WORLD

The Taliban government in Afghanistan claimed that its technical teams and professional engineers have successfully repaired and tested out of two Russian MI-17 and American Bullhawk UH60″ helicopters, much of it left behind by foreign militaries and acquired since the Taliban seized power a year ago.

Air Force Commander Maulvi Abdul Ghaffar Mohammadi appreciated the efforts of the team that restored the helicopters for re-use and said that other damaged planes will also be repaired in future.

Dozens of people in central Myanmar were killed in air strikes Tuesday, according to local media reports and a witness contacted by AFP, as the United Nations and Western powers condemned the attacks and demanded accountability.

The Southeast Asian country has been in chaos and its economy in tatters since the military seized power in February 2021 coup.

UN rights chief Volker Turk said he was "horrified" by the deadly air strikes whose victims he said included schoolchildren performing dances, with the global body calling for those responsible to be brought to justice.

BBC, the British Broadcasting Corporation, has objected to Twitter labelling the media network a 'government-funded organisation'. The network said it has contacted the social media company to resolve what it calls an 'issue' at the earliest. Sanjeev Sanyal, economist, author, and member of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, has taken note of the media house's grievance and asked what is wrong with the label since it's 'the truth'.   

"The BBC's defence on being called 'government-funded' that not paying their mandatory fee is not in itself an imprisonable offence but, without a hint of irony, they add that non-payment is criminal act and can lead to prison after all!!" Sanyal tweeted. 

China’s military simulated precision strikes against Taiwan in a second day of drills around the island on Sunday, with the island’s defence ministry reporting multiple air force sorties and that it was monitoring China’s missile forces.

China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, began three days of military exercises around the island on Saturday, the day after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen returned from a brief visit to the United States.

Chinese state television reported that the combat readiness patrols and drills around Taiwan were continuing.

Neos Airline launched a flight from Amritsar’s Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport to Toronto on April 6. The Italian airline will be operating a one-stop flight connecting Amritsar with Toronto in Canada via its hub at Milan Malpensa Airport. While addressing a press conference, Neos Airline’s CEO Stradiotti said that the flight will be once a week flight, on every Thursday, and will include a short international stop at Milan in Italy.