President Donald Trump’s administration imposed sweeping sanctions Thursday on Iran’s banking sector, taking a major new step to cripple the arch-rival’s already struggling economy weeks ahead of US elections. The Treasury Department said it was designating 18 major Iranian banks, a move that could largely cut off the nation of 80 million people from the world’s financial system just as it tries to cope with the Middle East’s worst Covid-19 outbreak. The United States defied concerns from European allies that the sanctions could cause needless suffering and insisted it was making exemptions for humanitarian trade. US said the Iranian leadership was to blame for devoting funds to the military when it has health needs.

Assam govt to shut down all

govet-run madrassas, ‘tols’

After dissolving the State Madrassa Education Board in 2018, Indian state Assam’s education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma yesterday announced that the state government is going to close down all government-run madrassas in the state. Stating that they can’t allow religious education with public money, the minister said that a notification to this effect would be issued next month. In February this year, Sarma had announced that the government has decided to close down not just government-run madrassas but also government-run Sanskrit ‘tols’.

Aussie ex-PM registers as

foreign agent over UK role

Australia’s right-wing former prime minister Tony Abbott registered as an agent of foreign influence yesterday, after controversially taking up a role as a trade advisor to the UK government. Abbott -- who lost his seat in parliament at the last election -- is registered under the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme, which is designed to monitor outside influence over Australian public life. The scheme is similar to the United States’ Foreign Agents Registration Act, and was introduced in late 2018 amid concerns about growing Chinese lobbying efforts Down Under.

India test fires new generation

anti-radiation missile

India yesterday successfully test-fired the “Rudram” Anti-Radiation Missile, developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), from a Sukhoi-30 fighter aircraft off the east coast today. The missile hit with pin-point accuracy a radiation target located on Wheeler Island off the coast of Bay of Bengal in the eastern state of Odisha, the Indian Defence Ministry said in a statement. This is the first indigenous anti-radiation missile of the country for Indian Air Force (IAF) being developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), it said. With this, India has established indigenous capability to develop long range air launched anti-radiation missiles for neutralizing enemy radars, communication sites and other radio frequency-emitting targets, said the statement.