Former US secretary of state Colin Powell dies of Covid-19 By: AFP on October 19, 2021Colin Powell, a US war hero and the first Black secretary of state who saw his trailblazing legacy tarnished when he made the case for war in Iraq in 2003, died Monday from complications from Covid-19. The 84-year-old retired four-star general was fully vaccinated, his family said in a statement, making him one of the […]
EU’s Borrell ‘optimistic’ about new Iran talks By: Agencies on October 19, 2021The European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said on Monday he hoped EU and Iranian diplomats would meet soon to discuss a potentia return to nuclear talks but declined to confirm reports of a meeting in Brussels on Thursday. A senior EU official said last week Iran was not ready yet to return to actual […]
Lebanon’s Amal movement says violence aimed to reignite internal strife By: Agencies on October 19, 2021Lebanon’s Shi’ite Amal movement said on Monday last week’s street violence in Beirut in which seven Shi’ite Muslims were shot dead aimed to reignite internal strife and threaten peace. The seven were killed on Thursday as crowds headed for a demonstration called by Amal and its Iranian-backed ally Hezbollah group in bloodshed that stirred memories […]
Shooting in Syria could mark new phase in Israeli campaign By: Agencies on October 19, 2021The death of a former Syrian Druze lawmaker, allegedly by Israeli sniper fire, could mark a new phase in what Israel calls its war against Iranian entrenchment in neighboring Syria. Syria’s state-run news agency said that Midhat Saleh was fatally shot Saturday in Ein el-Tinneh, a village along the Israeli frontier in the Golan Heights […]
French envoy ordered out of Belarus in diplomatic spat By: AFP on October 19, 2021France says that its ambassador to Belarus has been ordered out of the country. In a communique Monday, France’s Foreign Minister said that Ambassador Nicolas de Lacosate’s departure on Sunday was due to the “unilateral decision” of Belarusian authorities. Local media say the move to kick the ambassador out is linked to a fallout over […]
UN to conduct Afghanistan anti-polio campaign By: Agencies on October 19, 2021The UN has announced a nationwide polio immunisation campaign in Afghanistan for the first time in many years. Children’s agency Unicef said they had the full support of the Taliban for the project due to begin in early November. The Taliban will also allow female staff on the campaign and provide security to the teams, […]
At least 35 killed by floods, landslides in India’s Kerala By: Agencies on October 19, 2021At least 35 people have been killed by floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains in the southern Indian state of Kerala with authorities fearing the number of deaths could rise significantly. As search-and-rescue operations by the army and the navy continued on Monday, thousands remain stranded in parts of the coastal area, while many […]
Russia shuts mission to NATO in spy row retaliation By: Agencies on October 19, 2021Russia said on Monday it would halt the activities of its diplomatic mission to NATO after the Western military alliance expelled eight Russians saying they were spies. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also said staff at NATO’s military mission in Moscow would be stripped of their accreditation from Nov. 1, and the alliance’s information office in […]
Under Taliban, drug addicts in Kabul forced into withdrawal By: AFP on October 19, 2021With shaved heads, oversized tunics and the terrified gaze of the hunted, the drug addicts rounded up by the Taliban brace for 45 days of painful withdrawal. For some, the hardliners’ raids may potentially help them cast off the yoke of addiction. But for many the stay at Kabul’s Ibn Sina centre will just mark […]
‘Very concerned’ over China’s hypersonic missile test: US By: AFP on October 19, 2021The United States is “very concerned” about China’s hypersonic missile tests, US disarmament ambassador Robert Wood said Monday, after reports that Beijing launched one with a nuclear capacity in August. On Saturday, the Financial Times reported that China had launched a hypersonic missile that completed a circuit of the planet before landing. “We are very […]