South Africa

WHO calls for intensified actions to eradicate TB in Southeast Asia

25 Mar 2023 01:35 AM IST

On World Tuberculosis Day (TB), the World Health Organisation (WHO) has called for intensified actions to eradicate the disease in the South East Asian region which bears the world’s highest TB burden. WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh highlighted the urgent need for countries and partners

North Korea tests underwater nuclear-capable attack drone

25 Mar 2023 01:34 AM IST

North Korea has tested a new underwater nuclear-capable attack drone, Al Jazeera reported citing the country’s state news agency KCNA said on Friday. Significantly, the drone operated continuously for 59 hours underwater before being destroyed as part of a drill to intimidate the US and South Korean armed forces. The

Swiss banks may impose sanctions on Chinese accounts

25 Mar 2023 01:31 AM IST

Since Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine, the Switzerland government has moved in to impose sanctions on Moscow and its residents by freezing their Swiss bank accounts, and it is now closely monitoring Chinese wealth, which could be the next target, Global Watch Analysis reported. After an Intel

UK demonstrators protest Israeli leader’s visit

25 Mar 2023 01:30 AM IST

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak welcomed Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu to London on Friday while demonstrators gathered nearby to protest against the Israeli government’s right-wing policies. Israel faces a national crisis over the government’s plans to overhaul the judicial system. They have ignited Israel’s biggest protests in history and sparked

TikTok to be blocked from parliamentary devices in UK

25 Mar 2023 01:29 AM IST

In the latest ban imposed on Chinese-owned social media app TikTok, the app will be blocked from parliamentary devices and networks in the UK, Sky News reported. The commissions of the House of Commons and House of Lords have announced they will follow the move taken by the government on

Earthquake destroyed 665 houses across Afghanistan: UN

25 Mar 2023 01:28 AM IST

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has stated that the recent earthquake in Afghanistan damaged and destroyed around 665 houses across Badakhshan, Bamyan, Panjshir, Parwan, Kunar, Laghman, Nangarhar, Samangan, and Takhar Provinces, Afghanistan based Khaama Press reported. The organisation added that the earthquake in Badakhshan killed

China’s sudden zero-Covid exit costing lives

25 Mar 2023 01:27 AM IST

When China abruptly ended zero-Covid measures in December, the country was unprepared for the massive surge of cases. Hospitals turned back ambulances, crematoriums burned bodies around the clock, and relatives transported dead loved ones to warehouses due to a lack of storage space. Chinese state media claimed that the decision to

Sri Lanka receives first tranche of IMF bailout

25 Mar 2023 01:26 AM IST

Sri Lanka has received the first tranche of the IMF bailout programme, President Ranil Wickremesinghe told parliament on Wednesday. The beleaguered island nation was due to receive a $330 million tranche, the first part of a nearly $3 billion bailout approved by the International Monetary Fund on Monday. “This sets

U.S. launches airstrike after drone killed workers

25 Mar 2023 01:25 AM IST

A strike by a suspected Iranian-made drone killed a US contractor and wounded five American troops and another contractor in northeast Syria on Thursday, the Pentagon said. American forces said they retaliated soon after with «precision airstrikes» in Syria targeting facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran›s Revolutionary Guard, with

North Korea tests underwater nuclear-capable attack drone

24 Mar 2023 13:33 PM IST

According to Al Jazeera, citing the North Korean government’s official news agency, KCNA, the country has conducted a test of a brand-new underwater nuclear-capable attack drone. Notably, the drone was destroyed as part of the rehearsal to terrify the US and South Korean armed forces after operating continuously for 59

TikTok CEO faces off with US Congress over security fears

24 Mar 2023 01:25 AM IST

The CEO of TikTok will make a high-profile appearance Thursday before a US Congressional committee, where he’ll face a grilling on data security and user safety while he makes his own case for why the hugely popular video-sharing app shouldn’t be banned. Shou Zi Chew’s testimony comes at a crucial

Uyghurs ask China to enforce UN DIRECTIVEs to curb rights abuses

24 Mar 2023 01:24 AM IST

An Uyghur activist has asked China to implement the Concluding Observations of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) and OHCHR to investigate all allegations of human rights violations in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Zumretay Arkin of the World Uyghur Congress in her intervention during the