WORLD

Washington, Oct 28 (IANS) The US military carried out three strikes on four vessels allegedly trafficking narcotics in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing 14 people and leaving one survivor, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced on X on Tuesday.Hegseth said the vessels were hit in separate operations ordered by President Donald Trump. The latest strikes bring the total death toll in Trump’s campaign against alleged traffickers in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific to more than 50 since early September.“The four vessels were known by our intelligence apparatus, transiting along known narco-trafficking routes, and carrying narcotics,” Hegseth wrote. “Eight male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessels during the first strike. Four male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel during the sec...

Seoul, Oct 28 (IANS) North Korea is prepared to respond to all threats to the Eurasian continent, the country's top diplomat said Tuesday while attending a regional security conference in Minsk for the first time, a report said.North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui made the remarks at the Third Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security in the Belarusian capital, the country's state news agency Belta reported."The meeting is taking place at a time when strengthening security is more important than ever in the Eurasian region," Choe said, adding that North Korea views the conference as an "important political forum for countries striving for independence and peace.""Eurasian security is facing unprecedented challenges," the Foreign Minister was quoted as saying, adding, "We ...

Minsk, Oct 28 (IANS) Secretary (West) at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Sibi George addressed the third Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security on Tuesday, expressing India's views on regional and global issues of mutual interest.Delegates from more than 40 countries and seven international organisations have gathered in Belarus for the two-day third Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security that commenced on Tuesday.Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also delivered remarks at the eventIn a statement, Belarus Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "The aim of the conference is to have a frank and inclusive discussion on the prospects for Eurasian security in the context of the existing world order crisis, chroni...

Gyeongju, Oct 28 (IANS) South Korea, the United States and Japan will hold trilateral talks among their top diplomats during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering this week, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday.The meeting will take place in a closed-door format on Wednesday afternoon, the ministry said, without providing further details.The meeting is likely to be held following the summit talks between President Lee Jae Myung and US President Donald Trump, diplomatic sources said, Yonhap News Agency reported.It will mark the first three-way talks between Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, since the launch of the new Japanese cabinet led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who was elected as le...

Seoul, Oct 28 (IANS) Chinese Coast Guard vessels blocked a South Korean ship last month in an overlapping sea zone of the Yellow Sea while it was inspecting Chinese-built structures, causing a standoff, a US think tank revealed on Tuesday.The incident was revealed in a report titled 'Korea-China Standoff in the Provisional Measure Zone (PMZ),' published by the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Yonhap News Agency reported.Citing data from maritime analytics firm Starboard Maritime Intelligence, CSIS said the South Korean research vessel Onnuri entered the Provisional Maritime Zone (PMZ), an overlapping sea zone between the two countries, in the Yellow Sea on September 24 to inspect steel structures installed by China.About six hours later, a Chinese c...

Dhaka, Oct 28 (IANS) Four more people have died of dengue in Bangladesh in 24 hours till Tuesday morning, increasing the number of deaths from the mosquito-borne disease in the country to 273 in 2025, local media reported.During the same period, 1,041 more patients were admitted to hospital with viral fever, increasing the total number of infected patients in 2025 to 67,464, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).According to the DGHS, new dengue cases were reported in Dhaka North City Corporation (230), Dhaka Division (206), Barishal Division (174), Dhaka South City Corporation (140), Chattogram Division (120), Khulna Division (49), Mymensingh Division (49), Rajshahi Division (45), Rangpur Division (19) and Sylhet Division (9), the United News of Bangladesh (UNB...

Kabul, Oct 28 (IANS) A report published by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has revealed that the recent two-day telecommunications shutdown in Afghanistan exacerbated existing restrictions on women and girls, interrupted humanitarian operations, and created life-threatening delays in medical care.The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) stated on Tuesday: "This morning, the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan published a briefing paper on the serious and far-reaching human rights impacts of last month’s telecommunications shutdowns in Afghanistan - a measure which only served to compound the array of difficulties already faced by the population. From its health systems to the banking sector an...

Seoul, Oct 28 (IANS) South Korea and the United States have not coordinated agenda items related to a possible meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un this week, the Unification Minister said Tuesday.Seoul's top point man on North Korea, Chung Dong-young, made the remarks during a parliamentary audit amid speculation that Kim and Trump could meet this week on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering, Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday."I believe there have been no discussions between South Korea and the US based on the assumption of a North Korea-US meeting," Chung said when asked if Seoul and Washington have coordinated agenda items such as denuclearization or sanctions relief to brace for a possible Kim-Trump meeti...

Wellington, October 28 (IANS) The cost of living for the average New Zealand household increased 2.4 per cent in the 12 months to the September 2025 quarter, Stats NZ reported on Tuesday.The 2.4-per cent increase, measured by the household living-costs price indexes (HLPIs), follows a 2.6-per cent increase in the 12 months to the June 2025 quarter, according to a statement of the statistics department.The most recent high was 8.2 per cent recorded in the 12 months to the December 2022 quarter, Stats NZ said.The 2.4-per cent rise is slightly lower than the three-per cent inflation rate measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) over the same period, it said, adding the difference is largely due to a 15.4-per cent drop in mortgage interest payments, which are included in the HLPIs but not ...

New Delhi, Oct 28 (IANS) New Delhi-based rights body -- the Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) -- on Tuesday condemned the Bangladesh interim government led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus for letting loose the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), the Bangladesh Army and the judiciary to target religious minorities in the country.Several Islamist groups, with the support of the interim government led by Yunus, staged coordinated demonstrations calling for a nationwide ban on the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) on October 23, the RRAG said.During one protest in Dhaka, student participants chanted inflammatory slogans and accused the ISKCON members of acting as Indian agents and called for the detention and expulsion of the ISKCON devotees from Bangladesh.On the same...