India ripped through Pakistan's "disinformation" at the UN on the Indus Waters Treaty, asserting that Islamabad violated its spirit by inflicting three wars and thousands of terror attacks on India that sought to hold hostage lives of civilians, religious harmony and economic prosperity, reported PTI. "We are constrained to respond to the disinformation being carried out by the delegation of Pakistan with regard to the Indus Waters Treaty. India has always acted in a responsible manner as an upper riparian state," India's Permanent Representative to UN Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish said on Friday, reported PTI. Harish was addressing the UN Security Council Arria Formula meeting organised by the Permanent Mission of Slovenia on 'Protecting Water in Armed Conflict - Protecting Civilian Lives.' Harish highlighted four aspects to expose the "disinformation" by Pakistan, which spoke about India's decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty. In the wake of the horrific April 22 Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir in which 26 civilians were killed, India had decided that the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 would be held in abeyance with immediate effect until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism. Harish told the UN meeting that India had entered into the Indus Waters Treaty 65 years ago in good faith. Noting that the Preamble of the Treaty describes that it was concluded 'in a spirit of good will and friendship', Harish said throughout these six and a half decades, "Pakistan has violated the spirit of the treaty by inflicting three wars and thousands of terror attacks on India," reported PTI. The Indian envoy underlined that in the last four decades, more than 20,000 Indian lives have been lost in terror attacks, the most recent of which was the dastardly targeted terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam. Even as India has shown extraordinary patience and magnanimity throughout this period, Harish said Pakistan's "state-sponsored cross-border terrorism in India seeks to hold hostage the lives of civilians, religious harmony and economic prosperity." Harish pointed out that India has formally asked Pakistan to discuss the modifications of the Treaty on several occasions in the past two years but Islamabad continues to reject these. "Pakistan's obstructionist approach continues to prevent the exercise of full utilisation of legitimate rights by India," he said, reported PTI. Further, Harish said that in the past 65 years, far-reaching fundamental changes have taken place not only in terms of escalating security concerns through cross-border terror attacks but also growing requirements for producing clean energy, climate change and demographic change. "Technology for dam infrastructure has transformed to ensure the safety and efficiency of operations and water use. Some of the old dams are facing serious safety concerns," he said adding that Pakistan has continued to "consistently block" any changes to this infrastructure, and any modifications of the provisions, which is permissible under the Treaty, reported PTI. He noted that in 2012, terrorists even attacked the Tulbul Navigation Project in Jammu and Kashmir. "These cynical acts continue to endanger the safety of our projects and the lives of civilians. It is against this backdrop that India has finally announced that the treaty will be in abeyance until Pakistan, which is a global epicentre of terror, credibly and irrevocably ends its support for cross-border terrorism. It is clear that it is Pakistan which remains in violation of the Indus Waters Treaty." Earlier in the day, Harish delivered a strong response to Pakistan at a UNSC open debate on 'Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict', calling out Pakistan's "grossly hypocritical" behaviour and asserting that a nation that makes no distinction between terrorists and civilians has no credentials to speak about protecting civilians. After Pakistan's Ambassador at the UN Asim Iftikhar Ahmad raked the Kashmir issue and spoke about the recent conflict between the two nuclear-armed countries, Harish slammed Pakistan's baseless allegations and said India experienced decades of Pakistani-sponsored terrorist attacks across its borders. "This has ranged from the horrific 26/11 attack on the city of Mumbai to the barbaric mass murder of innocent tourists in Pahalgam in April 2025. The victims of Pakistani terrorism have been predominantly civilians since its objective has been to attack our prosperity, progress and morale. For such a nation to even participate in a discussion on the protection of civilians is an affront to the international community," Harish said, reported PTI. Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the Pahalgam attack, which claimed 26 lives. India launched 'Operation Sindoor' under which it carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the early hours of May 7, following which Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9 and 10. The Indian side responded strongly to the Pakistani actions. The on-ground hostilities ended with an understanding on stopping the military actions following talks between the directors general of military operations of both sides on May 10. Harish told the UN Security Council that Pakistan has repeatedly used civilian cover to advance the cause of terrorism. (With inputs from PTI)
