Hanoi, May 21 (IANS) The sacred relics of Lord Buddha sent from India were enshrined…

Moscow, May 21 (IANS) India’s Ambassador to Russia, Vinay Kumar highlighted the achievements of country’s…

Tehran, May 21 (IANS) Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday that Tehran is considering whether to take part in the next round of indirect nuclear negotiations with the United States, according to Iran’s official news agency IRNA.He made the remarks at a ceremony in Tehran to mark the first anniversary of his predecessor Hossein Amir-Abdollahian’s death in a helicopter crash on May 19 last year.”What we are witnessing now are the US officials’ unreasonable and illogical positions that have become public over the past few days. Iran immediately responded to these positions,” he said.Araghchi said, “We will stand against excessive demands at the negotiating table, but we have never abandoned diplomacy.”He stressed that Iran’s position was clear that “(Uranium) enrichment will continue with or without an agreement.”The minister said the country “is ready to” provide transparency regarding its nuclear programme, and that in return, talks should be held on the removal of the sanctions imposed on Iran, and the embargoes should be lifted, Xinhua news agency reported. Earlier in the day, in a speech delivered at a ceremony to commemorate former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s death in the same helicopter crash last year, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned the United States against making “nonsensical” remarks regarding Tehran’s uranium enrichment, according to footage published on his website.On Tuesday, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Tehran was reviewing a proposal it received for the fifth round of indirect talks with the United States.Facilitated by Oman, Iranian and US delegations have so far held four rounds of indirect talks since April on Tehran’s nuclear programme and the lifting of US sanctions.In recent days, US officials have repeatedly demanded that Iran completely cease uranium enrichment, a request firmly rejected by Tehran, which considers the issue “non-negotiable”.–IANSint/as

Sydney, May 21 (IANS) A helicopter pilot’s spatial disorientation during an August training flight in Victoria, Australia, after losing visual reference in fog, has highlighted the risks of flying under visual flight rules (VFR) in poor visibility, a report has revealed.The training flight off the coast of Victoria nearly ended in disaster when an AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter inadvertently flew into fog on August 2, 2024, causing the pilot to become spatially disoriented and triggering a low-altitude terrain alert, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said in its investigation report on Tuesday.This incident underlines the need for proactive risk management, clear procedures, and strong crew coordination, especially in high-workload operations like hoisting and search and rescue, said ATSB Director of Transport Safety Stuart Godley, Xinhua news agency reported. The 15-seat, medium-sized, twin-engined helicopter operated by Esso Australia was flying under VFR with a crew of four near Golden Beach in Gippsland, about 300 km east of Melbourne, the report said.The crew was practicing hoisting a training aid in challenging conditions, including large swells, sea spray, and encroaching fog. As the fog drew closer, the instructor who had taken over as pilot flying attempted to climb away. However, the departure was rushed, with the hoist still extended and the cabin door open, it said.The helicopter entered Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC), and the instructor became spatially disoriented, leading the aircraft into an unstable state, triggering a ground proximity warning below 150 feet and exceeding safe airspeed limits for the open-door configuration, it added. The captain then quickly took back control, climbed out of the fog, and safely continued the flight, the report said.–IANSint/as

Jerusalem/Beirut, May 21 (IANS) Israel’s military said it carried out a drone strike in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, killing a Hezbollah operative involved in the group’s weapons development programme.The man, identified as Hussein Nazih Barji, was struck while travelling in a vehicle in the Tyre area, according to a military statement accompanied by surveillance footage.Barji was described as “a central figure” in a directorate of Hezbollah that oversees the development, manufacture, and maintenance of weapons, including precision missiles, and works to expand the group’s supply capabilities, Xinhua news agency reported. The military said Barji was “a veteran engineer responsible for building infrastructure for the production of precision surface-to-surface missiles.” His killing was intended to “disrupt Hezbollah’s recovery efforts,” it added.Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on social media platform X that “Barji’s activities represented a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon. The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) will continue to act to eliminate any threat to the State of Israel.”The Lebanese Health Ministry confirmed the attack, saying that a “hostile” drone targetted a car on the Housh-Ain Baal road in the Tyre district, killing one person from the town of Ramadiyah.Meanwhile, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported another death from an Israeli drone strike on Wednesday on the village of Yater.On Monday, a Hezbollah member was killed and three civilians injured in a spate of Israeli air and ground strikes targetting various areas in southern Lebanon.The official National News Agency (NNA) reported that an Israeli airstrike had targetted the outskirts of the village of Houla. A Lebanese security source confirmed that a Hezbollah member, named Issa Qutaish and originally from Houla, was killed in the strike.The NNA had said that in two additional incidents, two people were injured when an Israeli drone hit a motorcycle in the Wadi Sarbin area, while another individual was wounded in the shoulder as Israeli forces opened fire on him at the entrance of Kafr Kila village.The incidents were the latest in a series of Israeli attacks despite a ceasefire reached in November 2024 that ended 14 months of cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.–IANSint/as

