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.
Zelenskyy urges new sanctions against Russia in address to Australian parliament
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for further sanctions on Russia during a virtual address to the Australian parliament on Thursday, according to media report.
“The distance between our country is big,” said Zelenskyy, adding “but there is no such thing as distance to Russians’ brutality to our Ukrainian land.”
Zelenskyy warned of great implications to global security if Russia isn’t stopped and also spoke about what will come after the war, calling on nations and companies to invest in the restoration of Ukraine, CNN reported.
Russian Foreign Minister arrives in India amid Ukraine crisis
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has arrived in New Delhi on the first high-level visit by a Russian leader to India since Moscow’s war against Ukraine which began last month.
Lavrov, who arrived on Thursday on a two-day official visit, is expected to meet and hold talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday.
The Russian Foreign Minister reached New Delhi after his two-day visit to China.
UK Foreign Secy reaches India for push to counter Russia’s aggression in Ukraine
UK Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss, who arrived in India on Thursday on an official visit will convey to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar that Russia’s actions on Ukraine, underlining the importance of democracies to work together to deter “aggressors” and “reduce vulnerability to coercion,” the British High Commission said.
The Foreign Secretary will point to the importance of all countries reducing strategic dependency on Russia at this time of heightened global insecurity, according to a statement issued by the British High Commission.
Putin signs decree on switching gas payments to Rubles for unfriendly countries
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the procedure for the fulfillment of obligations to Russian natural gas suppliers by foreign buyers, which stipulates that all contracts for pipeline gas deliveries with companies registered in unfriendly countries must be settled in rubles.
New rules for the sale of Russian gas to “unfriendly countries” will come into effect on April 1, Putin said.
Former Chinese official Fu Zhenghua expelled from Party, public office
A former official who had served as China’s deputy police chief and Justice Minister was expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC) and removed from public office over serious violations of Party discipline and laws.
The punishment of Fu Zhenghua was announced by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission, China’s top anti-graft body, on Thursday.
UK announces new sanctions on Russian state media
UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has announced 14 new sanctions on Thursday on Russian propagandists and state media who spread lies and deceit about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The government is also directly sanctioning state media organisations, targeting the Kremlin-funded TV-Novosti which owns RT, formerly Russia Today, and Rossiya Segodnya who controls news agency Sputnik.
21,000 passengers affected, 136 flights canceled in Colombia after plane’s emergency landing
More than 21,000 passengers were affected and 136 flights were cancelled in Colombia, following the emergency landing of a commercial plane at a major airport near the city of Medellin, Civil Aviation Director Jair Orlando Fajardo said Wednesday.
The front landing gear of the LATAM Airlines Airbus A320-200 fell off shortly after takeoff on Tuesday afternoon, forcing the plane to turn back for an emergency landing at the Jose Maria Cordova International Airport in the town of Rionegro.
No injuries were reported during the emergency landing.
Biden receives second COVID booster shot as US launches COVID website
US President Joe Biden on Wednesday (local time) received his second COVID-19 booster shot.
“My second booster didn’t hurt a bit. If you’re 50 and older or immunocompromised, get your second booster as soon as you’re eligible,” Biden wrote in a tweet.
Biden announced the launch of COVID.gov, saying a one-stop shop where anyone in America can find what they need to navigate the virus.
US astronaut returns to Earth with two Russian Cosmonauts in Russian space capsule
In a rare sign of cooperation between the U.S. and Russia, astronauts from both countries parachute-landed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday after a trip back to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS).
The capsule carrying NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and Russian cosmonauts, Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov, completed a parachute-assisted landing several hours after undocking from the ISS.
This homeward journey for the trio comes after the US & Russia have clashed recently over Russia’s ongoing military invasion of Ukraine.
Pakistan opposition cries foul after no-trust vote deferred
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday lambasted National Assembly Deputy Speaker Sadiq Sanjrani for deferring no-confidence motion against Imran Khan and adjourning the assembly till April 3.
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