24 May,2025 02:36 PM IST | United Nations | mid-day online correspondentPakistan on Friday said its command and control structures are robust. The Foreign Office here also said the country remained fully confident in the strength of its "comprehensive nuclear security regime". "Pakistan remains fully confident in the strength of its comprehensive nuclear security regime and the robustness of its command and control structures," the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement in response to a media query regarding Pakistan's nuclear weapons. The Foreign Office also said that the international community should be more concerned about India's nuclear arsenal and alleged that "the escalating radicalisation of India's political landscape, media, and segments of its society raises legitimate nuclear security concerns." Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday in Srinagar said Pakistan's nuclear weapons should be brought under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency as "they are not safe in such a rogue nation". The defence minister's comments came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India would not tolerate "nuclear blackmail" by Pakistan and would punish cross-border terrorism strongly. Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the Pahalgam attack, which claimed 26 lives. India carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the early hours of May 7. Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9 and 10. The Indian side responded strongly to the Pakistani actions. The on-ground hostilities ended with an understanding on stopping the military actions following talks between the directors general of military operations of both sides on May 10. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 May,2025 08:57 AM IST | Islamabad | PTIA stabbing attack at the busy central train station in the German city of Hamburg left multiple people injured, some of them in life-threatening condition, authorities said. A woman was arrested as the suspect. The attacker targeted people on the platform between tracks 13 and 14 in the station, according to police. The station in downtown Hamburg, Germany's second-biggest city, is a major hub for local, regional and long-distance trains. Hamburg's fire service said six people sustained life-threatening injuries, while another three were seriously injured and three had slight injuries, German news agency dpa reported. Police, however, said on social platform X that there were no ¿valid figures¿ yet but that ¿several¿ people had life-threatening injuries. Police said a 39-year-old woman was arrested and she is believed to have acted alone. There was no immediate information on a possible motive. Regional public broadcaster NDR reported that the attack took place shortly after 6 pm in front of a waiting train. A high-speed ICE train with its doors open could be seen at the platform after the attack. Railway operator Deutsche Bahn said it was "deeply shocked" by the attack. Four tracks at the station were closed Friday evening, and some long-distance trains were delayed or diverted. Carrying weapons, including knives, is banned at the station and on local transport in Hamburg. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 May,2025 08:53 AM IST | Berlin | APUkraine's capital came under a large-scale Russian drone and missile attack early Saturday with explosions and machine gun fire heard throughout the city, forcing many Kyiv residents to take shelter in underground subway stations. The nighttime Russian attack came hours after Russia and Ukraine began a major prisoner exchange, swapping hundreds of soldiers and civilians in the first phase of an exchange that was agreed on by the two sides at a meeting in Istanbul last week. The agreement was a moment of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to reach a ceasefire in the three-year-old war. The debris of intercepted missiles and drones fell in at least four city districts of the Ukrainian capital early Saturday, acting head of Kyiv military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, wrote on Telegram. According to Tkachenko, six people required medical care after the attack, two fires sparked at Solomianskyi district of Kyiv. Prior to the attack, city mayor Vitalii Klitschko warned Kyiv residents of more than 20 Russian strike drones heading towards Kyiv. As the attack continued, he said drone debris fell on a shopping mall and a residential building in Obolon district of Kyiv. Emergency services were headed to the site, Klitschko said. The prisoners swap Friday was the first phase of a complicated swap involving the exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the first phase brought home 390 Ukrainians, with further releases expected over the weekend that will make it the largest swap of the war. Russia's Defense Ministry said it received the same number from Ukraine. The swap took place at the border with Belarus in northern Ukraine, according to a Ukrainian official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. The released Russians were taken to Belarus for medical treatment, the Russian Defence Ministry said. As the freed men entered the medical facility Friday, people holding signs and photos of their relatives shouted names or brigade numbers, seeking any news of a loved one. The returning men inspected the photos, and a serviceman said he shared a cell with one of those on the sea of portraits held out toward him. "Vanya!" cried Nataliia Mosych, among the gathered relatives, "My husband!" The exchange, which would be the latest of dozens of swaps since the war began and the biggest involving Ukrainian civilians at one time, didn't herald any halt in fighting. Battles continued along the roughly 1,000-km front line, where tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed, and neither country has relented in its deep strikes. