International - The Purbottar

07 Jul

Afghan Troops Struggle To Replace Americans At Key Bagram Base

editor0 CommentsInternationalAfghanistan, USA

After American troops withdrew without notifying them, Afghan soldiers guarding the Bagram Air Base have been left with thousands of Taliban prisoners and a certainty that the enemy will attack.Following the September 11 attacks and the US invasion of Afghanistan, the Americans took control of the base and used it as the launching pad for air strikes against the Taliban and to protect Afghan forces. But the last of the American soldiers quietly left the base last week, effectively completing their withdrawal from Afghanistan and leaving a massive security vacuum that the Afghan military will struggle to fill. The new…

06 Jul

Plane with 28 on board goes missing in Russia’s Far East: Reports

editor0 CommentsInternationalRussia

Contact has been lost with a passenger plane carrying 28 people in Russia's Far East, news agencies cited emergency services as saying on Tuesday.The An-26 was flying from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to Palana in the Kamchatka Peninsula when it did not make a scheduled call-in, the Interfax, RIA Novosti and TASS agencies quoted local officials as saying. The report said the 28 on board included six crew members and that there were one or two children among the passengers. The plane lost contact with air traffic control while attempting to land, TASS separately cited a source as saying. Russia, once known for…

05 Jul

Rise of Taliban 2.0 will turn India into frontline state against terror

editor0 CommentsInternationalAfghanistan

After the withdrawal of US-NATO forces from Afghanistan, the Taliban appear to be on a rampage in the strife torn country with the insurgent force capturing the exit points over Amu Darya to neighbouring Tajikistan and encircling border areas, major cities and strategic highways. As many as 13 districts fell to the Taliban in 24 hours last Saturday, with pressure on Kandahar, Badakhshan and Kunduz provinces. While the Afghan security forces are putting up a brave fight, the Taliban, using captured American weapons and multi-terrain vehicles, are running roughshod over the Afghan people with eyes all set on Kabul. The…

03 Jul

Covishield Shot Should Be Accepted In Travel Schemes: UK’s Boris Johnson

editor0 CommentsCovid-19, InternationalCovishield, international

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday (July 2) said he saw no reason why people who received Indian-made AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines should be left out of vaccine passport schemes after the European Union did not initially recognise it. About 5 million people in Britain are thought to have had the vaccine made by Serum Institute in India, known as Covishield. "I see no reason at all why the MHRA-approved vaccines should not be recognised as part of the vaccine passports and Im very confident that that will not prove to be a problem," Johnson said at a joint news…

03 Jul

sha’carri period of ineligibility reduced to a month

editor0 CommentsInternational, SportsTokyo Olympics

The 21-year-old sha'carri richardson won the 100m at the US Olympic trials in Oregon in June and earlier this year ran the sixth-fastest time in history. Richardson was among the favorites to win gold in the 100 metres at this year’s Tokyo Olympics but her positive test for a banned substance, which the 21-year-old said she used to deal with the death of her mother, crushed those dreams. Acoording to sources Richardson’s period of ineligibility, which began on June 28, was reduced to a month because her use of cannabis occurred out of competition and was unrelated to sport performance.…

02 Jul

Drone Seen Over High Commission In Islamabad, India Protests

editor0 CommentsIndia, InternationalINDIAPAKISTAN, protest

India has registered a strong protest with Pakistan foreign office after a drone was spotted hovering over the Indian high commission in Islamabad. There is no official comment on the incident yet.The incident came to light amid growing concerns in the security establishment in India after explosives-laden drones were used to carry out an attack on the Jammu Air Force station on June 27.According to security officials, it was the first instance of suspected Pakistan-based terrorists deploying unmanned aerial vehicles to strike at vital installations in India. "On Saturday at about 22:15 hours while we had a function underway near…

02 Jul

Women in Turkey protest against withdrawal from gender protection treaty

editor0 CommentsInternationalinternational, Women’s safety

Women marched in Istanbul and other cities late Thursday to protest Turkey's formal exit from a European treaty aimed at preventing violence against women, saying the move stripped them of critical protection at a time when femicides are on the rise. Turkey signed the treaty, called the Istanbul Convention, in 2011.In March, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued an unexpected decree announcing Turkey’s intention to withdraw from the treaty, which he and members of his Islamist party have framed as part of a Western plot aimed at harming conservative notions of family and encouraging homosexuality. Ankara’s exit from the treaty took…

01 Jul

9 European Union countries, Switzerland include Covishield in ‘green pass’

editor0 CommentsBreaking News, Covid-19, India, InternationalEuropean

Several European Union countries have cleared the Serum Institute of India's Covid-19 vaccine, Covishield, amid travel pass row. According to a PTI report, nine European nations have agreed to accept Covishield for travel to their countries. Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Greece, Iceland, Ireland and Spain are among the countries that will allow travel by people who have taken Covishield shots. Besides, Switzerland has also included the drug in 'green pass' amid a row over travel pass to Indians. Separately, Estonia has also confirmed that it will recognise all vaccines authorised by India for the travel of Indians. This comes after India requested…

01 Jul

Covid Delta variant detected in 96 countries: WHO

editor0 CommentsCovid-19, Health, InternationalCovid-19, international, who

The Delta Covid-19 variant has now been detected in 96 countries, 11 more than last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its latest update. The Delta variant, also referred to as a “double mutant” because it carries two mutations, is 55 per cent more transmissible than the Alpha variant, initially detected in the UK, and will rapidly become the dominant strain of globally, Xinhua news agency quoted the WHO as saying in the update issued on Wednesday. Africa has reported many new outbreaks of the variant as Tunisia, Mozambique, Uganda, Nigeria, and Malawi are among the 11 countries…

30 Jun

UEFA EURO 2020 Highlights: England 2-0 Germany in Round of 16 match

editor0 CommentsInternational, SportsEuro 2020, football

Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane struck as England reached the quarter-finals of the European Championship with a 2-0 win over rivals Germany at Wembley on Tuesday. England will play either Sweden or Ukraine, who meet later on Tuesday in Glasgow in the last eight. It was England’s first knockout round victory inside 90 minutes at the Euros and came after midfielder Jack Grealish was introduced in the 69th minute. Six minutes later, after a swift passing move, left wing-back Luke Shaw slipped the ball across the face of the goal for Sterling to slide in. Grealish was the direct provider…