Global Covid cases up by 8pc: WHO

The World Health Organization voiced alarm Wednesday that registered Covid cases are once again rising globally, despite testing levels having dropped significantly.
17 March 2022

War in Ukraine: Developments

After days of cautious optimism about peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, Zelensky reiterates his demands: an end to the war, security guarantees
17 March 2022

Washington’s new arms for Ukraine

Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky made a desperate appeal for help against Russia to the US Congress on Wednesday, and within hours of the speech,
17 March 2022

‘Tear down’ the new wall in Europe

Ukraine’s leader yesterday charged Moscow with building a new Cold War wall across Europe “between freedom and bondage”, as his government said Russian shelling had killed 21 civilians near one city.
17 March 2022

Belarus slammed at UN for abuses, invasion role

Diplomats at the United Nations yesterday voiced outrage over Belarus’s widespread human rights violations at home, and also for “enabling” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
17 March 2022

Slovakia willing to provide Ukraine with air defence system if NATO fills gap

Slovakia's defense minister said on Thursday that his country was willing to provide Ukraine with S-300 air defenses if NATO allies find a substitute, but his visiting US counterpart told reporters he had nothing to announce on that.
17 March 2022

Netflix to stream Zelensky’s 'Servant of the People’ that launched his presidency

The comedy satire in which Volodymyr Zelensky unexpectedly becomes Ukraine's president -- his now war-time job in real life -- will be aired again on Netflix, the streaming platform announced Wednesday.
17 March 2022

BBC agrees to payout Princess Diana's private secretary over 1995 interview

The BBC said on Thursday it had agreed to make a substantial payout to the former private secretary of the late Princess Diana over the corporation's now much-criticised 1995 interview with the royal.
17 March 2022

Biden, Xi Jinping to discuss Russia-Ukraine crisis Friday

US President Joe Biden will hold a call on Friday with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the White House said on Thursday, as the United States piles pressure on China not to provide support to Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.
17 March 2022

Erdogan, in call with Putin, offers to host him, Zelensky for talks

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan offered in a phone call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Thursday to host him and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy for talks, according to his office.
17 March 2022

Mariupol searches for survivors as theatre housing hundreds hit by Russian missile

Rescue workers were searching for survivors in the rubble of a theatre in the besieged city of Mariupol on Thursday, after Ukraine said a powerful Russian air strike had hit the building where hundreds of people had been sheltering from the war.
17 March 2022

We can put all our enemies in their place: Russia to US

Russia warned the United States on Thursday that Moscow had the might to put the world's pre-eminent superpower in its place and accused the West of stoking a wild Russophobic plot to tear Russia apart.
17 March 2022

Babies born to surrogates in Ukraine must be evacuated: EU

A top European Union (EU) official called Wednesday for the evacuation of babies from surrogate mothers in Ukraine as their intended parents cannot travel to Ukraine during the Russian invasion.
17 March 2022

British Iranian Nazanin Zaghari reaches UK from Iran

British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and dual national Anoosheh Ashoori arrived in Britain from Iran on Thursday, ending an ordeal during which they became a bargaining chip in Iran's talks with the West over its nuclear programme.
17 March 2022

Biden calls Putin 'a war criminal' over invasion of Ukraine

US President Joe Biden told reporters on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is "a war criminal" over his country's invasion of Ukraine.
17 March 2022

Russia released detained Melitopol mayor: Ukraine

Russian forces have released the mayor of the city of Melitopol who they detained last week, a senior official in the office of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday.
16 March 2022

Russia blocks BBC website

Russia's media watchdog Roskomnadzor on Wednesday blocked access to the BBC's main news website, with Moscow's foreign ministry warning of more retaliatory measures against the media.
16 March 2022

War in Ukraine: Developments

Ukraine rejects proposals put forward by Russia during peace talks for it to become neutral, like Austria or Sweden. A Ukrainian
16 March 2022

World must not forget Afghans

The Russian invasion of Ukraine must not make the world forget Afghanistan, the UN refugee chief said late on Tuesday, warning that ignoring its humanitarian needs could be very risky.
16 March 2022

Sign of concession lifts peace hope

New talk of compromise from both Moscow and Kyiv on a status for Ukraine outside of Nato lifted hope yesterday for a potential breakthrough after three weeks of war.
16 March 2022