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had called the prisoner swap a "confidence-building measure." But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that there has been no agreement yet on the venue for the next round of talks as diplomatic maneuvering continued. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday night that Moscow would give Ukraine a draft document outlining its conditions for a ¿sustainable, long-term, comprehensive¿ peace agreement once the ongoing prisoner exchange had finished. European leaders have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet in peace efforts while he tries to press his larger army's battlefield initiative and capture more Ukrainian land. The Istanbul meeting revealed that both sides remained far apart on key conditions for ending the fighting. One such condition for Ukraine, backed by its Western allies, is a temporary ceasefire as a first step toward a peaceful settlement. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 May,2025 08:49 AM IST | Kyiv | AP | PTIAt least 23 people were killed by Israeli strikes across Gaza overnight on Thursday, as Israel pressed ahead with its military offensive and let in minimal aid to the strip. Ten people were killed by strikes in the southern city of Khan Younis, four in the central town of Deir al-Balah and nine in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north, according to Gaza health officials. Israel is facing mounting international criticism for its latest offensive, and pressure to let aid into Gaza amid a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. The strip has been under an Israeli blockade for nearly three months. Experts have warned that many of Gaza’s 2 million residents are at high risk of famine. Even the US, a staunch ally, has voiced concerns over the hunger crisis. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 May,2025 08:41 AM IST | Deir al-Balah (Gaza Strip) | AgenciesSawang Janpram is in a league of his own at the World Masters Games (WMG) in Taiwan — at 105 he is the oldest competitor and the only person in his age group. It meant that Thailand’s Sawang was all but certain to win gold in the men’s 100-plus discus, javelin, shot put and 100 metres. All he had to do was finish, and the former school principal reached the 100-metre line in his solo race in a very respectable 38.55 seconds. “I’m proud he’s brought honour to our family,” his 73-year-old daughter Siripan, a fellow evergreen athlete, said. They are among 25,950 athletes from 107 countries at the two-week WMG event in Taipei. Held every four years, the event brings together competitors aged 30 and over from all walks of life. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 May,2025 08:39 AM IST | Bangkok | AgenciesA Norwegian man awoke to find that a cargo ship had run aground and narrowly missed crashing into his home along the Trondheim Fjord’s coast. Johan Helberg said that he’d slept through the whole thing and only woke up when a neighbour started ringing his doorbell. Images show the ship’s red and green bow just metres from Helberg’s house. Helberg said the only damage caused was to a heating pump’s wire. Authorities say they received reports that the NCL Salten had run aground shortly before 6 am on Thursday. No injuries or oil spills were reported. Efforts to refloat the ship at high tide were unsuccessful on Thursday. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 May,2025 08:35 AM IST | osl | AgenciesIran and the US were set for a fifth round of negotiations over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program on Friday in Rome. US officials up to President Donald Trump insist Iran cannot continue to enrich uranium at all in any deal that could see sanctions lifted on Tehran’s struggling economy. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insisted online early Friday that no enrichment would mean “we do NOT have a deal.” “Figuring out the path to a deal is not rocket science,” Araghchi wrote on the social platform X. “Time to decide.” Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi is mediating the negotiations as the sultanate on the Arabian Peninsula has been a trusted interlocutor for both sides in the talks. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 May,2025 08:33 AM IST | Rome | AgenciesUnited States (US) President Donald Trump on Friday again sought to put pressure on telecom giant Apple over its decision to increase production of its iPhone in India, news agency ANI reported. The President said that Apple will have to pay a 25 per cent import tariffs if its mobile handsets sold in US are not produced in the boundaries of the country. In a social media post on his Truth Social, US President Donald Trump wrote, "I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone's that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else," "If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S. Thank your for your attention to this matter," he further added in the post. Earlier on May 15, while speaking in Doha, the US President had stated that he had spoken with Apple’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tim Cook and asked him to limit the company’s expansion in India. Recently, the tech giant took some steps to expand its iPhone production in India, setting up assembly plants operating in the country. Two of