Khabarhub brings to you glimpses of major international developments of the day that you need to know from the world of politics, business/economy, sports, entertainment and more.
Blinken formalizes accusations of Russian war crimes in Ukraine
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday Russian forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine and that the U.S. will work to hold Russia accountable.
“We’ve seen numerous credible reports of indiscriminate attacks and attacks deliberately targeting civilians, as well as other atrocities,” Blinken said, adding that many of the apartment buildings, schools, hospitals and other infrastructure hit “have been clearly identifiable as in-use by civilians.”
The assessment was based on a careful review of public and intelligence information gathered since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine last month, according to the secretary.
China refuses to assist Sri Lanka amid massive economic crisis
China has turned its when it came to assisting Sri Lanka which appealed to reschedule its Chinese debt burden in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has adversely affected the tourism sector.
Sri Lanka appealed if a restructuring of the debt could be arranged to mitigate the economic crisis that had arisen in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hong Kong Post reported.
North Korea launches first ICBM since 2017
North Korea launched what appears to be an intercontinental ballistic missile Thursday, the Japanese and South Korean governments concluded, in what would be Pyongyang’s first long-range launch since 2017.
Japan’s Ministry of Defense says the North Korean missile flew for more than 70 minutes before landing in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, just 170 kilometers west of northern Japan’s Aomori Prefecture.
The missile reached an altitude of 6,000 kilometers and had a range of 1,100 kilometers, according to Japanese officials, who said the weapon appears to be a new type of ICBM.
Chinese FM lands in Kabul unannounced after OIC moot
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi landed in Kabul on Thursday in an unannounced trip, a day after he attended the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) moot in Islamabad.
Yi’s visit is the first by a senior Chinese minister to Afghanistan after Taliban seized power in Kabul in August. The Chinese Foreign Minister’s visit come after he completed his three-day visit to Pakistan where he held discussions with the country’s top leadership.
He was received by Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on arrival in Kabul. The two sides are expected to hold talks on issues focusing on China’s role in stability and development, the state news agency reported. The Taliban has courted Chinese investment in recent months.
US Prez Biden, NATO Chief Stoltenberg discuss Ukraine ahead of NATO summit on Russia’s invasion
Ahead of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit to address Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine, US President Joe Biden and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg met on Wednesday (local time) in Brussels and discussed the situation in Ukraine.
They discussed the unity and strength of the alliance and NATO’s ongoing efforts to deter and defend against any aggression, and they welcomed the support of Allies for the government and people of Ukraine, read a White House release.
OIC irrelevant, Pakistan its manipulator, says India on Kashmir reference
India on Thursday hit out at Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)’s references to Kashmir in statements adopted at its meeting in Islamabad, saying these “demonstrate both the irrelevance of the OIC as a body and role of Pakistan as its manipulator”.
In a strongly-worded response to the OIC statement, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesman Arindam Bagchi said references have been made to India and are based on falsehoods and misrepresentation. He said the “absurdity” of OIC commenting on the treatment of minorities at the instance of “a serial violator of human rights like Pakistan”, is so evident.
China uses overseas social media to spread unique views on war in Ukraine
Chinese state-controlled media are placing volumes of content on popular social media platforms to air the government’s unique message about Russia’s war on Ukraine to a Western audience, analysts say. News readers don’t always know the content’s origin, they add.
The official Xinhua News Agency, the English-language newspaper China Daily and the English website of China Global Television Network (CGTN) are placing multiple spots daily on Facebook and Twitter to share Beijing’s take on the news. CGTN runs a special Facebook account for its European audience plus another for the Americas.
Messages run the gamut of China’s views on the nearly month-old Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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