a fresh spike of border tension with China along the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal Pradesh. The two-day mega exercise is involving almost all its frontline fighter jets and other...

Pakistan reopens key Afghan border point shut after clashes


Quetta, Pakistan: Pakistani authorities have reopened a key border crossing with neighboring Afghanistan, officials said, a day after seven people were killed in clashes in Pakistan between troops and Afghan Taliban forces. An Afghan Taliban fighter was also killed in Sunday’s violence that hit the town of Chaman in southwestern Baluchistan province, prompting local authorities...

Britain rejects Bilawal’s plea to consider Pak as emerging market


London: Britain outrightly rejected Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s plea to re-look at his country from the perspective of a “promising emerging market full of opportunities”, Asian Lite International reported. He appealed to the world on the same day when Britain announced sanctions against a Muslim cleric Maulana Abdul Haq alias Mian Mithu for forced...

OIC has become a mouthpiece of Pakistan: India


New Delhi: India has condemned a visit to Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK) by the secretary general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), saying such “interference and meddling” in the country’s internal affairs is unacceptable. Hissein Brahim Taha, the OIC secretary general, and his delegation travelled to PoK on December 11 to take stock of...

China urges citizens to leave Afghanistan


Kabul: China advised its citizens in Afghanistan to leave the country “as soon as possible”, following a recent coordinated attack by Islamic State militants on a Chinese-owned hotel in the heart of Kabul. At least three people were killed when gunmen attacked Kabul Longan Hotel, popular with Chinese business people, in the Afghan capital on Dec...