INTERNATIONAL

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday pronounced a three-week cross-country school decision and a month-long local travel blacklist, as the quick spread of the disease slanted up pressure on facilities. In a transmission address to the nation, Mr. Macron said attempts are needed as "the pandemic is accelerating." The message also addressed that all nurseries, schools, and high functioning workspaces will be closed for three weeks, while a cross-country 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. check-in time will be set up to ease restrictions on civilians. Mr. Macron said and other part restrictions already applying in the Paris regions of the north and eastern France will be loosened up to the whole country, for a month. Under these limits, people are allowed to go outside for unwinding, anyway i...

The minor girl who was detained a couple of years back for illegally entering India will be repatriated to Myanmar today. The 14-year-old girl is the first Rohingya national to be deported from India after being in the custody of Nivedita Nari Sangstha, a Silchar-based NGO. Despite rights groups voicing against any such move a team of eight Assam Police officials will formally repatriate a minor Rohingya girl to the neighboring country tomorrow. “The minor girl was handed over to the Assam Police by the NGO in the presence of the CWC. She was today taken to Moreh and will be handed over to the Myanmar authorities tomorrow,” The Assam Tribune quoted sources as saying. Her parents are reportedly lodged in a refugee camp in Bangladesh’s Cox Bazar after fleeing Myanmar fearing persecu...

The Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that peace and stability in South Asia is linked to the resolution of all outstanding issues mainly the Kashmir dispute. Responding to a congratulatory message from Narendra Modi on the occasion of Pakistan Day, which was celebrated on March 23, Khan said on Tuesday his people also desire “peaceful, cooperative relations with all neighbors, including India.” In his message, Modi had said his country desires "cordial relations with the people of Pakistan." “We are convinced that durable peace and stability in South Asia is contingent upon resolving all outstanding issues between India and Pakistan, in particular the Jammu Kashmir dispute,” Khan went on to say. The Creation of an “enabling environment”, he further said, is imperati...

India has several significant human rights issues, including unlawful and arbitrary killings, restrictions on freedom of expression and the press, corruption and tolerance of violations of religious freedom, a US report said on Tuesday. In its 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices' to the US Congress, the Department of State noted the improvement in the human rights situation in Jammu Kashmir. "The government continued taking steps to restore normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir by gradually lifting some security and communications restrictions," said the State Department in its India section of the report. The government released most political activists from detention, it added. In January, the government partially restored internet access; however, high-speed 4G mobile intern...

At least four people were killed and dozens injured when thousands of people clashed with police in Bangladesh's largest port city on Friday afternoon. As per news reports, thousands of people gathered after Friday prayers in Chittagong to protest the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, however, Police had erected barricades and blocked the roads to thwart protests. The protesters despite strict restrictions marched ahead which sparked clashes and the Police fired tear gas shells and live bullets on the protesters. The Police also used batons, “Four are dead and their bodies have been taken to the morgue for autopsy,” Alauddin Talukder, assistant sub-inspector of the Chittagong Medical College Police Outpost was quoted as saying by Anadolu Agency. Prime Minister Modi lan...

A first information report (FIR) was registered by a local court in Peshawar against the organizers of this year's Aurat March in Islamabad for allegedly making "derogatory remarks" against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and Hazrat Aisha and displaying "obscene posters". A petition filed by five lawyers — Ibrar Hussain, Israr Hussain, Kashif Ahmed Tarakai, Siyad Hussain, and Adnan Gohar under Section 22-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which empowers the court to act as 'Justice of Peace" and order the registration of an FIR against an offense.buy prednisone generic buy prednisone generic in case of the police's failure to do so alleged that during the Aurat March 2021 which was held on March 8, "derogatory remarks were used in respect of Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) and Bibi Ai...

Israel's latest inconclusive election left no clear path for Netanyahu or his rivals to form a government, setting the stage for protracted coalition talks. The prospects for Raam and Religious Zionism to sit a stable coalition under Netanyahu appear dim. A conservative Islamist party crossed the threshold to enter parliament and its leader emerged on Wednesday as a possible kingmaker. Mansour Abbas and his Raam party — unlike other Arab political groups before it — have not ruled out joining an Israeli government. “We are prepared to engage” with either Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's camp or his rivals, Abbas told Israeli radio while stressing that “I'm not in anyone's pocket”. On Wednesday, the party was on track to win five seats in Israel's 120-member Knesset, with roughl...

The India-Pakistan ceasefire marked a milestone in secret talks brokered by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that began months earlier, according to a Bloomberg news report. The UAE, which has historic trade and diplomatic links with India and Pakistan, has taken a more assertive international role under de facto ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Bloomberg report said. About 24 hours after military chiefs from India and Pakistan surprised the world last month with a rare joint commitment to respect a 2003 ceasefire agreement, a top UAE diplomat flew to New Delhi for a quick one-day visit, the report said. The official UAE readout of the February 26 meeting gave few clues of what Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed spoke about with Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar...

The Asian Neighbours India, Pakistan, China and other members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), as per a report published by China run state News agency Xinhua, will hold a joint anti-terrorism exercise this year. The decision was announced in Tashkent, Uzbekistan during the 36th meeting of the Council of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS). At the meeting held on March 18, the representatives of the SCO member states also approved the draft program of cooperation for 2022-2024 to counter "terrorism, separatism and extremism." “The Decisions have been made to improve cooperation between the authorities of the SCO member states in identifying and suppressing channels that finance terrorist activities,” the report added. The SCO is an economic and security ...

After a gap of more than two years, India and Pakistan will sit on a dialogue table as the Asian neighbors are all set to launch a key confidence-building measure after the recent ceasefire arrangement. A delegation from Pakistan’s Commissioner for Indus Waters Syed Muhammad Meher Ali Shah lead the delegation that has left for New Delhi, reports said. The Indian delegation will be led by India's Indus Commissioner P K Saxena with his advisors from the Central Water Commission, Central Electricity. India and Pakistan will meet in Delhi on Tuesday and Wednesday for the 116th Permanent Indus Commission meet. The meet, an annual affair but being held after two years, will discuss water sharing issues between the neighbors threadbare and try to address each other's concerns. India h...