Geneva: The UN on Friday decried Sri Lanka`s slow progress in addressing wartime crimes, and warned that a range of serious abuses included torture appear to remain widespread. “A number of serious human rights violations … are reportedly continuing to occur in Sri Lanka, including the harassment or surveillance ofRead More

Washington: US House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign on Wednesday after the Washington Post reported he failed to disclose two meetings he had with Russia`s ambassador before Donald Trump was inaugurated as president. Citing Justice Department officials, the Post said Sessions spoke twiceRead More

Seoul: North Korea on Thursday warned that it will respond with “merciless military counter-action” to the annual joint military exercises that South Korea and the US are conducting on the Korean peninsula. The Korean People’s Army (KPA) has said it will “counter (the drills) with the toughest counteractions” targeting SouthRead More

London: The UK government will seek to overturn an amendment to a Brexit bill on guaranteeing rights for European Union (EU) citizens living in Britain after the country’s exit from the bloc, official sources said on Thursday. The news came after the House of Lords — the UK’s upper houseRead More

Beirut: Islamic State group fighters withdrew from much of the Syrian oasis city of Palmyra overnight, a monitor said today, but government forces paused before entering its ravaged ancient ruins because of mines. Russian-backed Syrian troops pushed into a western neighbourhood of the city late on Wednesday after fierce clashesRead More

Kuala Lumpur: A North Korean envoy today rejected a Malaysian autopsy finding that VX nerve agent killed Kim Jong Nam, saying the man probably died of a heart attack because he suffered from heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. The death of Kim, the estranged half brother of NorthRead More

Beijing: China’s annual political season will begin tomorrow, the first since President Xi Jinping was elevated as the “core leader” of the ruling Communist party. The fortnight-long annual session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) with 2,987 members and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), an advisory body comprisingRead More

Moscow: Russia has not discussed Western sanctions imposed on Moscow with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, and has not asked Washington to repeal them, Russian news agencies cited Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Tuesday. But Ryabkov said it would be easier for Russia toRead More

Washington: US President Donald Trump has accused his predecessor Barack Obama of being responsible for the leaks within his administration and the sizable, angry town-hall crowds Republicans have faced across the country. Trump was asked in an interview on Fox News` “Fox and Friends” if he believed Obama was responsibleRead More

Geneva: South Korea on Tuesday urged the United Nations to suspend its isolated northern neighbour, arguing that the assassination of Kim Jong-Nam showed Pyongyang was intent on using chemical weapons. Speaking before the UN`s Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se demanded “collective measures” against NorthRead More