World

Beijing, Sept 2: China's massive and expanding "Belt and Road" trade infrastructure project is running into speed bumps as some countries begin to grumble about being buried under Chinese debt. First announced in 2013 by President Xi Jinping, the initiative also known as the "new Silk Road" envisions the construction of railways, roads and ports across the globe, with Beijing providing billions of

Washington, Sep 1: The Trump Administration has announced an end to all funding to the United Nations Palestine Refugee Agency (UNRWA), alleging it to be "irredeemably flawed". "The administration has carefully reviewed the issue and determined that the United States will not make additional contributions to UNRWA," State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said on Friday. "The fundamental

Athens, Aug 31: Sarah Mardini, one of two Syrian sisters who saved over a dozen refugees in 2015 by pulling their sinking dinghy to Greece, has been arrested on charge of “people smuggling”, her lawyer said on Friday. Greek police said on Tuesday they had arrested two members of an aid organization on the island of Lesbos and were investigating a total of 30 on suspicion they smuggled migrants

Kathmandu, Aug 31: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today held "productive talks" with his Thai counterpart Prayuth Chan-ocha during which the two leaders reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral ties, including ways to strengthen cooperation between India and Thailand. The two leaders met in the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, on the sidelines of the 4th Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral

Washington, Aug 31: There is no change in the US’ H-1B visa policy which is currently undergoing a review to ensure that it does not disadvantage US workers or wages, a senior Trump administration official has said ahead of next week’s 2+2 Dialogue during which India is expected to raise the issue of the work visa popular among Indian IT professionals. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that

Washington, Aug 30: President Donald Trump urged evangelical leaders this week to get out the vote ahead of the upcoming midterm elections and warned of “violence” by opponents if they fail. Trump made the dire warning at a White House dinner Monday evening attended by dozens of conservative Christian pastors, ministers and supporters of his administration. Trump was stressing the stakes in

Washington, Aug 30: A top Pentagon official has cautioned India that there are no guarantees for a special waiver from US sanctions if it buys new weapons platforms from Russia. Washington is alarmed at the prospect of India, an increasingly important US military ally and the world's top defence importer, buying new systems from Russia, including its S-400 long-range, surface-to-air missile system

Washington, Aug 29: For the first time in five decades, a NASA astronaut candidate has resigned from training, the US space agency has said. Robb Kulin resigned from NASA effective August 31 for personal reasons, spokeswoman Brandi Dean said, declining to provide further details. It's not an easy gig to get -- some 18,000 people routinely seek the 12 spots that open each year. Kulin, who joined

Singapore, Aug 29: An Indian-origin employee of Singapore's DBS Bank has lost his job after he posted on Facebook an image of the country's torn flag to reveal the Indian flag underneath on the eve of India's Independence Day. Avijit Das Patnaik had on August 14 posted a picture on the Facebook page of the Singapore Indians & Expats group, showing the Singapore flag on a T-shirt being ripped up to

Islamabad, Aug 28: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the absence of an international policy against the generation of blasphemous content is a “collective failure” on part of the Muslim countries. Addressing the Senate for the first time as Prime Minister, Khan on Monday said his government will raise the matter before the UN, adding: “However, I do not think that would do much,”