London, April 9 (AP) World leaders and people on the street honoured Prince Philip's life of service to his wife, Queen Elizabeth II, and the British nation Friday after hearing of the death of a man who had been by the monarch's side longer than most of them have been alive. At Buckingham Palace, the queen's London residence, members of the public laid daffodils at the gates, and the flag was lowered to half-staff. The BBC interrupted programming to broadcast the nation

KATHMANDU, APRIL 9 (IANS): Nepal's primary opposition party, the Nepali Congress has begun talks with the Nepal Communist Party-Maoist Centre and the Janata Samajbadi Party to unseat Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli and form a coalition government under its leadership. Nepali Congress President, Sher Bahadur Deuba, had called a meeting of the opposition parties on Friday which ended on a positive note, according to party leaders. Oli is under pressure to resign after his decisi

 CAIRO, APRIL 9 (IANS): An Egyptian archaeological mission announced the discovery of a 3000-year-old "Lost Gold City" (LGC) in the monument-rich city of Luxor. The mission, headed by renowned Egyptian archeologist Zahi Hawass, in collaboration with the country's Supreme Council of Antiquities, found the city that was lost under the sand, reports xinhua news agency. The city known as "The Rise of Aten", dates back to the reign of Amenhotep III, and co

CAIRO, APRIL 9 (IANS): An Egyptian court has sentenced Mahmoud Ezzat, the acting supreme guide of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group, to life imprisonment, which is 25 years in the country. Ezzat, head of the Brotherhood's International Organization, was charged with inciting the killing of innocent, possession of weapons, and terrorising citizens, reports Xinhua news agency. The case dates back to 2013 when members of the Brotherhood killed nine people and wounded 91 othe

Beijing, April 9 (AP): China accused the US of causing humanitarian disasters through foreign military interventions in a report Friday that was the latest broadside by Beijing amid increasingly contentious relations with the Biden administration. The report from the government-backed China Society for Human Rights Studies said foreign wars launched under the banner of 'humanitarian intervention' have not only cost the belligerent parties a large number of military live

Moscow, April 9 (AP): A Russian-US trio of space travellers launched successfully Friday, heading for the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov blasted off as scheduled at 12:42 pm (0742 GMT, 3:42 a.m. EDT) aboard the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan. They are set to dock at the station after a two-orbit, three-hour journey. It's the second space

Seoul, April 9 (IANS): North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called on the ruling Workers' Party to wage a tougher "Arduous March" against sanctions imposed on the country in an effort to relieve people of economic woes, state-mdia reported on Friday. According to Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim made the remarks as he concluded a conference of the party's grassroots leaders. Kim warned the cell secretaries and members of the party t

Nay Pyi Taw, April 9 (IANS): The Myanmar military's spokesman Zaw Min Tun said the one-year state of emergency imposed by the junta during its February 1 coup could be extended, thereby pushing back potential elections. He did not give a clear timeline for elections, but said the state of emergency could be extended for six months or more, in excerpts from an interview with CNN published late Thursday, reports dpa news agency. He said a free and fair vote would have to be hel

Tokyo, April 9 (IANS): Japan is set to extend a semi-state of emergency over the Covid-19 pandemic to Tokyo and two other prefectures due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus, the government said on Friday. Tokyo, which will host the Olympic Games in less than four months, confirmed more than 500 new infections on Thursday for the second straight day, reports dpa news agency. Japan adopted the measure in Osaka, Miyagi and Hyogo prefectures earlier this week. It is expected t

Jakarta, April 9 (IANS): Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Friday visited the East Nusa Tenggara province, where cyclone-related disasters have left at least 165 people dead and 45 others missing. Soon after the presidential aircraft landed at Sikka airport, Joko took a helicopter ride to Lambata island, where heavy rains triggered an avalanche of volcanic debris on Sunday, reports dpa news agency. "We will spare no effort to make sure that those still missing are found,&q