these plants are located in Tamil Nadu, while one is in Karnataka. For these plants, Apple has signed a contract with manufacturers such as Foxconn and Tata Group to set up production units. In the last fiscal, Apple had produced USD 22 billion worth of iPhones in India, which is a huge 60 per cent jump from the financial year before that. Apple manufactured approximately 40-45 million iPhones in India in 2024, accounting for 18-20 per cent of its global output. Of this, about 15 million were exported to the US, 13 million to other international markets, and about 12 million were sold in the Indian market. In January, the tech giant achieved an 11th consecutive quarterly revenue record in India, with iPhone sales estimated at USD 10 billion in 2024. India stands as the Apple's fourth-largest market globally in 2024, after the US, China, and Japan. As reported last month, driven by the escalating trade tensions and high reciprocal tariffs announced by both China and US against each other, in a strategic move Apple decided to transition all production of iPhones destined for the US market to India from China. (With ANI inputs)
23 May,2025 07:26 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondentTwo staff members of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC were shot and killed on Wednesday evening (local time) while leaving an event at a Jewish museum, and the suspect yelled, “Free, free Palestine” after he was arrested, the police said. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar identified the victims as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim. Lischinsky was a research assistant, and Milgrim organised visits and missions to Israel. They were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum when the suspect approached a group of four people and opened fire, Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said at a news conference. Palestinians line up to fill water in Gaza City. Pic/AFP The suspect, identified as Elias Rodriguez, 30, of Chicago, was observed pacing outside the museum before the shooting, walked into the museum after the shooting and was detained by event security. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday announced heightened security at Israeli embassies worldwide following the fatal shooting. Gaza aid groups collect supplies for distribution Aid groups have collected humanitarian aid carried by about 90 trucks, out of a total of nearly 200 that have entered Gaza since Israel began allowing limited goods in earlier this week, the United Nations said on Thursday. Under international pressure, Israel allowed dozens of aid trucks into Gaza after blocking all aid and other material for nearly three months. But the supplies have been sitting on the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
23 May,2025 04:13 PM IST | Washington | AgenciesBangladesh's interim government of Muhammad Yunus on Thursday made a change to the top-level bureaucracy in the foreign ministry assigning a senior diplomat to temporarily discharge routine duties saying foreign secretary Jashim Uddin relinquished his responsibilities. 'A decision has been made that until further order, M Ruhul Alam Siddique will discharge the routine tasks of foreign secretary against the backdrop of foreign secretary Jashim Uddin's relinquishment of responsibilities,' read a foreign ministry office order. The brief order, signed by a foreign ministry director general, said it would be effective from May 23 and it was issued in public interest. The development came while media reports suggested that the government decided to remove Uddin around two weeks ago for "obscure reasons". The Daily Star newspaper two days ago said a sense of uncertainty prevailed in the foreign ministry over reports that Uddin would be removed while another retired diplomat, Sufiur Rahman, who was appointed chief adviser's special assistant on foreign affairs with the status of a junior minister last month was yet to join. The interim government appointed career diplomat Uddin as the country's 27th foreign secretary in September last year, a month after the ouster of the Awami League regime of prime minister Sheikh Hasina in a student-led uprising in August last year. Foreign affairs adviser M Touhid Hossain on Wednesday, however, said that Uddin had expressed his intention to relinquish his current responsibilities, and this was not a 'removal'. 'He (Jashim) wants to leave this responsibility for various reasons. He remains in government service, so the role will shift ' but there is no issue of dismissal,' he said. Hossain, himself a former foreign secretary, asked reporters to wait for few days to know who would succeed Uddin. The mass circulation Bengali language Prothom Alo said in a state of uncertainty, the foreign ministry's internal, inter-ministerial and overseas activities were being disrupted. The ministry officials told reporters the unease prevailed for more than ten days centring the impending change while another officer took on several key responsibilities on the verbal instructions of the foreign affairs advisor. Uddin had stopped attending official and international meetings for several days and instead of him, another official represented Bangladesh at a foreign secretary-level meeting with Japan in Tokyo last week. 'This marked the first time in five decades that such a meeting was led by someone other than the foreign secretary of Bangladesh,' the Prothom Alo reported. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
23 May,2025 07:55 AM IST | Dhaka | ANIADVERTISEMENT
