International

06-04-2022 Bureau Report CANBERRA/ MELBOURNE: The Australian government began seeking controversial powers to crack encrypted communications almost two years before unveiling landmark anti-encryption legislation branded “dangerous” by tech industry leaders, newly obtained documents reveal. Australia in 2018 passed world-first laws to force tech companies and service providers to build capabilities …

05-04-2022 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: A case was registered against controversial priest Yati Narsinghanand along with other speakers at a Hindu Mahapanchayat, for alleged hate speeches, including statements that “50% of Hindus will convert” in 20 years if a Muslim becomes the prime minister of the country and urging people …

05-04-2022 UNITED NATIONS/ MOSCOW/ KYIV: Global outrage is mounting over the discovery of dozens of bodies, some with their hands bound, in towns near the Ukrainian capital after invading Russian troops retreated from the area. Ukraine has accused Russia of carrying out the killings in towns near Kyiv, including in …

05-04-2022 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI: A year after the government led by Narendra Modi’s BJP came to power in 2014, the top finance ministry official accused the Reserve Bank of India of setting interest rates to benefit developed countries and sought a probe into its conduct, a trove …

05-04-2022 AMMAN: An outspoken half-brother of Jordan’s king has relinquished his princely title. Prince Hamzah bin Hussein posted the announcement on his official Twitter account on Sunday. He wrote that he was driven to the decision because his convictions cannot be reconciled with the “current approaches, policies and methods of …

05-04-2022 NEW YORK: In an unprecedented event, over 1,000 Muslims broke their fasts and offered congregational Taraweeh prayers at New York City’s Times Square, marking the beginning of the Holy month of Ramadan, according to CBS News. Times Square is a major commercial area and tourist destination in midtown Manhattan …

04-04-2022 COLOMBO: Police in Sri Lanka have fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse student-led protests near the country’s second-biggest city, Kandy, amid growing calls for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation over an economic crisis that has resulted in shortages of fuel, food and other essentials. Hundreds of students defied …

04-04-2022 BUCHA/ KYIV/ MOSCOW: Ukraine on Sunday accused Russian forces of carrying out a “massacre” in the town of Bucha, while Western nations reacted to images of dead bodies there with calls for new sanctions against Moscow. Russia’s defence ministry denied the Ukrainian allegations, saying footage and photographs showing bodies …

04-04-2022 Bureau Report PATNA/ NEW DELHI: An Indian software engineer hacked an airline’s website to find his lost luggage when the airline’s customer care service failed to assist him effectively. Nandan Kumar was travelling between Indian cities, Patna and Bangalore on March 27, 2022, when his luggage got exchanged with …

04-04-2022 Bureau Report MELBOURNE: Protesters have been arrested after climbing aboard a fuel tanker outside the Exxon Mobil terminal in inner Melbourne. The Extinction Rebellion demonstration in Yarraville was part of a week long campaign to draw attention to climate change. A truckie got caught up in the early morning …