international

Contact has been lost with a passenger plane carrying 28 people in Russia's Far East, news agencies cited emergency services as saying on Tuesday.The An-26 was flying from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to Palana in the Kamchatka Peninsula when it did not make a scheduled call-in, the Interfax, RIA Novosti and TASS agencies quoted local officials as saying. The report said the 28 on board included six crew members and that there were one or two children among the passengers. The plane lost contact with air traffic control while attempting to land, TASS separately cited a source as saying. Russia, once known for…

Thousands of people took to the street on Thursday to denounce Turkey's withdrawal from an international treaty designated to combat violence against women.Large scale demonstration was witnessed after Turkey formally pulled out from the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, also known as Istanbul Convention, Al Jazeera reported.Demonstrators clashed with police who fired tear gas in the country's biggest city Istanbul. Women protesters gathered on the Istiklal Avenue, carrying banners and chanting slogans against the government. The police fired tear gas to disperse the protesters, preventing them from proceeding toward the iconic…

In partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), The Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI) launched the ‘Pankh Initiative’ to generate greater awareness about reproductive health issues among youth. Pankh (wings) aims to create awareness about safe sexual behaviour and proper contraceptive use without stigma or judgment. The Initiative will introduce the ‘Talk Bejhijhak’ (talk without hesitation) campaign to facilitate non-judgemental, technically accurate conversations between FOGSI member physicians across India and youth. The campaign will include an anonymous helpline (1800 258 0001) where trained counsellors can answer questions and help facilitate face-to-face consultations in clinics…

Terrorists ambushed security forces patrolling a remote district in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, killing five of them before fleeing the scene, according to a media report on Friday. Five soldiers of Frontier Corps Balochistan were killed in an exchange of fire with the terrorists, according to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan armed forces. Four Frontier Corps members were killed immediately, while another died in hospital. No group has immediately claimed responsibility. There has been a surge in assaults on Pakistani security forces in Balochistan in recent months. A search operation is also in progress to…

Hong Kong's most vocal pro-democracy newspaper, Apple Daily, printed its last edition on Thursday after a stormy year in which its tycoon owner and other staff were arrested under a new national security law, and its assets were frozen.The closure of the popular tabloid, which mixes pro-democracy views with celebrity gossip and investigations of those in power, marks the end of an era for media freedom in the Chinese-ruled city, critics say. "Thank you to all readers, subscribers, ad clients and Hong Kongers for 26 years of immense love and support. Here we say goodbye, take care of yourselves," the…

John McAfee, the creator of the McAfee antivirus software, has been found dead in his cell in a jail near Barcelona, a government official told The Associated Press on June 23. Hours earlier, a Spanish court issued a preliminary ruling in favour of the 75-year-old tycoon's extradition to the United States to face tax-related criminal charges. Security personnel at the Brians 2 penitentiary near the northeastern Spanish city tried to revive him, but the jail’s medical team finally certified his death, a statement from the regional Catalan government said. The statement didn't identify McAfee by name, but said he was…