18-01-2025 WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court has upheld a law that bans TikTok in the US unless its China-based parent company ByteDance sells the platform by this Sunday. TikTok had challenged the law, arguing it would violate free speech protections for the more than 170 million users it says it …
Read More »Ex-Pakistani PM Imran Khan jailed for 14 years over corruption
18-01-2025 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan to 14 years imprisonment on Friday in a land corruption case, a setback to nascent talks between his party and the government aimed at cooling political instability in the south Asian nation. The …
Read More »Indian space agency achieves satellite docking milestone
19-01-2025 BENGALURU: India became the world’s fourth nation on Thursday to achieve the feet of space docking, a technological milestone that underscores its ambitions to expand its share of a rapidly growing $400-billion global space market. Target and Chaser, two satellites of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) that are …
Read More »Iraq wants Iran-backed factions to lay down weapons
18-01-2025 LONDON: Iraq is trying to convince powerful armed factions in the country that have fought U.S. forces and fired rockets and drones at Israel to lay down their weapons or join official security forces, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said. The push comes with a backdrop of seismic shifts in …
Read More »SpaceX Starship test fails after Texas launch
18-01-2025 WASHINGTON/ NEW YORK: The latest test of Space X’s giant Starship rocket has failed, minutes after launch. Officials at Elon Musk’s company said the upper stage was lost after problems developed after lift-off from Texas on Thursday. The mission came hours after the first flight of the Blue Origin …
Read More »Ceasefire kindles hope of hostage son’s return to Nepal
18-01-2025 KATHMANDU: In a remote village in western Nepal, thousands of miles from Israel, Mahananda Joshi was sitting restlessly at home on Thursday, his phone in his hand. The phone is never far from his hand now and never on silent. He is waiting for news of his son, Bipin …
Read More »Biden warns of dangers of oligarchy taking shape in US
18-01-2025 WASHINGTON: Outgoing US President Joe Biden warned of the dangers of an oligarchy gaining power as he delivered his farewell address and brought a decades-long career in politics to an end. “Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that really threatens our …
Read More »Rocket launch challenges Elon Musk’s space dominance
18-01-2025 TALLAHASSEE: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s Space Company has blasted its first rocket into orbit in a bid to challenge the dominance of Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The New Glenn rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 02:02 local time (07:02 GMT). It firmly pits the world’s …
Read More »Israel delays vote to approve Gaza ceasefire deal
18-01-2025 JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has delayed a cabinet vote to approve the Gaza ceasefire deal, due on Thursday, accusing Hamas of seeking last-minute changes to the agreement. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a “loose end” was being tied up and that he was confident the …
Read More »UK pledges support for Ukraine with 100-year pact
18-01-2025 LONDON/ KYIV: Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to put Ukraine in the “strongest possible position” on a trip to Kyiv where he signed a “landmark” 100-year pact with the war-stricken country. The prime minister’s visit on Thursday was at one point marked by loud blasts and air raid sirens …
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