Top 10 world news: China slams US for TikTok ban order, Indian stock market bleeds and more

China slammed US for ordering to ban the Chinese video-sharing network TikTok from work phones of its federal employees. Terming the Washington's move to outlaw TikTok an "overreaction", Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, "We firmly oppose those wrong actions". In other news,Indian equity benchmark index, the Sensex, has dropped by over 2,000 points, and domestic have fallen for seven straight trading sessions as of Monday, leading to investors' wealth erosion of over $120 billion.

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China says US 'overreacting' by banning TikTok on federal devices

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US and China tensions are already exacerbated by two fresh controversies around Russia's war on Ukraine and COVID-19 origins. Amid this, another one played out on Tuesday when China struck back at US for stepping up its attempts to ban the Chinese video-sharing network TikTok from work phones of its federal employees.

A 'paranoid' president, US 'abandonment'— new report on why Afghan forces collapsed after American withdrawal

The dramatic collapse of Afghanistan's armed forces in 2021 which allowed a Taliban takeover of Kabul's corridors of power, was made possible by ethnic divisions in the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) and the lack of US airstrikes targeting Taliban leadership after 2019, the latest report by Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) revealed on February 28.

$120 billion wiped out in seven days of Indian stocks meltdown

Indian equity benchmark index, the Sensex, has dropped by over 2,000 points, and domestic have fallen for seven straight trading sessions as of Monday, leading to investors' wealth erosion of over $120 billion. Those losses come after the main benchmarks suffered their worst weekly selloff of the year on worries of aggressive interest-rate hikes.

Nikki Haley makes big claim on COVID-19, demands aid cut to 'communist' China

US presidential hopeful Nikki Haley has trained her guns on China and said COVID-19 came from a Chinese lab. In a brief Twitter rant, she added that all US aid to the 'communist' country should be cut.Haley's tweet comes a day after a classified and updated document by the US Energy Department claimed that the COVID-19 virus emerged from a lab leak.

EXPLAINED | What is the controversy surrounding Eric Garcetti? Biden's pick for US envoy to India

Eric Garcetti's candidature is expected to be heard on Tuesday (February 28) by the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, more than a year after he was initially considered as a potential American ambassador to India in2021.

Russian military says it conducted drills during brief closure of St. Petersburg airport

The Russian defence ministry said it carried out drills involving interceptor jets after St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport was shut for nearly an hour and diverted all the flights, on Tuesday (February 28). Astatement by the defence ministry was issued hours after at least five flights from the capital city of Moscow to the Russian city of St. Petersburg were diverted and after theflight resumed operations.

Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang will visit India to attend upcoming G20 meeting

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang will travel to India this week for the G20 foreign ministers meeting on March 2, said the ministry, on Tuesday (February 28). Qin became the foreign minister earlier this year replacing his predecessor Wang Yi who had held the position for nearly a decade.

Are Swedish gangs receiving weapons destined for Ukraine?

Criminal gangs in Sweden may have access to far more powerful weapons, possibly shipped from Ukraine, according to a report by Sputnik News. The arms smugglers in the second-largest city ofGothenburg have been receiving requests to procure weapons from the conflict-hit regions of Ukraine.

US: Bestselling author and Democrat Marianne Williamson announces 2024 presidential bid

Marianne Williamson, a self-help author and a Democrat who unsuccessfully ran for the 2020 presidential election, has announced that she would be contesting for the White House again in 2024.She is the first major Democrat to challenge Joe Biden for his party’s nomination in 2024.

Indian speedster Jasprit Bumrah ruled out of IPL 2023 - Report

Indian speedster Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 because of the back injury he sustained in last August, according to ESPNCricinfo. Bumrah did try to make a comeback a couple of times but the injury, for which he's undergoing a rehab in National Cricket Academy (NCA), kept getting serious.