US exits WHO, citing COVID failures

IANS | January 23, 2026 8:03 AM

Washington, Jan 23 (IANS) The United States announced that it has formally withdrawn from the World Health Organization, ending its membership in the global health body. The move, the Trump administration said, fulfills a promise made on the president’s first day in office.

Trump says Putin, Zelensky want deal, cites complex war

IANS | January 23, 2026 7:54 AM

Washington, Jan 23 (IANS) US President Donald Trump said the main obstacle to a Ukraine-Russia agreement remains the same factors that have stalled talks for months, describing the conflict as complex and insisting it was not his war.

PM Modi receives call from Brazilian President Lula; AI Summit, UN reform discussed

IANS | January 23, 2026 6:32 AM

Washington, Jan 23 (IANS) Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said during a telephone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday that he intends to attend the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi next month. The two leaders aligned on Global South priorities and pressed for United Nations Security Council reform ahead of their bilateral summit scheduled for February in India.

Trump lays out Greenland, Ukraine plans

IANS | January 23, 2026 6:24 AM

Washington, Jan 23 (IANS) President Donald Trump said negotiations over a long-term US role in Greenland were ongoing and framed his push to end the Ukraine war as a life-saving effort, during an extended exchange with reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned to the US from Davos.

India pitches inclusive AI model rooted in sutras, chakras

IANS | January 22, 2026 9:58 PM

Washington, Jan 22 (IANS) India's Ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, said on Thursday that India is advancing an artificial intelligence (AI) vision anchored in an indigenous framework of "three sutras and seven interconnected chakras", with a focus on inclusivity, affordability, and population-scale impact.

Pakistan becoming safe haven for Hamas poses threat to West: Report

IANS | January 22, 2026 9:20 PM

Washington, Jan 22 (IANS) The threat of Hamas gaining an ideological and logistical foothold in Pakistan, particularly in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), is genuine and credible. While the global community focuses on demilitarising Hamas in Gaza, it must recognise that Pakistan is becoming the next fertile ground for Hamas to reorganise, posing a risk to the West and its interests in the region, a report said on Thursday.

Bangladesh: Yunus govt slammed for using anti-terror laws to target journalists

IANS | January 22, 2026 9:19 PM

Dhaka, Jan 22 (IANS) Bangladesh’s interim government led by Muhammad Yunus has committed its most "disgraceful act" by permitting the use of anti-terror laws to arrest journalists across the country, resulting in pre-trial detention for months on "extraordinary", often "outlandish charges", including murder, a report highlighted on Thursday.

Pakistan: Jihadist and sectarian factions brought together under ISI oversight

IANS | January 22, 2026 9:18 PM

New Delhi, Jan 22 (IANS) The growing alignment between terror groups Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) demonstrates the strategic manoeuvring of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), a report highlighted while detailing a recent episode in which ISKP coordinator Mir Shafiq Mangal presented a weapon to LeT leader Rana Mohammad Ashfaq, symbolising a partnership that brings together jihadist and sectarian factions under ISI oversight.

Pakistan witnesses deterioration of internal stability under Asim Munir: Report

IANS | January 22, 2026 9:11 PM

Islamabad, Jan 22 (IANS) People across Pakistan are raising concerns over Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir’s failure to safeguard citizens from escalating militancy, particularly in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. The rise in militant attacks and fatalities has been attributed to the operational and tactical shortcomings of Munir-led security forces, with 2025 recording more than 5,300 militant attacks in Pakistan, a report said on Thursday.