Page 15 - International News

Bluebird Block-2 satellite to commence ops in coming weeks: AST SpaceMobile

The Bluebird Block-2 satellite, which was successfully deployed by ISRO's Bahubali rocket LVM3-M6 on December 24 is set to commence operations in the coming weeks. The next-generation communication satellite, developed by US-based AST SpaceMobile, became the first spacecraft to be launched from Indian soil on December 24 into the intended orbit by ISRO. "In the coming weeks it will start operations," AST SpaceMobile COO Shanti B Gupta said. In a statement, AST SpaceMobile said, Bluebird 6 has become the largest commercial communications array ever deployed in the Low Earth orbit as it spans 2,400 sq ft, three times larger than the previous Bluebird satellites 1-5 launched in September 2024. The satellites have been engineered to deliver commercial and government applications, including high-speed 4G and 5G space-based cellular broadband directly to standard, unmodified smartphones and government applications. AST SpaceMobile Chairman and CEO Abel Avellan had said, "This launch ...

7.0-magnitude earthquake jolts Taiwan, strong tremors felt in Taipei

The epicenter was off Taiwan's northeastern coast, some 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) east of Yilan County, according to the agency's preliminary reading based on the Richter scale

King Charles, Prince William to lead Trump trade outreach in 2026: Report

Britain's senior royals are to be deployed as part of a charm offensive with President Donald Trump to get a coveted trade deal with the US over the line in the New Year, according to a report on Saturday. King Charles III is expected to make a trip to Washington in the first half of next year, making it a historic visit by a reigning British monarch in almost 20 years, The Times' referenced sources close to the talks as saying. William, the Prince of Wales, is expected to travel to North America when the US hosts the football World Cup with Canada and Mexico in July. Plans for both visits are still in very early stages, with formal invitations from the US yet to be received. According to the newspaper, both tours are being timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of American independence and as discussions continue between Britain and the United States over formalising a trade deal. This month, the American administration paused a proposed multi-billion-pound investment in th

After 17 years in exile, BNP leader Tarique Rahman registers as voter

BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman on Saturday completed the formalities to enlist himself on Bangladesh's voter list and obtain a national identity (NID) card, two days after his return from over 17 years of self-exile in London. The 60-year-old leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) visited the Election Commission (EC) office in Dhaka under tight security, where he provided fingerprints and iris scans for biometric enrollment, news portal tbsnews.net reported. He earlier submitted his voter registration application online, officials said. Tarique Rahman has already filled out the online form and has come to complete the registration by providing his fingerprints and iris scan, ASM Humayun Kabir, director general of the National Identity Registration Wing of the Election Commission, told reporters. He is expected to receive his NID card within 24 hours, the official said. Rahman's daughter Zaima also completed her registration formalities for the NID card. Foolproof ..

Saudi-led coalition warns UAE-backed Yemen separatists of immediate action

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen warned Saturday it would immediately respond to any military movements of separatists backed by the United Arab Emirates that undermine de-escalation efforts in the southern region of the country. Any military movements that violate these efforts will be dealt with directly and immediately in order to protect civilian lives and ensure the success of restoring calm," said Brig Gen Turki al-Maliki, a coalition spokesman, according to the Saudi Press Agency. Al-Maliki also accused the Southern Transitional Council separatists of serious and horrific human rights violations against civilians, without providing evidence. This came a day after separatists accused Saudi Arabia of targeting their forces with airstrikes, something not formally acknowledged by the kingdom, whose relations with the UAE have been strained due to STC actions. Yemen, engulfed in a civil war for more than a decade, has the Iran-backed Houthis controlling much of the northern regio

