In the latest, the Maldives government has taken action by suspending three deputy ministers, namely Mariyam Shiuna, Malsha Shareef, and Hassan Zihan, from their positions due to disrespectful comments they made about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the South Asian realm, Bangladesh’s general election takes centre stage. The results are expected by Monday (Jan 8). In other news, two reporters lost their lives in an Israeli airstrike in the war-ridden area as tensions between Israel and Hamas intensify.
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The Maldives government has suspended three deputy ministers – Mariyam Shiuna, Malsha Shareef and Hassan Zihan – over their derogatory remarks made about Indian PM Narendra Modi.
Voting has ended in Bangladesh and counting of votes has started. Results are expected to be out by Monday. Click on the headline to get all live updates on the elections.
The health ministry in the Gaza Strip said on Sunday (Jan 7) that two journalists were killed in an Israeli air strike in the war-torn region as the conflict between Israel and Hamas escalates. According to the health ministry and medics, Mustafa Thuria, a video stringer for AFP news agency, and Hamza Wael Dahdouh, a journalist with Al Jazeera television network, were killed while they were travelling in a car.
North Korea on Sunday (Jan 7) conducted live-fire exercises on its western coast, Seoul’s military said in a statement.
This was the third consecutive day of military drills conducted by Pyongyang near its disputed maritime border with the South.
During an address on the eve of Orthodox Christmas, on Saturday (Jan 6) Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to support soldiers “fighting to defend Moscow’s interests”. Meanwhile, wives of Russians mobilised to fight in Ukraine symbolically laid flowers at the flame of an unknown soldier near the Kremlin and demanded the return of their husbands from the front.
A fire erupted in parts of a densely populated Rohingya refugee camp in south-eastern Bangladesh, leaving over 4,000 people without shelter, according to officials.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in her message to neighbouring India on the day of polling, hailed New Delhi as a “trusted friend”.
”We are very lucky…India is our trusted friend. During our Liberation War, they supported us…After 1975, when we lost our whole family…they gave us shelter. So our best wishes to the people of India,” she said.
Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has denied claims made by South Korea that Pyongyang fired dozens of artillery rounds near their border on Saturday (Jan 6).
The smog tower installed in Delhi’s Connaught Place has been locked up by the workers in protest to non-payment of their salaries, as per several media reports. The development comes even as the national capital reels under ‘very poor’ air quality amidst freezing cold and dense fog.
In a major boost to the operational setup of the Indian Air Force (IAF), the C-130J aircraft recently landed at the challenging Kargil airstrip at night for the first time.
