International News Content

Russia's chief negotiator Aleksandr Lavrentyev said Russian-led peace talks on Syria will be held on January 30 in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. <br/><br/>Russia, a steadfast supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, is set to co-host the summit with regime ally Iran and rebel backer Turkey with the aim of setting up a new constitution for post-war Syria.<br/><br/>Russian news agencies reported diplomats from Russia, Turkey and Iran have been holding discussions on how to organise the talks behind closed doors in a Sochi hotel.<br/><br/>The talks will come after the latest round of UN-sponsored negotiations in Geneva ended in failure in December. The United Nations itself will host a new round of peace talks on Syria next week in Vienna.<br/><br/>The war has displaced millions of people and is estimated to have claimed the lives of at least 340,000 people since 2011.

Chinese delegation holds talk with MoS V K Singh in New Delhi <br/><br/>A Chinese delegation headed by Meng Xiangfeng, a close confidant of President Xi Jinping and senior communist party leader, held talks with Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh in New Delhi on Friday.<br/><br/>MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet that Singh meets delegation of the International Liaison Department of the Communist Party of China (IDCPC) on a visit to India under the MEA-IDCPC Exchange Programme. <br/><br/>Delegation is led by Meng Xiangfeng,Member of CPC.<br/>The exchanges between the CPC and the MEA followed the visits of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi to New Delhi last month.<br/>

International News Content

At least six people including Hilda Hernandez, sister of President Juan Orlando Hernandez were killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday on a mountain near the capital Tegucigalpa in Honduras. <br/><br/>Hernandez, 51, was an agronomy engineer who served as communications minister under her brother and as minister of social development during the previous administration of then-President Porfirio Lobo.<br/><br/>The military helicopter carrying Hernandez, four members of her security detail and a pilot took off from Tegucigalpa's international airport in the morning bound for her residence in Comayagua, about 60 kilometers from the capital. <br/><br/>Soon afterward, the air force reported that the aircraft had gone missing. The wreckage was later discovered in the mountains outside Tegucigalpa with no survivors. <br/><br/>No cause for the crash was given, but it happened as the country was being affected by a cold front.

North Korea condemned the adoption of tough U.N. sanctions imposed on it after its intercontinental ballistic launches and said that it will launch revenge and strongly criticized the United States. In a statement North Korea said the sanctions were caused by U.S. plot to isolate North Korea. It says the U.N. sanctions will never force the country to negotiate over its nuclear program or to give up its initiatives. It also said it will take action of justice, however did not elaborate further. Today's statement came two days after the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved new sanctions on North Korea including a ban on coal, among other exports.

Zimbabwe's Parliament passes bill amending constitution to give President sweeping powers to appoint judges <br/><br/>Zimbabwe's Parliament has passed a bill amending the constitution to give the President sweeping powers to appoint the country's top judges without consulting any other institution. <br/><br/>If passed into law, the bill will give Robert Mugabe the sole responsiblity to appoint the chief justice and their deputy. <br/><br/>Under the 2013 constitution, the president could only appoint a chief justice from individuals recommended by the judicial services commission and after public interviews of the candidates. <br/><br/>Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who heads Zimbabwe's Parliament, hailed the adoption of the bill. Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party enjoys a majority in the 270-seat legislature.<br/>'<br/>A total of 182 lawmakers voted in favour of the changes that tinker with the country's constitution, which was adopted in a 2013 referendum after being put together by the ruling and opposition parties under a power-sharing government.

Britain & European Union launch new round of Brexit negotiations <br/><br/>Britain and the European Union launch a new round of Brexit negotiations today with Brussels pressing weakened British Prime Minister Theresa May to quickly set out her divorce strategy. <br/><br/>Brexit Minister David Davis travels to Brussels to meet Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator, for a second round of hugely complex haggling on Britain's withdrawal from the bloc, scheduled for March 2019.<br/><br/>Ahead of four days of talks, Frenchman Barnier warned that the hard work starts now following the largely ceremonial first round of talks in June, and that the clock is ticking to reach a deal.<br/><br/>The EU has demonstrated increasing confidence, accusing Britain of dithering over whether it wants a hard or soft Brexit more than a year after the shock referendum that propelled May to power. Davis said, the focus would be the sensitive issue of citizens rights, and that real progress is paramount.'<br/><br/>The four days of talks are set to also address more detailed concerns such as Britain's future in Euratom, the EU's nuclear safety agency, and the role of the European Court of Justice, the EU's top court.

Afghan IS head Abu Sayed killed in US raid <br/><br/><br/>US Officials said, the head of terror group Islamic State in Afghanistan, Abu Sayed, has been killed in a raid on the group's headquarters in the eastern province of Kunar.<br/><br/>Pentagon said, the raid on the 11th of this month also resulted in the deaths of other IS members. <br/><br/>The statement said the operation was aimed at disrupting the group's plans to expand in Afghanistan. Abu Sayed's predecessor, Abdul Hasib, was killed in a military raid in April. <br/><br/>Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said that Abu Sayed was chosen to lead the group after US and Afghan forces killed the previous IS leaders Hafiz Sayed Khan in a drone strike last year and Abdul Hasib earlier this year.