Mosque bombing in Syria's Homs kills 8, wounds 18 during Friday prayers

A bombing at a mosque located in the Syrian city of Homs during Friday prayers killed at least six people and wounded 21 others, authorities said. Images released by Syria's state-run Arab News Agency showed blood on the mosque's carpets, holes in the walls, shattered windows and fire damage. The Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque is located in a predominantly Alawite area of the Wadi al-Dhahab neighborhood in Homs, Syria's third-largest city. SANA, citing a security source, said that preliminary investigations indicate that explosive devices were planted inside the mosque. Authorities were searching for the perpetrators of the attack. A security cordon was placed around the mosque, Syria's Interior Ministry said in a statement. Tensions have flared across several parts of Syria in recent weeks as long-running sectarian, ethnic and political fault lines continue to destabilize the country, even as large-scale fighting has subsided. The country has experienced several waves of sectarian

China opens world's longest expressway tunnel through Xinjiang mountains

China on Friday opened to traffic a 22.13-km-long tunnel, which it claimed to be the "world's longest", in Xinjiang province. The Tianshan Shengli tunnel, which traverses through the central Tianshan Mountains in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has reduced a treacherous mountain journey of several hours to about 20 minutes, official media reported. According to Song Hailiang, chairman of China Communications Construction Company, the tunnel has set two world records. It is the longest expressway tunnel in the world and has the deepest vertical shaft for a highway tunnel, Song said. The tunnel is a key part of the G0711 Urumqi-Yuli Expressway, which also became operational on Friday, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The expressway serves as a major transport artery linking city clusters in northern and southern Xinjiang. Stretching 2,500 km, the Tianshan Mountains span central Xinjiang, separating the provincial capital Urumqi, the largest city in the

Putin open to territory exchange while demanding full control of Donbas

In essence, Putin wants the whole of Donbas but outside that area "a partial exchange of territories from the Russian side is not ruled out," Kolesnikov wrote in the newspaper

Why Myanmar is going to hold elections on December 28 amid a civil war

Critics argue the polls neither restore Myanmar's fragile democracy, dismantled by the military takeover in 2021, nor offer a pathway to ending the violence triggered by continued army rule

At least 15 injured in knife and chemical attack at factory in Japan

A man was arrested after stabbing eight people and injuring seven others with what was believed to be bleach at a rubber factory in central Japan on Friday, officials said. Eight people were taken to hospitals after being stabbed by the man with a knife at the Yokohama Rubber Company in the city of Mishima, in the Shizuoka prefecture, west of Tokyo, according to the Fujisan Nanto Fire Department. The department told The Associated Press that five of the people who were stabbed were in serious condition but other details were not available. Shizuoka prefectural police said the attacker, a 38-year-old man, was arrested for alleged attempted murder at the factory, but did not give further details. Seven others were also injured by the bleach thrown at them during the attack, the fire department said. No other details were immediately known.

Pope Leo XIV remembers Gaza's suffering in first Christmas homily

Pope Leo XIV during his first Christmas Day homily on Thursday remembered the people of Gaza exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold and said the world's many conflicts can only be silenced through dialogue. Leo led the Christmas Day Mass from the central altar beneath the balustrade of St Peter's Basilica, adorned with floral garlands and clusters of red poinsettias. White flowers were set at the feet of a statue of Mary, mother of Jesus, whose birth is celebrated on Christmas Day. Recalling that God was made flesh through Jesus's birth in a manger in Bethlehem, Leo likened God's word to a fragile tent among us. How then can we not think of the tents in Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold; and of those so many other refugees and displaced persons on every continent, or of the makeshift shelters of thousands of homeless people in our own cities,' Leo said. The pontiff also recalled the fragility of defenceless populations, tried by so many wars,' and of young people for

How Larry and David Ellison are chasing a $108 billion media empire

What was once a relatively weak father-and-son relationship has transformed into one of modern media's most intriguing business partnerships

