Iran wants indirect talks with US, warns regional countries over strikes against it

April 7, 2025

Iran is pushing back against U.S. demands that it directly negotiate over its nuclear programme or be bombed, warning neighbours that host U.S. bases that they could be in the firing line if involved, a senior Iranian official said, Reuters reports. Although Iran has rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand for direct talks, it wants […]Continue Reading

Pakistan army crosses Line of Control and fires at posts, India retaliates

April 2, 2025

Pakistan Army intruded into Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, violating the ceasefire agreement between the two nations. The violation took place at 1.10 pm on Tuesday and the Indian troops responded with “controlled and calibrated” retaliation, The Hindustan Times reports. The Nangi Tekri Battalion, operating under the Krishna Ghati Brigade, Continue Reading

ASEAN MPs look to bar Myanmar from BIMSTEC over human rights concerns

April 2, 2025

NEWS DESK The ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) on Wednesday strongly condemned the decision to invite the “illegitimate” Myanmar military junta to participate in the upcoming Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) meeting in Bangkok on April 3-4. APHR called on BIMSTEC member states, particularly Continue Reading

Biden’s Gaza plan ‘not a good deal’ but Israel accepts it, Netanyahu aide says

June 2, 2024

An aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Sunday that Israel had accepted a framework deal for winding down the Gaza war now being advanced by U.S. President Joe Biden, though he described it as flawed and in need of much more work, Reuters reports. In an interview with Britain’s Sunday Times, Ophir Falk, […]Continue Reading

Biden details Gaza truce proposal, Hamas responds positively

June 1, 2024

US President Joe Biden on Friday laid out what he described as a three-phase Israeli proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza in return for the release of Israeli hostages, saying “it’s time for this war to end” and winning a positive initial reaction from Hamas, Reuters reports. The first phase involves a six-week ceasefire when […]Continue Reading

World Court orders Israel to halt assault on Gaza’s Rafah

May 25, 2024

Judges at the top United Nations court ordered Israel on Friday to halt its military assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, in a landmark emergency ruling on South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide, Reuters reports. Reading out the ruling by the International Court of Justice or World Court, the body’s president Nawaf […]Continue Reading

Late President Ebrahim Raisi laid to rest at Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad

May 23, 2024

Iran’s late President Ebrahim Raisi was laid to rest in his hometown of Mashhad that hosts the holy shrine of the eighth Shia imam, Imam Reza (AS), the state-run IRNA news agency reports. The body of Raisi arrived in Mashhad on Thursday morning, with huge crowds of people gathering for his funeral procession that reached […]Continue Reading

‘Nowhere to go’: Rohingya face arson attacks in Myanmar’s Rakhine State

May 23, 2024

Fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA) has escalated in the western state of Rakhine in recent days, putting thousands of mostly Muslim Rohingya who live in the area at increased risk, Al Jazeera reports. Based on interviews with Rohingya activists who have spoken to witnesses in Buthidaung, there have been huge […]Continue Reading

Norway, along with Ireland and Spain, to recognize Palestinian state

May 22, 2024

Norway will recognise an independent Palestinian state in the hope that this will help to bring peace with Israel, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said on Wednesday, Reuters reports. Ireland and Spain will also announce the recognition of a Palestinian state, sources said on Wednesday. European Union members Slovenia and Malta have also indicated in […]Continue Reading

Russia says after Raisi crash that US undermined aviation safety with sanctions

May 21, 2024

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, commenting on the helicopter crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, said on Tuesday that US sanctions had worsened aviation safety, Reuters reports. Iranian media reported that images from the site showed the US-made Bell 212 helicopter on which Raisi was travelling slammed into a mountain peak, although there was […]Continue Reading