World

Dec 21: The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives gave final approval on Wednesday to the biggest overhaul of the US tax code in 30 years, sending a sweeping $1.5 trillion tax bill to President Donald Trump for his signature. In sealing Mr Trump's first major legislative victory since he took office in January, Republicans steamrolled opposition from Democrats to pass a bill that

United Nations, Dec 20: The 193-member United Nations General Assembly will hold a rare emergency special session on Thursday at the request of Arab and Muslim states on US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, sparking a warning from Washington that it will “take names.” Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour said the General Assembly would vote on a draft

Dhaka, Dec 20: Bangladesh and Myanmar today reaffirmed their commitment to begin repatriating Rohingya refugees from January, despite rights groups warning that their safety is still not assured should they return. The foreign secretaries of Bangladesh and Myanmar met in Dhaka to finalise the agreement signed on November 23 for the voluntary return of nearly three-quarters of a million stateless

New Delhi, Dec 20: ThinkData Works Inc, a big-data processing firm, just hired a software engineer from Brazil through Canada's new fast-track visa programme for high-skilled workers. "The process was bang on," Bryan Smith, chief executive officer of the Toronto-based company, said. It took less than the government's target of 10 business days to process the recruit's application. Previously it

Washington, Dec 19: Notwithstanding competition from China and Russia and challenged by non-state actors and rogue nations like North Korea, US President Donald Trump has asserted that America will lead again. Laying out his new national security strategy yesterday, Trump said both China and Russia seek to "challenge the American values, influence and wealth". "They are determined to make

Washington, Dec 19: Describing India as a "leading global power", the US today unveiled its new National Security Strategy (NSS) that said it will "deepen" America's strategic partnership with India and support its leadership role in Indian Ocean security and throughout the broader region. With an eye on China's One Belt One Road (OBOR) and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the US

United States, Dec 19: An Amtrak passenger train traveling on a new route for the first time derailed Monday in Washington state, killing at least three people as cars plunged off a bridge onto a busy highway at the height of morning rush hour, officials said. The train, which was carrying 77 passengers and seven crew, derailed in DuPont about halfway between Tacoma and the state capital Olympia

Washington, Dec 18: The number of Indians travelling to the United States dropped "significantly" in the first six months of 2017, with experts attributing the dip to important policy changes -- especially at home. As per the latest figures released by US National Travel and Tourism Office, in the first six months (January to June), there was a drop of 12.9 percent in the number of people

In an apparent violation of its refugee resettlement deal, the Myanmar army has continued to destroy Rohingya villages, according to a rights group. Satellite images of Myanmar published by Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday revealed destruction in 40 Rohingya villages since October. "The Burmese army’s destruction of Rohingya villages within days of signing a refugee repatriation agreement with

Islamabad, Dec 17: A suicide attack on a church in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta has killed at least five people, police and hospital officials say. A second attacker fired upon worshippers during a midday service on Sunday, prompting a police operation in the area, officials told Al Jazeera. Provincial police chief Moazzam Jah Ansari said the second attacker was initially wounded by