Sydney, May 21 (IANS) Almost 50,000 people have been isolated by rising floodwaters in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW).The NSW State Emergency Service (SES) said on Wednesday afternoon that over 48,800 people and 23,200 dwellings have been cut off by flooding in the state’s Mid North Coast region, over 200 km northeast of Sydney.The Mid North Coast and surrounding regions have experienced four consecutive days of heavy rainfall, causing widespread record-breaking flooding.The SES has issued 109 flood warnings and ordered evacuations across the affected area and opened evacuation centres. In an update shortly after 5 p.m. local time on Wednesday, the SES said that emergency service crews had completed more than 400 flood rescue operations, with helicopters and boats deployed to help people who had become trapped.The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has been deployed to aid with air evacuations, Xinhua news agency reported. SES Chief Superintendent Dallas Burnes told Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) radio that rescue operations would continue into the night but that such operations are “incredibly dangerous.”The Manning river in the Mid North Coast on Wednesday morning surpassed its 1929 record flood level.Natural Hazards Research Australia, the national center for disaster risk reduction, said that the record-breaking flooding along the river had an estimated occurrence frequency of once every 500 years on average.The federal and state governments have activated disaster assistance for residents of communities in 16 local government areas, making them eligible for support funding to cover the costs of emergency accommodation and essential items.The Bureau of Meteorology said in a severe weather warning issued shortly after 4:30 p.m. local time that parts of the Mid North Coast and adjacent Northern Tablelands region could receive up to 300 millimeters of rainfall over the next 24 hours.ABC meteorologist Tom Saunders said that the worst flooding is yet to come for many areas.The regional airport in Port Macquarie, over 300 km northeast of Sydney, has been closed until further notice and over 200 schools in affected areas have been shut.–IANSint/as

Moscow, May 21 (IANS) Displaced residents of Russia’s Kursk region will be able to return home safely despite ongoing challenges, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said during his visit to the region.The President assured that citizens that have been temporarily displaced following Ukraine’s incursion into the region would return home, noting that it is important to ensure security by demining populated areas, local media reported Wednesday, citing the Russian leader during a meeting with local officials.During his work visit on Tuesday, Putin met with representatives from volunteer organisations and held a meeting with acting governor of the Kursk region Alexander Khinshtein, Xinhua news agency reported. The Russian leader also toured the construction site of Kursk-2 Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) and met with municipal leaders.The President backed a proposal to extend the special economic zone to the entire Kursk region. He also approved funds to restore damaged homes in the region, and agreed to continue monthly payments to citizens who have been temporarily displaced.”We have shown the whole world … and primarily ourselves that we are a united people. In times of hardship, this unity becomes especially clear,” Putin said.In August 2024, the Ukrainian army launched an offensive into Russia’s southern Kursk region. On April 26, Putin announced that Russia had regained full control of the region.Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov, in his last month’s report to President Vladimir Putin on regaining control of the Kursk region, had commended the role of North Korean troops in the Kursk campaign.”I want specially to note the participation of servicemen of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea … who in accordance with the Treaty on the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between our countries rendered considerable assistance,” Gerasimov was quoted as saying by the TASS news agency.On April 28, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) announced that its military operations in Russia’s Kursk region “were victoriously concluded,” marking the first official confirmation of its miliary involvement.Kim Jong Un, General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) and President of the State Affairs of the DPRK, decided to send armed forces to Russia as “the prevailing situation was conformed to the invocation of Article 4 of the treaty on comprehensive strategic partnership” between the two countries, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on April 28, citing a statement from the Central Military Commission of the WPK.The military activities “conducted within the boundary of the Russian Federation fully conform to all the provisions and the spirit of the UN Charter and other international laws,” according to the statement.–IANSint/as

