WORLD
BBC Chair made 'errors of judgement' in Boris Johnson loan affair: UK House panel
Sharp, a banker and former chair of the Royal Academy of Arts, was appointed in January 2021 on the recommendation of Oliver Dowden, then Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) secretary, and Boris Johnson, who was still Prime Minister at the time, 'Variety reports'. A report in 'The Sunday Times' in January alleged that Johnson put forward the recommendation just weeks after Sharp "helped to arrange a guarantee on a loan of up to 800,000 Pounds [$990,000 ]" for Johnson.
Arctic chill descends upon US-China relations after spy balloon affair
Tentative first steps taken towards normalisation of ties from the stormy phase of Trump-triggered trade war and the Covid-19 pandemic, had led to the first in-person summit between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping in Bali, which, in turn, was to be built upon with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's first visit to Beijing, for wide-ranging talks, including a meeting with the Chinese President.
Turkey-Syria earthquake death toll surpasses 28,000
The rescue operations, which were paused on Saturday after two unidentified groups clashed, resumed after Turkish army stepped in to offer protection, BBC reported. Nearly 50 people have been arrested for looting ration at gun point, local media reported. As food supply is dwindling, security is expected to worsen, BBC quoted a rescuer as saying.
US downs yet another airborne intruder, now over Canada
The Saturday shooting was the the third by the US starting with the downing of the Chinese spy balloon on February 4 after it had drifted across the American mainland for a week entering the US through Alaska on January 28. Another object was blown out of the skies on Friday over Alaska. There was no word from both the US and Canada on the origin, ownership and purpose of the object downed on Saturday.
Operation Dost: India sends seventh flight with relief material for Turkey, Syria
"On Saturday evening, earthquake relief material and equipment were sent to Syria and Turkey onboard another IAF C-17 aircraft. After offloading relief material at Damascus, the flight will head towards Adana," said a MEA official. "Flight is carrying 35 tonnes of humanitarian assistance, relief material, medical aid, emergency & critical care medicines, medical equipment and consumables," said the official.
WHO chief visits quake-hit northern Syria with aid
The WHO brought 35 ton of relief aid to Aleppo on Saturday as Ghebreyesus reached the city and visited some hospitalised people, shelters where displaced people are staying, and damaged areas. His visit comes in the wake of the deadly earthquake that rocked Syria on Monday, killing 5,000 people in government and rebel-held areas, Xinhua news agency reported.
Turkey-Syria quakes 'worst' disaster of region in century, says UN as more aid needed
"What happened here on Monday, the epicentre of the earthquake, was the worst event in 100 years in this region," Martin Griffiths, UN Under-Secretary-General for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, told reporters in the Turkish province of Kahramanmaras on Saturday. More than 100 countries have sent emergency response teams to Turkey, but "we're going to need more than that," Griffiths said.
Chinese families hit by adverse vaccine reactions call for govt probe
An open letter titled "Suggestions on improving protection from vaccine-induced harm nationwide" called on the National Health Commission to investigate all cases of major health problems occurring after vaccination, and to call in independent and scientific investigators to probe their claims, RFA reported.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry data allegedly hacked by Indian hackers, claims report
The hackers gained unauthorised access to the ministry's systems and were able to extract a significant amount of data. Based on a LinkedIn post shared by Zaki Khalid, an intelligence analyst, there has been a potential data leak of Pakistan's MoFA, Samaa TV reported.
Violent mob lynches man in Pakistan over blasphemy allegations
The IG took notice of the incident as videos circulating on social media purportedly showed a violent mob outside a police station in Nankana Sahib, Dawn reported. "Total madness!!! An angry mob attacked the police station in Nankana Sahib. Reportedly, a man accused of blasphemy was killed and his body was burnt by the mob. Apparently, the police were unable to control the situation," read a tweet.
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