Seoul/Tehran, April 9 (IANS): Iran has released a South Korean-flagged tanker seized three months ago in the Gulf, the Foreign Ministries in Seoul and Tehran confirmed on Friday. "The ship left safely today," the South Korean Foreign Ministry said, adding that the captain of the Hankuk Chemi chemical and oil tanker has also been freed, reports dpa news agency. Iran's Revolutionary Guard seized the tanker in January and escorted it to the port of Bandar Abbas. Aut

Seoul, April 9 (IANS): South Korea on Friday announced its decision to extend the tightened quarantine measures for three more weeks amid an resurgence of new Covid-19 cases. Under the country's five-tier social-distancing guidelines, the third-highest Level 2 will be kept in place until May 2 in the Seoul metropolitan area, with the Level 1.5 to be placed in other areas, Xinhua news agency reported. The ban on any gathering of five or more people will be imposed for three mo

Washington, April 9 (AP): President Joe Biden has put on a modest White House ceremony to announce a half-dozen executive actions to combat what he called an "epidemic and an international embarrassment" of gun violence in America. But he said much more is needed. And while Biden had proposed the most ambitious gun-control agenda of any modern presidential candidate, his moves underscored his limited power to act alone on guns with difficult politics impeding legislative a

Seoul, April 9 (AP) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for waging another arduous march to fight severe economic difficulties, for the first time comparing them to a 1990s famine that killed hundreds of thousands. Kim had previously said his country faces the worst-ever situation due to several factors, including the coronavirus pandemic, U.S.-led sanctions and natural disasters last summer. But it's the first time he publicly drew parallel with the deadly famine. Nor

Islamabad, April 8 (PTI): Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's ex-wife Jemima Goldsmith has joined rights groups to criticise him after he blamed women for their "inappropriate" dress for a rise in sexual harassment and rape cases in the country. In her tongue in cheek comments on Twitter she wrote: I'm hoping this is a misquote/ mistranslation. The Imran I knew used to say, Put a veil on the man's eyes not on the woman'." Jemima, 47, also quoted fr

Yangon, April 8 (AP): An information blackout under Myanmar's military junta worsened Thursday as fiber broadband service, the last legal way for ordinary people to access the internet, became intermittently inaccessible on several networks. Authorities in some areas have also begun confiscating satellite dishes used to access international news broadcasts. Protests against the the Feb. 1 coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi continued Thursday despite t

ISLAMABAD, APRIL 8 (IANS): Pakistans National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior has approved a Bill that would punish those who intentionally criticise the countrys armed forces. The committee has approved the Bill to amend the Pakistan Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure 1898, sanctioning punishment to those who ridicule armed forces through intended criticism. As per the details of the Bill, "anyone who shall be guilty of said offence could face up to two years

Hong Kong, April 8 (AP): The British government said Thursday it is setting up a 43 million pound (USD 59 million) fund to help migrants from Hong Kong settle in the country as they escape increasing political repression in the former colony. The offer extends to holders of British National (Overseas) passports who have been offered special visas, opening a path to work, residency and eventual citizenship to up to 5 million of Hong Kong's 7.4 million people. The integration p

London, April 8 (PTI): The UK government on Thursday condemned the bullying actions of the Myanmar military junta after the country's ambassador, Kyaw Zwar Minn, was refused entry to his own embassy in London and had to spend the night in his car. Zwar Minn has been critical of the junta's coup in Myanmar, which have sparked widespread protests and clashes in the region since February, and called for Myanmar's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to be released. He was forc

Melbourne/Wellington, April 8 (PTI): New Zealand has for the first time imposed a temporary ban on travellers coming from India, including its citizens, from April 11 to 28 due to a surge in COVID-19 cases among visitors to this country, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Thursday. The travel restriction comes after New Zealand recorded 23 new positive coronavirus cases in managed isolation on Thursday, of which 17 came from India, Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield was