Month: February 2022

BRUSSELS — Shocked by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order to deploy troops to separatist regions of eastern Ukraine, world leaders moved quickly Tuesday to impose as forceful a response as possible in hopes of averting a full-blown war in Europe. Germany made the first big move, taking steps to halt the process of certifying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia — a lucrative deal long sought by Moscow, but criticized by the U.S. for increasing Europe’s reliance on Russian energy supplies. The rest of the European Union also…

New Delhi:”Bangladesh is historically an important trading and transport hub for our subcontinent,” said Harsh V Shringla, India’s foreign secretary. “India and Bangladesh” signed an agreement to transfer cargo to the northeastern part of India using the Chattogram and Mongla ports. Fully operationalizing this agreement will bring economic benefits to a range of stakeholders from both countries,” Shringla said during an interaction with the Bangladesh delegation at the 10th India-Bangladesh friendship dialogue. While North East India will benefit from a steady supply of goods, the transport and logistics sector in Bangladesh…

New Delhi: India denies allegations made by UN mission in Geneva against judicial harassment of journalist Rana Ayub. India’s permanent mission in Geneva dubbed the allegations as “baseless and unwarranted” asserting that the country upholds the rule of law and no one was above it. “Allegations of so-called judicial harassment are baseless & unwarranted. India upholds the rule of law but is equally clear that no one is above the law. We expect SRs to be objective & accurately informed. Advancing a misleading narrative only tarnishes @UNGeneva’s reputation,” tweeted India’s…

DUBAI | Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said on Saturday that the country was looking to schedule a fifth round of direct talks with rival Iran, although no significant progress had been made, and urged Tehran to change its behavior in the region. Saudi Arabia and Iran, which severed ties in 2016, began talks last year hosted by Iraq, and global powers sought to defend the nuclear deal with Tehran, blaming the Gulf states for failing to deal with Iran’s missile program and proxies network. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin…

MUNICH | At the height of the East-West conflict since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Friday that the world is now a more dangerous place than it was during the Cold War. Guterres warned that a small mistake or miscommunication between major powers could have catastrophic consequences. “I am often asked whether we are in a new Cold War,” Guterres said in his opening speech at an annual security conference in Munich. “My answer is that the threat to global security…

LONDON | Millions of people in the U.K. were urged to cancel travel plans and stay indoors Friday as the second major storm this week prompted warnings of high winds and flying debris across northern Europe. Britain’s weather service said Storm Eunice, known as Storm Zeynep in Germany, was likely to cause significant disruption and dangerous conditions, with gusts that may exceed 90 miles per hour in highly exposed coastal areas. Authorities in the U.K. took the unusual step of issuing ”red” warnings — indicating a danger to life —…