27-09-2020 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report NEW DELHI/ ISLAMABAD/ UNITED NATIONS: India will use its resources “for all humanity” in the battle against coronavirus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the United Nations on Saturday. In his address to the virtual UN General Assembly Modi made no direct mention of …

27-09-2020 TEHRAN: Condemning the United States, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday said people should blame Washington for the “crimes and pressure” facing the country, as waves of US sanctions impact the struggling economy. “They prevented the purchase of medicines and food by imposing unjust, illegal, and inhuman sanctions,” Rouhani …

27-09-2020 Bureau Report MACQUARIE/ MELBOURNE: A total of 108 surviving pilot whales have been released back into the sea after a mass stranding in Australia, marine experts say. They believe Macquarie Harbour on Tasmania’s west coast is now clear of live whales but about 350 whales died in what is …

26-09-2020 GENEVA: The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the global death toll from COVID-19 could more than double to two million before a successful vaccine is widely used – and could be even higher without concerted action to curb the pandemic. “Unless we do it all, (two million …

26-09-2020 NEW DELHI/ WASHINGTON: Close to 44 Indian banks have been flagged in a series of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) filed by the US banks to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) for carrying out suspicious transactions worth more than $1 billion, reported the Indian Publication ‘The Indian Express’. The publication …

26-09-2020 BEIRUT: Lebanon’s prime minister-designate resigned Saturday amid a political impasse over government formation, dealing a blow to French President Emmanuel Macron’s efforts to break a dangerous stalemate in the crisis-hit country. The announcement by Mustapha Adib nearly a month after he was appointed to the job came following a meeting …

26-09-2020 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Int’l Monitoring Desk ISLAMABAD/ NEW DELHI/ UNITED NATIONS: In a speech to the United Nations, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan called India’s Hindu-nationalist government a sponsor of hatred and prejudice against Islam, while denouncing its moves to cement control of Muslim-majority Kashmir. …

25-09-2020 BEIJING: Zhong Shanshan, the founder of the popular Chinese bottled water brand Nongfu Spring, has overtaken Alibaba founder Jack Ma to become the country’s wealthiest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires index. Zhong was already China’s third richest person after his company went public earlier this month with a …

25-09-2020 RUE NICOLAS-APPERT, PARIS: At least four people have been wounded in a knife attack near the former offices of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. French Prime Minister Jean Castex on Friday confirmed the incident, which police are treating as a “terrorism” attack. France’s National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT) has taken …

25-09-2020 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report VATICAN CITY/ LONDON/ MELBOURNE: High-ranking Vatican official Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu has unexpectedly resigned but has revealed he was told to do so by Pope Francis. He said he was suspected of giving Church money to his brothers, and denied any wrongdoing. Cardinal …