Page 17 - International News

President Erdogan invites new Swedish PM Kristersson to visit Turkey

Turkish President Erdogan said he would be pleased to host new Swedish PM Kristersson during a phone talk between the two leaders, after months of tension with the Nordic country over its NATO bid.

Rishi Sunak's real challenge as PM is not economic or political but social

Sunak has to govern a fractious and self-indulgent mob, which has resulted from a near-total breakdown of authority of all sorts

UN envoy: Myanmar crisis deepens, taking 'catastrophic toll on people'

The UN special envoy for Myanmar warned Tuesday that the political, human rights and humanitarian crisis in the military-ruled Southeast Asian nation is deepening and taking a catastrophic toll on the people. Noeleen Heyzer told the U.N. General Assembly's human rights committee that more than 13.2 million people don't have enough to eat, 1.3 million are displaced and the military continues operations using disproportionate force including bombings, burnings of homes and buildings, and the killing of civilians. Heyzer's briefing was her first at the U.N. in New York since she visited Myanmar in August and met the head of the military government, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. She said the meeting was part of broader efforts by the U.N. to urgently support a return to civilian rule. She stressed that there is a new political reality in Myanmar: a people demanding change, no longer willing to accept military rule. Heyzer said she made six requests during the meeting with the military's

For the first time, women outnumber men in New Zealand's parliament

For the first time in New Zealand's history, a majority of lawmakers are women. Soraya Peke-Mason from the liberal Labour Party was sworn in to Parliament on Tuesday, replacing former Speaker Trevor Mallard, who left to become ambassador to Ireland. With the resignation of another male lawmaker, it has tipped the balance in Parliament to 60 women and 59 men. Whilst it's a special day for me, I think it's historic for New Zealand, Peke-Mason told reporters. The milestone places New Zealand among a half-dozen nations in the world that this year can claim at least 50% female representation in their parliaments, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Other nations include Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, Rwanda and the United Arab Emirates. Globally, about 26% of lawmakers are women, according to the union. New Zealand has a history of strong female representation. In 1893, it became the first nation to allow women to vote. Current Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is the nation's third fema

Rishi Sunak edges closer to UK leadership prize as Boris Johnson caves

In a brief statement on Twitter late Sunday, shortly after Johnson said he wouldn't stand for fear of dividing the Conservative Party, Sunak vowed to lead with "integrity, professionalism

Earthquake of magnitude 5.0 shook southern part of China's Xinjiang

An earthquake of magnitude 5.0 shook the Southern part of the Xinjiang region of China on Sunday, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS)

Kyrgyzstan conference stresses importance of INSTC and Chabahar Port

An International Conference titled "INSTC (International North South Transport Corridor) and Chabahar Port in Iran

Man fatally shot in parking lot after California high school football game

A man died in a California shooting in a Sacramento parking lot after a high school football game, police said. Investigators believe the shooting Friday night broke out after a disturbance involving about 20 people near the end of the game at Grant Union High School. Officers found a firearm and shattered glass in a school parking lot. Police said the shooting victim a man in his mid-20s was able to get to a nearby hospital but later died. Police provided no information on a suspect or motive. The Sacramento Bee reported that about 2,000 people attended the game and police believe those involved in the disturbance were not students, though that information is preliminary.

Biden juggling long list of issues to please Democratic coalition

President Joe Biden wants to tame inflation. He wants Congress to protect access to abortions. He wants to tackle voting rights. And he's taking on China, promoting construction of new factories, addressing climate change, forgiving student debt, pardoning federal marijuana convictions, cutting the deficit, working to lower prescription drug prices and funneling aid to Ukraine. Biden is trying to be everything to everyone. But that's making it hard for him to say he's focused on any single issue above all others as he tries to counter Republican momentum going into the November 8 elections. There's no one thing, Biden said Wednesday when questioned about his top priority. There's multiple, multiple, multiple issues, and they're all important. ... We ought to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. You know, that old expression. Biden's exhaustive to-do list is a recognition that the coalition of Democratic voters he needs to turn out Election Day is diverse in terms of race,

Russian-installed authorities in Ukraine advise civilians to evacuate

Russian-installed authorities in Ukraine told all residents of the city of Kherson to leave immediately Saturday ahead of an expected advance by Ukrainian troops waging a counteroffensive to recapture one of the first urban areas Russia took after invading the country. In a post on the Telegram messaging service, the pro-Kremlin regional administration strongly urged civilians to use boat crossings over a major river to move deeper into Russian-held territory, citing a tense situation on the front and the threat of shelling and alleged plans for terror attacks by Kyiv. Kherson has been in Russian hands since the early days of the nearly 8-month-long war in Ukraine. The city is the capital of a region of the same name, one of four that Russian President Vladimir Putin illegally annexed last month and put under Russian martial law on Thursday. On Friday, Ukrainian forces bombarded Russian positions across the province, targeting pro-Kremlin forces' resupply routes across the Dnieper .

