Portrait News

‘Iran will support any nation or group that fights Israel’: Khamenei Iran will support any nation or group that fights Israel, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday, ahead of this week’s annual observance of Quds (Jerusalem) Day to express support for Palestinians. “We will support and assist any nation or any group anywhere who opposes and fights the Zionist regime, and we do not hesitate to say this,” Khamenei said in a post on his official English-language Twitter account.  Iran, Israel’s arch-enemy in the Middle East, has been a key supporter, along with Russia, of President Bashar al-Assad...

Coronavirus came from China, US is not going to take it lightly, says Donald Trump The deadly coronavirus came from China and the US is not going to take it lightly, President Donald Trump said. “It came from China. We are not happy about it. We just signed a trade deal, the ink wasn’t dry and all of the sudden this floated in. We are not going to take it lightly,” Trump said participating in a Listening Session with African-American Leaders in Michigan. Trump in the last several weeks has been very critical of China’s inability to control the spread...

Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli raises border dispute with India to repay China for saving his government New Delhi: India and Nepal share a unique relationship of friendship and cooperation by open borders and people to people contact. Nepal, however, has started making rhetoric against India by releasing a controversial map of the country showing Indian territories of Lipulekh, Kalapani, Limpiyadhura as its own. The question arises as to why Nepal has opened a front against India.  Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane stated that if Nepal is raising the issue, it is doing so at ‘someone else’s behest’. Earlier...

New Zealand’s prime minister floats ‘four-day week’ as a way to help the economy The four-day workweek has been touted as a way to improve work-life balance. Now it’s getting a boost from New Zealand’s leader, who recently raised the idea as one that might help the economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. In a Facebook Live video posted earlier this week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern shared the suggestion while discussing ways to revive domestic tourism in her country. Over the last few months, the coronavirus crisis has forced people around the world to lock down and decimated global demand for travel. “I’ve had...

Palestinian President Abbas says accords with Israel, US are void Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced on Tuesday that his administration considers all agreements signed with Israel and the United States null and void, after Israel declared it would annex parts of the occupied West Bank, according to local media reports.  Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Abbas made the announcement during an emergency meeting held in Ramallah to discuss the Israeli plans. “The Palestine Liberation Organization and the State of Palestine are absolved, as of today, of all the agreements and understandings with the American and Israeli governments and of...

Taiwan president rejects Beijing rule, asserts independence Taipei: Taiwan cannot accept becoming part of China under its “one country, two systems” offer of autonomy, president Tsai Ing-wen said on Wednesday, strongly rejecting China’s sovereignty claims and likely setting the stage for an ever-worsening of ties. China responded that “reunification” was inevitable and that it would never tolerate Taiwan’s independence. In a speech after being sworn in for her second and final term in office, Tsai said relations between Taiwan and China had reached a historical turning point. “Both sides have a duty to find a way to coexist over the...

Girl, Who Pedalled 1200 km in 7 Days During Lockdown, to be Called For Trial by Cycling Federation In what could be a life-changing opportunity, the cycling federation will invite 15-year-old Jyoti Kumari to appear for a trial next month, impressed with her sheer doggedness with which she pedalled her way to Bihar from Gurugram, carrying her ailing father. Stuck in Gurugram due to nation-wide lockdown, a tenacious Jyoti asked her father to sit on the rear side carrier of her cycle and took him to his native place, covering 1200km in seven days. Cycling Federation of India Chairman Onkar...

Remembering former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 29th death anniversary, PM Modi pays tribute May 21 marks a sad day in the history of Indian politics. A day that will never be forgotten. On this day, twenty-nine years back, former prime minister and stalwart Congress leader Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated during an election campaign in the year 1991. As the nation remembers Gandhi on his 29th death anniversary today, here’s revisiting the life of the Bharat Ratna recipient. Rajiv Ratna Gandhi was born on August 20, 1944, in Bombay, to former prime minister Indira Gandhi and freedom fighter, politician...

Harsh Vardhan is India’s nominee for lead role in WHO, takes over on Friday Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, who is leading the country’s battle against Covid-19 in the country, will be India’s nominee to be the next WHO Executive Board chairman, people familiar with the development told Hindustan Times. A senior government official said the health minister would be elected at the World Health Organisation‘s Executive Board’s meeting on 22 May. The election is a procedural formality. “It is not a full time assignment… But Dr Harsh Vardhan will be required to chair the executive board’s bi-annual meetings,” a senior government official told Hindustan Times....

US should end reliance on China: Nikki Haley The coronavirus pandemic has underscored the need for the United States to move away from its reliance on communist China, Indian American Republican politician Nikki Haley said on Tuesday. “While Beijing has abused the free market in order to destroy it, America must harness the free market to protect our freedom and national security,” Haley, a former Governor of South Carolina and US Ambassador to the United Nations said in an op-ed on Medium. The United States, she said, should start by setting up stronger guardrails to prevent China from exploiting America’s...