The Ambassador and paramilitary officer, who were killed, were traveling in UN vehicles despite having two armoured vehicles at the Embassy office. Italy on Wednesday pressed the United Nations for answers about the attack on a UN food aid convoy in Congo that left a young ambassador and his paramilitary police bodyguard dead.Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio told lawmakers in Rome that Italy has asked both the UN and the UN World Food Program to open an investigation into the security arrangements for convoy, which was attacked two days earlier.The minister said Italy also will spare no effort to determine…
Author: Mike Harrison
America is placing human rights at the centre of its foreign policy, says Secretary of State The U.S. will seek re-election to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Tuesday, as he “humbly” asked for the support of UN member states. This is the latest in a series of moves by the Biden administration to reverse a pattern of retreat from multilateralism that was characteristic of the Trump administration. Former U.S. President Donald Trump had taken the U.S. out of the Council in 2018 saying it was biased against Israel and had members…
R. Dhinakaran, a 1998 batch IPS officer, had previously served as the Superintendent of Police of Coimbatore district R. Dhinakaran, a 1998 batch IPS officer who previously served as the Superintendent of Police of Coimbatore district, assumed office as the Inspector General of Police – West Zone here on Wednesday.Speaking to media persons, he laid out a four-point agenda involving redressal of the grievances of the public at the earliest, cracking down on illegal activities, ensuring strict action against perpetrators and ensuring the smooth conduct of the upcoming Assembly elections in all the eight districts under the West Zone. Vehicle…
The 6,00,000 vaccines are part of an initial tranche of deliveries of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine licensed to the Serum Institute of India. Ghana is scheduled to receive on February 24, the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines from Covax, a World Health Organization-backed effort to procure and distribute inoculations for free to poor countries.“These 600,000 Covax vaccines are part of an initial tranche of deliveries of the AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine licensed to the Serum Institute of India, which represent part of the first wave of Covid vaccines headed to several low and middle-income countries,” said UNICEF, which organised the shipment…
Mr Modi’s remarks come on the second anniversary of the launch of the PM-Kisan scheme On the completion of two years of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said his government ushered a historic increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops and was doing everything possible to double the income of farmers. He also said that over the last seven years, the government has taken many initiatives for transforming agriculture. From better irrigation to more technology, more credit and markets to proper crop insurance, focus on soil health to eliminating middlemen, the…
The State informed the Supreme Court about the submission of a supplementary chargesheet in the trial court. The Maharashtra government on Wednesday informed the Supreme Court about the submission of a supplementary charge sheet in the trial court in the Palghar lynching case.A Bench led by Justice Ashok Bhushan asked the State to submit the supplementary chargesheet before the Supreme Court and scheduled the next hearing after two weeks.“Supplementary charge sheet has been filed, but it is not on record [in the Supreme Court],” senior advocate R. Basant, for Maharashtra, submitted.In January, the State informed the Supreme Court about the…
The aspirants’ last attempt to crack the civil services exam was dampened by the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in October last year. The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) aspirants, whose last attempt to crack the civil services exam was marred by COVID-19, for another chance in 2021.The court said every candidate who took the exam last year suffered “one way or the other”.The petitioners had argued about the “overwhelming” impact of coronavirus in the run-up to the civil services preliminary exam held on October 4, 2020. They said their access to study resources…
The Budget for 2021 “aims to alleviate the hardship and pressure caused by the economic downturn and the epidemic,” Mr. Chan said. Hong Kong will introduce 120 billion Hong Kong dollars ($15.4 billion) in fiscal measures to help businesses and residents impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, as it looks towards economic growth later this year following a recession in 2020.The measures — which include tax relief, loans for the unemployed and consumption vouchers — are aimed at stabilising the economy, Hong Kong Finance Minister Paul Chan said in a Budget speech on Feb. 24. He forecast the economy is set…
During their call, Antony Blinken and Abdul Momen discussed Myanmar, a durable solution to the Rohingya refugee crisis, and the importance of respect for labour and human rights U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Bangladesh Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen and the two leaders discussed ways to deepen economic, defence and counterterrorism cooperation while agreeing to work together to address challenges in South Asia and the greater Indo-Pacific region.Mr. Blinken called Mr. Momen over the phone on Feb. 23. During their call, they discussed Myanmar, a durable solution to the Rohingya refugee crisis, and the importance of respect…
U.S. President Joe Biden and Justin Trudeau had a virtual meeting that involved discussions on COVID-19, economic recovery, China, climate change and a swipe or two at the Trump administration by the Canadian PM U.S. President Joe Biden had his first bilateral meeting — virtually — with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday, a meeting that involved discussions on COVID-19, economic recovery, China, climate change and a swipe or two at the Trump administration by Mr. Trudeau.“U.S. leadership has been sorely missed over the past years,” Mr. Trudeau said from Ottawa via teleconference prior to the meeting. “And I…