World News

Nepal elections: All you need to know about 1st polls since Gen Z protests

Nepal heads to the polls for the first time since Gen Z-led protests that toppled former PM K P Sharma Oli's government. RSP's Balendra Shah has emerged as a frontrunner for the country's top post

China hikes defence budget to $275 bn as military modernisation accelerates

China announced a 7.2-per cent increase for its national defence budget to $249 billion for 2025, which is a $17 billion rise compared to 2024

US submarine launches its first torpedo in combat since World War II

Since 1991, Navy subs have launched scores of cruise missiles in combat, but the torpedo attack off Sri Lanka is a return to form after 80 years

Morgan Stanley lays off 2,500 employees despite record profits in 2025

Job cuts hit bank's three major business segments: Investment banking and trading, wealth management, and investment management

Anthropic reopens talks with US Pentagon after feud over AI safety

If both sides strike a new agreement, it would allow the military to resume using Anthropic's AI while lessening the risk that the Pentagon would officially blacklist the company

Nepal votes in first general election since govt-toppling Gen Z protests

The voting started at 7 am and will conclude at 5 pm

China sets low growth target of 4.5% to 5% for 2026 amid property slump

China's economy grew by 5 per cent last year to $20.01 trillion, riding high on the robust exports despite US tariffs, while domestic consumption, its bugbear, remained sluggish

Kurdish groups preparing to join fight against Iran with US support

Khalil Nadiri, an official with Kurdistan Freedom Party, based in northern Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region, said Wednesday that some of their forces had moved to areas near the Iranian border

Sustained war in Iran may leave US vulnerable, says Antony Blinken

His remarks come on the fifth day of combat operations after the US and Israel launched a war with Iran, and as concerns grow that this conflict could end up becoming a war of attrition

Iran launches missiles at Israel as war in West Asia enters day 6

Israel announced the incoming attack shortly after its military said it had begun new strikes in Lebanon targeting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Beirut's southern suburbs

Judge's 'bias' forced me to pay full price for Twitter, says Elon Musk

The jury is hearing claims by Twitter investors that Musk defrauded them by manipulating the platform's share price so he could acquire it more cheaply

Spain denies cooperating with US in West Asia, contradicting White House

Moments after a White House spokesperson said that the Spanish government in Madrid had agreed to help the US, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares came out and flatly denied the claim

US judge orders refunds for companies after Trump tariffs struck down

The Supreme Court found those tariffs to be unconstitutional under the emergency powers law, including the sweeping "reciprocal" tariffs he levied on nearly every other country

Nepal election pits former rapper against old guard vying for Gen Zs

Balendra Shah, a 35-year-old former rapper-turned-politician who was previously the mayor of the capital Kathmandu, has emerged as a front-runner with backing from many of the young voters

Nato spokesperson condemns Iran's 'indiscriminate' attacks on Turkiye

Our deterrence and defense posture remains strong across all domains, including when it comes to air and missile defence, the spokesperson said

Meta CEO Zuckerberg says in deposition that he resisted censoring platforms

Prosecutors are alleging that Meta violated state consumer protection laws in failing to disclose what it knew about the dangers of addiction to social media as well as child sexual exploitation

US, European equities rise as oil eases, investors eye West Asia war

The dollar fell and US ​Treasury yields rose for a third straight day, even as the US-Iran war expanded after a US submarine sank ​an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka

Over 17,500 Americans safely returned from West Asia amid Iran conflict: US

US State Department said that through its 24/7 Task Force, it has assisted nearly 6,500 Americans abroad by offering security guidance and travel assistance

Detected over 185 missiles since start of 'blatant Iranian aggression': UAE

The Ministry of Defence on Tuesday also successfully intercepted three ballistic missiles and detected 129 drones, of which 121 were intercepted while eight fell within the territory of the state

Israeli military attacks Iranian command centres with over 100 warplanes

More than 250 bombs were dropped by over 100 fighter jets in the "wide-scale" strike