Canberra, May 21 (IANS) A 2023 Australian army helicopter crash that killed four soldiers was caused by the pilot becoming disoriented, an investigation has found.The Department of Defence on Wednesday publicly released the aviation safety investigation report into the MRH-90 Taipan helicopter crash in July 2023. All four soldiers on board, including pilot Danniel Lyon and co-pilot Maxwell Nugent, were killed when the helicopter crashed into the ocean off Australia’s east coast during a late-night defence training exercise in July 2023.The 228-page report found that the primary cause of the accident was Lyon suffering from an unrecognised loss of spatial orientation.”This refers to a situation where a pilot is unaware of their actual orientation in relation to the earth’s surface and the surrounding environment,” the Department of Defence said in a statement. The helicopter with the callsign “Bushman 83” was third in a formation of four MRH-90s that were conducting various manoeuvres during the exercise.The report found that, after making a turn, Bushman 83 climbed 100 feet before rapidly descending and crashing into the ocean in a 21-second span. It said that Lyon “almost certainly” lost sight of the aircraft ahead, Bushman 82, and tried to regain visual but likely did not know the helicopter was facing nose down and accelerated quickly, resulting in an “unrecoverable” rate of descent towards the water.During the descent, the investigation found that Lyon likely regained sight of Bushman 82 and took evasive action to avoid a mid-air collision, potentially saving lives, Xinhua news agency reported. The report found that the conditions at the time increased the risk of a person experiencing spatial disorientation and that Lyon and Nugent were likely suffering from fatigue as a result of disruptive work patterns, burnout and poor sleeping conditions during the training exercise.It made 196 findings and 46 recommendations across the Defense Aviation Safety Program, all of which have been accepted.The Department of Defence said that the investigation was one of the most complex conducted in recent history.–IANSint/as

Dhaka, May 21 (IANS) Bangladesh’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Waker-Uz-Zaman on Wednesday addressed all officers at the Army Head Quarters (AHQ) in Dhaka, during which he reportedly stated that there will be no Humanitarian Corridor, nor any port allotted to any foreigners till an elected government comes to power in the country.

Sources revealed that the address was followed by an intense interactive session, which also included online participation.Zaman underscored that Bangladesh Army will not allow anything that will affect the sovereignty and geographical stability of the country. His statement was reportedly greeted with a huge applause by the officers.The COAS expressed serious concerns that the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government was taking decisions while keeping the country’s Armed Forces in the dark.Speaking about elections, he said that an elected government should be in power by January 1, 2026 after concluding “free and fair” polls following which the army will return to the barracks.While the COAS appreciated some personal qualities of Yunus, he noted that there are some “foreigners” in the interim government who are acting irresponsibly and will go back to their country when things go wrong.Zaman pointed out the importance of the 1972 Constitution of Bangladesh and stated that any large-scale changes are not desirable. The General said that he is not able to understand the proposed “July Declaration” and further touched upon the “meaningless and hollow thought” on the removal of the President of Bangladesh.The COAS underlined that mob aggression and lawlessness will not be tolerated and will be taken seriously. He also admonished protesting Army personnel and conveyed that their acts will be made public, if they continue with their irresponsible actions.It may be pointed out that none of the senior officers present in the meeting raised any questions and Gen Zaman was happy to answer queries from officers of the ranks of Captain to Lt. Colonel.On the issue of reforms before the General Elections, Zaman urged the officers to remain patient and assured them that he would consider their opinion.During the discussions, an officer reinforced that the Liberation War legacy and national prestige/reputation were non-negotiable and it must not be compromised under any circumstances.No questions were reportedly raised on the ban imposed on the Awami League party.Insiders say that Zaman, who received loud applause from the officers, was resolute and decisive in his remarks.The officer corps said that they stand united in support of the COAS and are ready to act upon his command.–IANSint/scor/as

Seoul, May 21 (IANS) South Korea’s conservative People Power Party (PPP) apologised on Wednesday for…