Category: ENGLISH

PARIS – Iran and Turkey are preventing entry of Afghan refugees or forcibly returning them to face life-threatening risks under the Taliban regime, in violation of international law, Amnesty International said in a report Wednesday. Hundreds of thousands fled Afghanistan in August 2021 after the US left the country in a chaotic military pullout, allowing the hardline Taliban Islamists to retake control. But while many who assisted US forces in particular were airlifted out, the vast majority have had to flee by land, in particular towards Iran and eventually Turkey.…

MOSCOW – Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, has died in Moscow aged 91, Russian news agencies reported on Tuesday. “Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev died this evening after a serious and long illness,” the Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow said, quoted by the Interfax, TASS and RIA Novosti news agencies. Gorbachev, who was in power between 1985 and 1991 and helped bring US-Soviet relations out of a deep freeze, was the last surviving Cold War leader. He spent much of the past two decades on the political periphery,…

KABUL  – The Taliban declared Wednesday a national holiday and lit up the capital with coloured lights to celebrate the first anniversary of the withdrawal of US-led troops from Afghanistan after a brutal 20-year war. The country s new rulers — not formally recognised by any other nation — have reimposed their harsh version of Islamic law on the impoverished country, with women squeezed out of public life. But despite the restrictions, and a deepening humanitarian crisis, many Afghans say they are glad the foreign force that prompted the Taliban insurgency…

The company’s environment protection efforts win top honour at Indian CSR Awards Thiruvananthapuram, 30 August 2022: UST, a leading digital transformation solutions company, has won the ‘Best Environment Protection Initiative Award for the year 2022’ at the Indian CSR Awardsby Brand Honchos. The successful plantation and maintenance of 40,000 plants in 2020-21, coastal area preservation by planting over 11,000 mangroves, forest area preservation, and lake body rejuvenation initiatives implemented by the UST CSR volunteer teams, were evaluated for the awards. UST also partnered with field-based NGOs and technical institutions for…

WASHINGTON  – The United States and Iran have found a way to address the U.N. nuclear watchdog’s investigations of Tehran’s atomic program that allows both to claim victory for now but delays a final resolution, according to three sources familiar with the matter. Tehran has pushed Washington to commit to close probes by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) into uranium traces found at three undeclared sites before it will fully implement a proposed deal to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear pact. The United States and its partners, however, reject…

MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree introducing financial benefits for people who left Ukrainian territory to come to Russia, including pensioners, pregnant women and disabled people. The decree, published on a government portal, establishes monthly pension payments of 10,000 roubles (US$170) for people who have been forced to leave the territory of Ukraine since Feb 18. Disabled people will also be eligible for the same monthly support, while pregnant women are entitled to a one-off benefit. The decree says the payments will be made to citizens…

KYIV – Russian artillery fired at Ukrainian towns across the river from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant overnight, local officials said on Sunday (Aug 28), adding to residents  anguish as reports of shelling around the plant fuelled fears of a radiation disaster. Russia s defence ministry said there was more Ukrainian shelling of the plant over the past 24 hours, just a day after Moscow and Kyiv traded accusations of targeting Europe s biggest nuclear plant, which has prompted grave international concern. Ukrainian nuclear company Energoatom said it had no new information…