WORLD
First US private astronaut mission to space station returns to Earth
The private astronaut mission returned to Earth on Monday. The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft splashed down off the coast of Jacksonville, in the southeastern US state of Florida, at 1:06 p.m. Monday, SpaceX confirmed. The crew undocked from the ISS at 9:10 p.m. on Sunday, completing the first all-private astronaut mission to the orbiting laboratory, Xinhua news agency reported.
US body recommends designating India over religious freedom violations
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has recommended this designation for 15 countries in its annual report for 2022 released on Monday. Ten of them were declared countries of particular concern by the State Department in 2021 -- Myanmar, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. The rest were Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, Syria and Vietnam.
Pak PM Shehbaz blames ousted PTI govt for current power crisis
Taking to Twitter, the Pak premier said that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his government had "ended the worst load-shedding in five years". Sharif criticised the ousted PTI government for worsening the power crisis as it failed to "purchase fuel in time nor repair power plants".
'US wants to see a weakened Russia'
Ukraine can still win the war if given the right support, he added. He also announced that the US would allocate an extra $713 million of military aid to Ukraine and other European nations. Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the West of attempting to "split the Russian society and destroy Russia from within".
Nawaz Sharif issued passport to return to Pakistan
Nawaz Sharif was barred by the Supreme Court in 2017 from holding public office and subsequently went abroad for medical treatment after serving just a few months of a 10-year jail sentence on corruption charges. He has been living in London for the last two years since being let out of jail. As per the Interior Ministry, the former premier has been issued a passport with a 10-year validity.
EC chief urges international community to support sanctions on Russia for long period
During the Raisina Dialogue here, Leyen said what happens in Ukraine will have an impact on the Indo- Pacific. "In many ways, it already has. We, therefore, want a targeted vision for a free, resilient, prosperous, and rules-based Indo-Pacific region," she said. She said that images coming from Ukraine have shocked the whole world.
Noam Chomsky rubbishes Imran's claim of US hand in Pak regime change
Imran Khan referred to the conspiracy with a cypher sent by Pakistan's ambassador in Washington as the revealing truth, exposed a day before submission of the no-confidence motion by the joint opposition parties in the Pakistani parliament. However, Khan's claims have been negated Noam Chomsky, who said that there is no meaningful evidence of a coup by the US against Imran Khan.
Pak deplores India's public notice on pursuance of higher education
Pakistan Foreign Office issued a response on the matter, expressing its disregard for the public notice jointly issued by University Grants Commission of India and All India Council for Technical Education regarding pursuance of higher education in Pakistan.
Shehbaz Sharif urged to release Indians stuck in Pak jails
In a tweet, activist and journalist Jatin Desai has said that these prisoners have already completed their prison sentences long ago, but continue to languish behind bars. "While 14 have served their terms in 2018, 151 completed their sentences in 2019 and the remaining 80 in 2020. But they have yet to be released," Desai said and also tagged External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in the post.
SL halts stock trading as share prices plummet
Trading was initially halted till 11 a.m. due to sharp falls when the stock exchange started, while prices continued to plummet, prompting the market to declare a halt for the rest of the day, reports Xinhua news agency. The stock market opened for the first time on Monday since a week-long Sri Lankan New Year holiday and a subsequent five-day trading halt following the central bank's move to hike the interest rates by 7 per cent.
Don't Miss
Advertisement