A Tibetan women's football team has claimed that they have been denied United States visas to take part in a tournament in Texas. They say they were told they had "no good reason" to visit the US. Most of the players are Tibetan refugees living in India, and had applied at the US Embassy in Delhi. <br/><br/>'US President Donald Trump has imposed a travel ban (now frozen) on nationals from seven countries, but neither India or China is on the list. <br/>Tibet, a remote and mainly-Buddhist territory known as the "roof of the world", is governed as an autonomous region of China. Cassie Childers, the Executive Director of Tibet Women's Soccer and a US citizen, told the BBC that she had accompanied the group of 16 players for interviews at the embassy on the 24th of last month

Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, died after falling ill in his office in New York today.He was 64.<br/>'<br/>Russia's deputy UN ambassador, Vladimir Safronkov, told the news agency that Churkin, was rushed to a hospital in New York, where he died.<br/><br/>A veteran diplomat known as a potent and personable voice for his country's interests at the UN, Vitaly Churkin, had been Russia's envoy at the United Nations since 2006 Diplomatic colleagues from around the world mourned Churkin as a powerful and passionate voice for his nation, with both a deep knowledge of diplomacy and a large and colorful personality. He was currently the longest-serving member of the Security Council, the UN's most powerful body.<br/><br/>According to the state news agency TASS, President Vladimir Putin praised Churkin's professionalism and diplomacy.

Top adviser to US President warns Iran for test-firing ballistic missile<br/><br/>A top adviser to US President Donald Trump delivered a tough warning to Iran for test-firing a ballistic missile and declared that Washington is officially putting Tehran on notice for what he called a provocation. It was the Trump's sharpest threat against a US adversary since taking office on January 20, a warning that could foreshadow more aggressive economic and diplomatic measures against Iran. White House national security adviser Michael Flynn condemned the test and said it was in violation of a United Nations Security Council resolution. A Pentagon spokesman Christopher Sherwood said that the United States military has not changed it's posture in response to Iran test-firing a ballistic missile. The spokesman did not provide any other details.<br/>'<br/>Iran confirmed yesterday it had tested a new missile but said it did not breach a nuclear accord reached with world powers or a UN Security Council resolution that endorsed the pact. <br/><br/>

International News Content

Three killed, 11 injured in Somali explosion<br/><br/>At least three people were killed and 11 others injured when an explosion ripped a small restaurant popular with soldiers in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, today. Police said the dead and injured included soldiers. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. <br/><br/>Al Shabaab militants have launched similar attacks in the past in a campaign to topple the Western-backed government.<br/><br/>Abdifatah Omar, the spokesman for Mogadishu's mayor, told Reuters that a bomb that was planted in the tea shop exploded.<br/> <br/>A police officer said that they believe the al Shabaab planted the bomb.

US President Barack Obama has sought to assure its allies that President-elect Donald Trump will honour the country's international alliances when he takes office in January. Mr. Obama told reporters that Mr. Trump has expressed a great interest in maintaining the US commitment to NATO.<br/><br/>During the campaign, Mr.Trump said he might abandon a guarantee of protection for fellow Nato countries. His statements alarmed the Baltic states which fear Russian aggression. Article 5 of the Nato treaty commits allies to come to the aid of a member state under attack.

At least eight people have been killed and thousands displaced by clashes in southeast Myanmar, rebels and border forces said today, violence that threatens to undercut the new government's push for peace.<br/><br/>Fighting broke out this month between government troops and an ethnic rebel splinter group known as the DKBA in Karen state, near the border with Thailand. The clashes come just weeks after Aung San Suu Kyi's government held a landmark summit aimed at ending almost seven decades of ethnic insurgencies.The Nobel laureate has made brokering peace with the patchwork of armed minorities fighting the state a priority.

Turkey has sent more tanks into northern Syria in an operation against the Islamic State, IS group. <br/><br/>According to a UK-based monitoring group, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Syrian rebels backed by Turkey had recaptured at least eight villages from IS in the area. <br/><br/>The incursion took place about 55 kilometers south-west of Jarablus, where Turkey last week launched its first major incursion into Syria since the conflict started.

Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will meet today in St. Petersburg in an effort to accelerate normalization of relations. The two leaders will also discuss ways and means to boost cooperation in trade, tourism and energy sectors. <br/><br/>It would be the first interaction between the two leaders since Russia and Turkey began normalizing relations following the downing of a Russian jet in November last year.

International News Content

International News Content

International News Content

International News Content

International News Content

In China, scientists have sequenced the genome of the country's first imported Zika virus, helping with prevention and diagnosis. The scientists said, this will lay the foundation for understanding the variations of the virus as well as developing bacteria and re-agents to diagnose the disease. China has confirmed two Zika cases and both were imported. Zika causes only minor flu-like symptoms in adults. However, researchers believe the virus is the likely factor behind a sharp rise in cases of microcephaly, newborns with abnormally small heads.

The official survey to ascertain nationality preference of enclave dwellers on the India-Bangladesh border underway since 6th of this month is going on in full swing. A total of 50 teams have fanned out in the 111 Indian enclaves in 4 Bangladeshi districts of Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari and Panchgarh. <br/><br/>Another 25 teams are working in the 51 Bangladeshi enclaves in India located in Cooch Behar district of West Bengal. Each team consists of 5 members including representatives of India and Bangladesh, observers and a supervisor. <br/><br/>The main purpose is to conduct a population and land survey to ascertain the enclave dwellers' choice of nationality as provided under the modalities of the Land Boundary Agreement of 1974 and its Protocol of 2011, effected during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Dhaka last month. <br/><br/>The 18-day survey will continue till 23rd July, and the India-Bangladesh Joint Boundary Working Group will finalize the survey. On the midnight of 31st July, all 162 enclaves will stand transferred to the respective two countries. The ultimate transfer of the enclaves will end the stateless life the enclave dwellers have been suffering since 1947 following the partition of the sub-continent. <br/><br/>They can now opt for either Indian or Bangladeshi citizenship which will entitle them to political rights and all types of civic facilities associated with nationality. Both governments have agreed to ensure orderly, safe and secure passage along with their personal and movable property to those who decide to move from their present locations to mainland India or Bangladesh till November 30th 2015.

International News Content

International News Content