23 contact lenses found stuck in 70-yr-old woman's eye: US ophthalmologist

An elderly woman who thought there was "something in her eye" actually had 23 daily disposable contact lenses lodged under her eyelid, according to her ophthalmologist

Sajan Bhanwala becomes 1st Indian to win medal at U23 Worlds, takes bronze

Sajan Bhanwala became the first Indian Greco Roman wrestler to win a medal at the Under-23 World Championship when he edged past Ukraine's Dmytro Vasetskyi on 'criteria' to emerge winner in the bronze play-off, here. It was the Ukrainian who pulled off a four-pointer on the edge of the circle for a solid start but Bhanwala bounced back immediately with a strong move that got him into a position from where he could pin his rival. Though he could not pin his rival, it was good enough to earn four points. Bhanwala lost two more points and got into defensive mode. For staying passive, Bhanwala put on 'Par Terre' position, something Indian wrestlers are very poor at defending and the Ukrainian pulled off another four-pointer from the ground position for a handsome 10-4 lead. Bhanwala scored two points with a take-down move and with 35 seconds left in the bout, managed to push his rival on the back to level the scores. The bout ended at 10-10 but since the Indian had scored the last po

George Floyd's daughter to file $250 million lawsuit against Kanye West

Rapper Kanye West continues to attract controversies as daughter of George Floyd, whose death in police custody triggered global protests against racism, is now planning to file a lawsuit against him

Canadian citizenship for 300,000 people by March 2023, Indians to benefit

Canada aims to grant citizenship to 300,000 people in the 2022-2023 fiscal year, a move likely to benefit many Indians

S Korean music sensation BTS' Jin to release first solo single on Oct 28

Singer Jin, a member of the South Korean music sensation BTS, will release his first solo song "The Astronaut" on October 28. BTS management agency BigHit Music made the announcement on the fan community forum Weverse on Tuesday night, a day after the company said the group is looking forward to carrying out their mandatory military service with oldest member Jin initiating the process by the month end. "BTS member Jin's first official solo single, 'The Astronaut,' will be released on October 28, 2022. Since it's a song made with so much love toward the fans, we hope 'The Astronaut' can be a gift to all of you," the agency said in a statement. Jin, who turns 30 in December, will begin the enlistment formalities once commitments related to his solo album release are complete. In South Korea, all able-bodied men aged 18-28 are required to serve in the military for about two years. All BTS members had been allowed to put off starting their military service until they turned 30. "We a

European shares fall as selling pressure kicks in after recent gains

European indexes fell in early trading and US futures were down as selling pressure kicked in Wednesday after a few days of strong gains. Asian shares advanced, led by a nearly 6 per cent jump in Hong Kong's share benchmark as markets there caught up after reopening from a holiday. Easing concerns about interest rate hikes by central banks have helped push markets higher in the past few days, but worries over inflation persist. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 1.2 per cent to 7,002.15 ahead of a speech by British Prime Minister Liz Truss where she was expected to defend her economic plans, including tax cuts that have roiled markets. Truss says she will stick with her plan to reshape Britain's economy through tax cuts and deregulation in a bid to end years of sluggish growth and create a new Britain for the new era. France's CAC 40 fell 0.7 per cent to 5,996.89 in early trading, while Germany's DAX slipped 0.8 per cent to 12,574.14. The future for the S&P 500 was down 0.7 per cent while ..

Oil prices inch lower ahead of a meeting of OPEC+ producers on supply cut

Oil prices moderated very slightly on Wednesday after gaining more than 3% in the previous session ahead of a meeting of OPEC+ producers to discuss a big cut in crude output

Facebook takes down political influence operations from China and Russia

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, on Tuesday took down two separate covert influence networks operating from China and Russia

Tatas to invest $90 bn in India in 5 years; focus on new industries

The investment by the Tata group is a shift in its strategy to focus more in the home markets instead of international markets where the group lost money

Twitter introduces Circle globally, allows users to make smaller groups

People in the circle will see a green badge under Tweets sent to the group. These Tweets cannot be Retweeted.