BBC: What does the latest round of diplomacy on Ukraine tell us about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s mood and intentions? For starters, that he’s not ready to sign a peace deal. At least, not right now. And certainly not the deal (or deals) on the table. “No compromise version has yet been found,” commented Kremlin […]
BBC: Authorities in Hong Kong have ordered the removal of scaffolding mesh from buildings undergoing renovations by Saturday, as investigations continue into the Chinese territory’s deadliest blaze in decades. It is now known that 159 people died as a result of the fire last Wednesday at the Wang Fuk Court housing complex – with 31 […]
BBC: Thailand has temporarily lifted a decades-old ban on the sale of alcoholic drinks in the afternoons as it seeks to boost tourism. Liquor stores, restaurants and other accredited establishments can now sell beer, wine and spirits from 14:00 to 17:00 as part of a six-month trial. The ban, which came into force in 1972, […]
BBC: Airbus has confirmed an unspecified number of its aircraft will undergo inspections after a “supplier quality issue” with metal panels used on some of its planes was identified. The problem, which the firm said impacts a “limited number” of planes in the widely-used A320 family, comes days after thousands of the same model were […]
BBC: India has scrapped an order making it mandatory for smartphone makers to preload a state-run cyber safety app on new phones after a public furore. The order – passed last week but made public on Monday – gave smartphone makers 90 days to pre-load new phones with its new Sanchar Saathi app which could […]
Reuters: HONG KONG, Dec 3- The death toll in a fire that ripped through seven high-rise towers in Hong Kong last week has risen to 159, police said on Wednesday. A total of 140 of them had been identified – 91 of them women and 49 men, according to the police statement. The youngest was […]
ABC: PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A powerful roadside bomb targeting a police vehicle killed three officers in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, police said, marking the third such attack in as many days. The blast occurred in Dera Ismail Khan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border, police official Sajjad Khan said. He gave no further details, […]
BBC: More than 200,000 cases of acute respiratory illnesses were recorded in six state-run hospitals in Delhi between 2022 and 2024 as the Indian capital struggled with rising pollution levels, the federal government has said. The government said in parliament that more than 30,000 people with respiratory illnesses had to be hospitalised in these three […]
The Hindu: U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday (December 2, 2025) said it paused all immigration applications, including green card and U.S. citizenship processing, filed by immigrants from 19 non-European countries, citing concerns over national security and public safety. The pause applies to people from 19 countries that were already subjected to a partial travel […]
Al Jazeera: “No compromise” was reached on the crucial issue of control of Ukrainian territory to end Moscow’s war, a Russian official has said, after talks between senior US officials and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner met Putin in the Russian capital […]