Trump weighs restoring partial US funding to WHO
May 16, 2020, at 08:04 pm
Moscow/Sputnik: US President Donald Trump said Saturday he was considering restoring 10 percent of US funding to the World Health Organization that was frozen in April.
Pakistan's ISI kidnapped Mohammad Khalid 20 yrs ago for refusing to join Kashmir jihad: Mirza
May 16, 2020, at 06:15 pm
London: Human rights activist Amjad Ayub Mirza has claimed that Mohammad Khalid of Hajera region in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) was kidnapped by Pakistan's spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) 20 years ago for his refusal to join the jihad in Kashmir.
Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme architect now kept as a 'prisoner'
May 16, 2020, at 06:02 pm
Islamabad: Pakistan's former nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, who had earned international attention in 2004 after publicly confessing his role in global nuclear proliferation, has petitioned in the Supreme Court to say he is being kept as a 'prisoner' by the country's government agencies.
Two killed, 8 injured in east China factory blast
May 16, 2020, at 03:55 pm
Nanjing/Xinhua/UNI: Two people are dead and eight injured after a blast in a factory in the city of Danyang, eastern China's Jiangsu Province, local authorities said Saturday.
COVID-19: Nepal registers 18 new cases tally rises to 267
May 16, 2020, at 03:02 pm
Kathmandu/UNI: With 18 new cases surfacing in the past 24 hours, the total number of COVID-19 infected people mounted to 267 in Nepal on Saturday, according to Ministry of Health and Population data.
Pakistan extends suspension of int'l flights, resumes domestic operations partially
May 16, 2020, at 03:01 pm
Islamabad/Xinhua: The Pakistani government has extended the suspension of international flight operations by the end of the ongoing month and announced partial resumption of domestic flight operations, local media reported Saturday.
Nine militants killed, 2 soldiers wounded in water dam attack in Afghanistan
May 16, 2020, at 02:53 pm
Gardez/Xinhua/UNI: At least nine militants were killed, two Afghan security force members and five militants wounded during a predawn clash in eastern Paktia province on Saturday, an army source confirmed.
China's Hubei reports no increase in COVID-19 cases
May 16, 2020, at 02:49 pm
Wuhan/Xinhua/UNI: No new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were reported in central China's Hubei Province Friday, the provincial health commission said Saturday.
Pakistan cuts interest rate by 100 bps to support businesses against COVID-19 impact
May 16, 2020, at 01:41 pm
Islamabad/Xinhua: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has announced to cut the country's policy rate by 100 basis points to 8 percent to support businesses against the COVID-19 impacts on the country's economy.
Mike Pompeo says US to continue to restrict exports to Huawei, affiliates on blacklist
May 16, 2020, at 01:39 pm
Washington/Sputnik/UNI: The United States will continue to restrict exports to Chinese telecommunications company Huawei that were previously blacklisted, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.
Trudeau extends COVID-19 wage subsidy to August
May 16, 2020, at 01:37 pm
Ottawa/Xinhua/UNI: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Friday that his government's wage subsidy program for employees in businesses hit hard by COVID-19 will last until the end of August.
COVID-19 shows crucial role of the UN, says next General Assembly President
May 16, 2020, at 01:02 pm
New York/IBNS:The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the ‘crucial role’ of the UN and its agencies, according to the veteran Turkish diplomat and parliamentarian who, as the only candidate for the top job, is slated to lead the historic 75th session of the General Assembly which begins in September.
Remote and rural communities could be hit hardest by Covid-19: Study
May 16, 2020, at 12:56 pm
New York/IBNS: Death rates from Covid-19 could be between 50% and 80% higher in rural communities and remote small towns, according to a new study by experts at the University of St Andrews.
We have to live with the virus this year: Imran Khan
May 16, 2020, at 12:40 pm
Islamabad/IBNS: Defending his government's decision to ease the lockdown, Pakistan PM Imran Khan said people of the country need to learn the art of living with the COVID-19 virus this year.
May 16, 2020, at 11:57 am
New York/IBNS: The International Organization for Migration (IOM) launched an urgent $7 million appeal on Thursday, to ease the impact of COVID-19 on migrant communities in five Central Asian countries and the Russian Federation, where the pandemic is pushing a growing number of migrant workers into poverty.
Coronavirus lockdowns in Central America, exploited by criminal gangs
May 16, 2020, at 11:56 am
New York/IBNS: Chronic violence, insecurity and now COVID-related restrictions have put tens of thousands of Central Americans at risk of increased hardship and even death, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday.
Support stepped up for Rohingya camps as first COVID-19 infections are confirmed
May 16, 2020, at 11:53 am
New York/IBNS: After confirmation that the first cases of COVID-19 infection have been identified in a vast and overcrowded refugee camp in Bangladesh, UN humanitarians on Friday announced additional measures and appealed for funds to prevent the disease from spreading.
Bangladesh: National Professor Anisuzzaman laid to rest
May 16, 2020, at 10:43 am
Dhaka/IBNS: With full state honour, country's National Professor Anisuzzaman has been laid to rest at Azimpur graveyard in Bangladesh, media reports said.
India opposes China-Pakistan's move of building hydropower plant in Gilgit-Baltistan region
May 15, 2020, at 11:13 pm
New Delhi/IBNS: India has opposed all-weather ally China and Pakistan's move of building a major hydropower plant in the Gilgit-Baltistan region.
Slovenia becomes the first European country to call off COVID-19 pandemic
May 15, 2020, at 10:44 pm
Ljubljana(Slovenia)/IBNS: Slovenia has become the first European nation to call an end to Coronavirus pandemic after a joint assessment by its government and healthcare professionals.
Daughter of missing Pashtun activist Idris Khattak slams Pakistan over silence
May 15, 2020, at 09:54 pm
London: Talia Khattak, daughter of a prominent human rights defender Idris Khattak, has slammed Pakistan over its silence on her father's 'forced disappearance' last year.
COMMENTARY: Living a crisis with hope, to prepare for a changed world
May 15, 2020, at 07:52 pm
The Covid-19 pandemic around the world is now a “perfect storm”. It challenges our ways of living, working and celebrating. The impact in Myanmar until now has been slower in coming, but that may only mean it will last longer.
COVID-19 cases in Belarus rise to 27,730
May 15, 2020, at 07:21 pm
Minsk/Xinhua/UNI: Belarus reported 958 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Friday, taking its total to 27,730.
COVID-19 cases in Japan rise by 50 to reach 16,253
May 15, 2020, at 07:15 pm
Tokyo/Xinhua/UNI: The confirmed COVID-19 cases in Japan increased by 50 to reach 16,253, according to the latest figures from the health ministry and local authorities on Friday.
Treating severe COVID-19 patients will be hard in Rohingya camps in Bangladesh : WHO
May 15, 2020, at 07:10 pm
Moscow/Sputnik/UNI: Valentina Shvartsman Treating severe patients suffering from the COVID-19 lung disease would be particularly challenging in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh due to crowded settings and lack of space for additional health facilities, Catalin Bercaru, a communication officer for the World Health Organization (WHO) country office in Bangladesh, told Sputnik.
Turkey rescues 30 illegal immigrants off Aegean coast
May 15, 2020, at 07:04 pm
Istanbul/Xinhua/UNI: The Turkish coast guard rescued 30 illegal immigrants off Turkey's Aegean coast, local media reported on Friday.
Covid-19 to escalate hunger, malnutrition in Africa: WHO
May 15, 2020, at 06:56 pm
Geneva/UNI: The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed its apprehensions that the Covid-19 pandemic is likely to severely impact food security in many African nations as agricultural activities have become a casualty of the pandemic.
Agents of Pakistan's military killed Kashmir nationalist leader Arif Shahid 7 yrs ago: Sajjad Raja
May 15, 2020, at 06:37 pm
London: Marking the seventh martyrdom anniversary of Arif Shahid, a Kashmiri nationalist leader who advocated independence of Kashmir from both India and Pakistan's rule, National Equality Party Chairman Sajjad Raja said agents of Pakistan's powerful military agencies killed the Kashmiri nationalist leader and hence they will never be traced.
Covid-19 cases under reported in Pakistan: Opposition blames Imran Khan govt
May 15, 2020, at 05:02 pm
Islamabad: Main opposition party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), has accused the government of under reporting the number of Coronavirus cases in the country and claimed that the tally has crossed the 1,00,000-mark.
Peace in Yemen may be ‘within close reach’, UN envoy tells Security Council
May 15, 2020, at 04:52 pm
New York/IBNS: UN Special Envoy for war-weary Yemen, Martin Griffiths, told the Security Council on Thursday, that he believed an end to the fighting “is within close reach”, but cautioning that he had come “yet again to express hope, instead of to report success”.