A Russian military transport plane carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, six crew and three people accompanying them crashed on Wednesday morning in Russia’s Belgorod region near Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry said. It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the crash, which occurred around 11 a.m. It was also not known if anyone survived. The authorities were investigating the cause of the crash, and a special military commission was on the way to the crash site, the Defense Ministry said.

In view of the General Elections to be held in Pakistan on February 8, the Cabinet of Acting Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakkar has approved the deployment of army and civil armed forces. With less than three weeks left for the upcoming elections, there has been an increase in shooting incidents in Pakistan. Earlier this month, an independent candidate was shot dead in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Meanwhile, Pakistan's Punjab government has implemented Section 144 across the state till February 12 after reports of a threat to the law and order situation during the elections. State Home Secretary Shakee

Turkish legislators scheduled a long-delayed vote Tuesday on Sweden’s bid to join NATO, in a step that could remove a major hurdle for the previously nonaligned Nordic country’s entry into the military alliance. Turkey, a NATO member, has been dragging its feet on ratifying Sweden’s accession for more than a year, accusing the country of being too lenient toward groups it regards as security threats. It has been seeking concessions from Sweden, including a tougher stance toward Kurdish militants and members of a network that Ankara blames for a failed coup in 2016. Turkey has also been a

Twenty people are confirmed dead and 24 remain missing after a landslide in a remote, mountainous part of China's southwestern province of Yunnan, Chinese state media reported Tuesday. The disaster struck just before 6 a.m. on Monday in the village of Liangshui in the northeastern part of Yunnan. Authorities resumed search and rescue operations Tuesday after suspending the work temporarily due to another landslide alert.

Australia has scrapped the Golden Visa program, which granted wealthy foreign investors the right to stay in the country. The government started the program to attract foreign investment, but now says its economic results have not been significant and is therefore being replaced by the skilled worker visa. The Golden Visa was available on an investment of 5 million Australian dollars. Thousands of foreign investors have obtained visas through the program since 2012, with 85 percent of successful applicants from China. After several reviews, the Australian government found that the scheme ha

Germany's parliament has approved easing the rules for obtaining citizenship by lifting restrictions on dual citizenship. The government says that this step will help in attracting skilled workers. At the same time, the main opposition has accused the government of distributing German citizenship at a cheap price. Under the new law, people will be eligible for citizenship in Germany after five years and in special cases, citizenship can be taken after three years. Currently it takes 6 to 8 years. At the same time, if one of the parents is a legal resident for the last five years, then their

Pakistan may soon restore diplomatic relations with Iran. The Cabinet headed by Caretaker Prime Minister Anwar ul Haq on Friday decided to end the latest conflict with Iran. A spokesman for Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani's office said a telephone conversation between Jilani and his Iranian counterpart took place during the cabinet meeting, in which the two countries agreed to end the dispute. Iran's Foreign Minister Hussain Amir-Abdullahyan also later issued a statement in which he said that Pakistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity are very important to us and cooperation betwee

Reports of death threats against Sikhs in the UK are grabbing headlines. A group of British MPs has requested an urgent meeting with the Minister of Defense in this regard. A report recently emerged that West Midlands Police had issued Osman Warnings in March to three members of a family, meaning their lives were in danger and although there is information but not enough evidence to make an arrest. An inquiry is also being demanded regarding the death of Sikh activist Avtar Singh Khanda. Khanda died last year after a sudden illness. According to information, Labour MPs Preet Kaur Gill, Afzal K

Pakistan has retaliated against terrorist positions in Iran's Sistan-Baluchistan province late on Wednesday night. This air strike was carried out by penetrating 48 km inside the border of Iran. For this, fighter jets and drones were used. Pakistan claims that it killed many terrorists in Iran's Sistan-Baluchistan. However, Iran said that 9 people, including 4 children and 3 women, were killed in Pakistan's airstrikes and none of them were Iranian citizens. In less than 48 hours of the air strike by Iran, Pakistan retaliated under operational procedures. Late on Tuesday, Iran attacked the po