Friday, 07 Mar, 2025

International

Pakistan: Imran Khan seeks fresh poll amid move to remove him

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan has urged the president to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections following an opposition attempt to remove him from office. It follows chaos in parliament over a no-confidence move against him. Parliament's deputy speaker refused

Speaker dismisses no-trust move against Pakistan PM Imran

In a shock move, National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri on Sunday dismissed the no-trust move against Prime Minister Imran Khan, terming it against Article 5 of the Constitution. Suri chaired today's session after opposition parties, in a surprise move, filed a

Pentagon commits extra $300m security aid to Ukraine

The US Defence Department announced on Friday (April 1) it is setting aside US$300 million (S$407 million) in “security assistance” for Ukraine to bolster the country’s defence capabilities, adding to the US$1.6 billion Washington has committed since Russia invaded in

Sri Lanka imposes state of emergency amid protests

A nationwide state of emergency has been declared in Sri Lanka, a day after protests outside the president's house turned violent. Protesters stormed barricades and have been accused of setting vehicles ablaze near President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's private residence on Thursday.

Russia announces temporary ceasefire in Mariupol

The Russian defence ministry has announced a ceasefire in Ukraine's besieged port city of Mariupol to allow civilians to be evacuated, starting on Thursday morning. "For this humanitarian operation to succeed, we propose to carry it out with the direct participation of the UN

Pakistan's Imran Khan is fighting for his political life

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan is facing arguably the biggest challenge of his political career, as the opposition seeks to remove him from office in a vote of no confidence. The country's lawmakers will convene on Thursday to begin debating the motion as Mr Khan's

Putin being misled by fearful advisers, US says

Russian President Vladimir Putin is being misled by advisers who are too scared to tell him how badly the war in Ukraine is going, the White House says. Meanwhile British intelligence says Russian troops in Ukraine are demoralised, short of equipment and refusing to carry out orders.

Ukraine distrusts Russian pledge to pull troops from Kyiv 

Zelenskyy says Ukraine will not reduce defensive efforts as positive signals from peace talks have not ‘drowned out’ the sound of Russian shelling. The governor of Ukraine’s northern Chernihiv region says there is no easing in Russian attacks despite a promise by

8 killed as UN helicopter crashes in eastern DRC

Eight people have been killed when a helicopter operated by the United Nations’ peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) went down in the country’s restive east, in an area where there has been fighting this week between rebels and the Congolese army.

Russia says it will reduce military activity around Kyiv 

Russian and Ukrainian negotiators have ended the first direct talks in more than two weeks in Istanbul, with Moscow saying it was ready to “fundamentally cut back” military activity near the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv. Deputy Defence

Russia-Ukraine war: Abramovich spotted in Istanbul peace talks

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has appeared at peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey. He was seen talking to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is mediating in the talks in Istanbul. Reports surfaced hours earlier that Mr Abramovich and two Ukrainian

Russia, Ukraine set for face-to-face peace talks

Russian and Ukrainian negotiators will resume face-to-face peace talks as soon as Monday, probing whether a near-stalemate in fighting has forced Moscow to temper its demands.  President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the new negotiations, saying he hoped they would bring peace

Russia aims to split Ukraine - intelligence chief

The head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, says Russia is trying to "create North and South Korea in Ukraine" The White House says President Biden was not calling for regime change when he said Vladimir Putin "cannot remain in power" US

Zelenskyy says Ukraine has pounded Russia with ‘powerful blows’

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine’s military has delivered “powerful blows” against Russian forces leading to “significant losses”. Speaking in his nightly video address, he said about 16,000 Russian soldiers had been killed. “The armed

Russia-Ukraine Update: NATO to reinforce eastern flank

NATO leaders have agreed to bolster defences along the alliance’s eastern flank at an emergency summit in Brussels. The United Nations says more than 1,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and that more than half of the country’s 7.5 million children have been

Israel: Four killed in shopping centre attack

Four Israelis have been killed and several others wounded in an attack in the south of the country, police say. Three were stabbed to death outside the BIG shopping centre in Beersheba, while a fourth was rammed by a vehicle driven by the assailant, they say. The attacker was shot

Zelensky insists on meeting with Putin

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday (March 21) it would not be possible to negotiate an end to the war in his country without a meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Mr Zelensky told European public television networks such a meeting could discuss the future

Plane carrying 133 crashes in China

A China Eastern passenger jet carrying 133 people has crashed in southwest China and caused a mountain fire with casualties unknown, state broadcaster CCTV reported Monday. The Boeing 737 plane crashed in the rural countryside near Wuzhou city, Guangxi region and "caused a

Ukraine rejects Russian demand to surrender Mariupol 

Ukraine has rejected a Russian ultimatum offering people in the besieged city of Mariupol safe passage out of the port if they surrender. Under Russia's proposal, civilians would be allowed to leave if the city's defenders laid down arms. But Ukraine has refused, saying

Fighting rages in Mariupol, as Russian forces make gains

Russian forces stepped up their attacks in Ukraine on Saturday (March 19), advancing into the besieged city of Mariupol in a battle to seize the strategic port, and firing missiles in western Ukraine that destroyed an underground military munitions depot. Russian forces bombed an art