Russia's spirits exports to India jump nearly fourfold in 10 months

The exports of Russian spirits to India have nearly quadrupled in the first 10 months of the year compared to the same period last year, making India an attractive emerging market for Russian exporters, according to a media report. Citing data from the Federal Centre for Agricultural Export Development of the Russian Ministry of Agriculture (Agroexport), leading financial and trade daily Vedomosti said India is emerging as an attractive market for Russian exporters of Vodka and other hard alcoholic beverages. In the first 10 months of 2025, Russian spirits producers shipped approximately 520 tonnes of spirits, including vodka, gin, whiskey, and liqueurs, worth USD 900,000 to India, this is three times higher in weight and four times higher in monetary terms than the same period last year, it said. Agroexport claims that vodka was the main driver of exports. In monetary terms, its shipments over the 10 months amounted to approximately USD 760,000. Although India ranked only 14th amo

All must unite to maintain law and order: Tarique Rahman at Dhaka rally

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) acting chairman Tarique Rahman on Thursday called on countrymen to join hands to maintain law and order, in his first address to party supporters hours after his arrival in Dhaka after a gap of 17 years. Whatever political party we belong to, whatever religion we believe in, whether we are non-partisan individuals -- all must join hands to maintain law and order, he told thousands of party supporters gathered at the July 36 Expressway in the capital, where he went straight after arriving at the airport. Rahman's call for maintaining law and order came amid a fresh wave of unrest and political instability gripping Bangladesh following the killing of prominent youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi, who was a prominent face in last year's mass protests that forced the collapse of the Sheikh Hasina government. Rahman, the 60-year-old son of ailing former prime minister Khaleda Zia, has emerged as a leading contender for prime ministership in the ...

Algeria votes to declare French colonisation a crime, seeks restitution

Legislators in Algeria voted to declare France's colonisation of the North African country a crime, approving a law that calls for restitution of property taken by France during its 130-year rule, among other demands seeking to redress historical wrongs. France slammed the law as a hostile act threatening bilateral efforts to heal wounds of the past. The two countries retain close cultural and economic ties but have troubled diplomatic relations. In a solemn ceremony steeped in symbolism, 340 of 407 members of Algeria's National Assembly voted late Wednesday to approve the law. The move came just a few weeks after African countries made a collective resolution for recognition and reparations for colonial-era crimes. The law covers the period from the landing of King Charles X's army on the beaches of Sidi Ferruch west of Algiers in 1830 to July 5, 1962, the date of Algeria's official independence. The text provides for the restitution of Algerian archives and property moved to Fran

US Justice Department releases new tranche of Jeffrey Epstein files

The latest material comes a few days after the Trump administration published a large cache of Epstein files in an attempt to comply with a new law forcing disclosure on the politically fraught topic

After months of protests, UK eases inheritance tax burden on farms

Tom Bradshaw, president of the National Farmers Union, said the original proposals represented a "pernicious and cruel tax" that his organisation had fought for 14 months

Jailed Imran Khan calls for street movement against 'Asim Law' in Pakistan

Pakistan's jailed former prime minister Imran Khan has directed Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi of his party to prepare for a street movement against "Asim Law", in an apparent reference to Chief of Defence Forces Asim Munir. Khan, 73, who has been in jail since August 2023, faces multiple cases launched against him since his ouster from power in April 2022. He and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were sentenced to 17 years in jail each by a court on Saturday in the Toshakhana 2 corruption case. "My message for Sohail Afridi is to prepare for a street movement. The entire nation must rise for its rights. To strive for justice is a sacred duty, and I am ready to lay down my life for Haqeeqi Azadi (true freedom) of my nation," Khan said in a post on X on Monday.

Novo Nordisk secures US FDA approval for first weight-loss pill

US-listed shares of Novo jumped 8 per cent and Lilly fell 1 per cent in extended trading after the approval announcement

US GDP growth beats forecasts, accelerates to 4.3% in third quarter

The data was delayed by the 43-day government shutdown and is now outdated. Consumer spending increased at a 3.5 per cent rate last quarter after advancing at a 2.5 per cent pace in the second quarter