Page 5 - International News

Security scare at JD Vance's Ohio residence; windows damaged, suspect held

The United States Secret Service said the vice president's family was not in Ohio when the incident took place

Indian envoy urged Trump to relieve tariffs on oil imports: US Senator

US Senator Lindsey Graham has claimed that Indian Ambassador to the US Vinay Kwatra informed him about New Delhi reducing its purchases of Russian oil and asked him to convey to President Donald Trump to "relieve the tariff" imposed on India. Graham, accompanying Trump on Air Force One Sunday, spoke about his tariff bill that seeks to impose 500 per cent levies on imports from countries buying Russian oil. He said that to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict, pressure must be put on Russian President Vladimir Putin's customers. Trump said that the sanctions are hurting Russia very badly, and then mentioned India. Graham then said that the US put a 25 per cent tariff on India for buying Russian oil. I was at the Indian Ambassador's house about a month ago, and all he wanted to talk about was how they are buying less Russian oil," Graham said. He added that the Indian envoy conveyed to him, "Would you tell the President to relieve the tariff?" There were no immediate comments from India

Swiss bar fire: Managers probed after fire kills 40 at New Year party

Swiss authorities have opened an investigation into the managers of the bar where a fire at a New Year's party left 40 people dead, police said Saturday. The two are suspected of negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm and causing fire by negligence, police said in a statement. They said that the investigation was opened on Friday night, but didn't give further details. More than 100 people were injured in the blaze that broke out about 1:30 am on Thursday at the Le Constellation bar in the Alpine resort town of Crans-Montana. The process of identifying the dead and injured was still underway on Saturday, leading to an agonising wait for relatives desperate for news. Investigators said Friday that they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fatal fire when they came too close to the ceiling of the crowded bar. Many of the injured were in their teens to mid-20s, police said. Authorities planned to look into whether sound-dampening material on the ceiling ...

Micheal Martin to visit China, first trip by an Irish leader in 14 years

Ireland's Prime Minister Micheal Martin will visit China from Sunday and meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the first visit by an Irish leader in 14 years, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday. Beijing has been strengthening ties with individual members of the European Union despite tensions with the EU bloc over tariffs and human rights issues. In late 2025, French President Emmanuel Macron and Spanish King Felipe VI met with Xi in separate trips to China. During his five-day trip, Martin will also meet with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who had invited him, and Zhao Leji, chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the ministry said in a statement. Besides Beijing, he will travel to Shanghai, it added. Through the visit, the ministry said, China is ready to work with Ireland to expand cooperation and foster China-EU relations. In December, China imposed up to 42.7 per cent of provisional tariffs on dairy products, including milk and .

Neuralink plans 'high-volume' brain implant production by 2026, says Musk

The company began human trials of its brain implant in 2024 after addressing safety concerns raised by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

US drew bulk of state-owned investments in 2025: Global SWF report

Funneling investments to the US came at the expense of emerging markets, however - despite their outsized performance in 2025

UN clears 7% reduced budget for 2026 as US arrears strain finances

The US usually contributes 22% of the UN's regular budget, but the Trump administration has not paid the $826 million bill for 2025 and it still owes some $660 million in arrears

Warner Bros likely to reject Paramount's $108.4 bn hostile bid: Report

Paramount had said that Ellison was open to personally guarantee equity financing backing the bid, a move aimed at easing doubts that had dogged its earlier proposal

Louis Gerstner, who steered IBM through historic turnaround, dies at 83

IBM chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna announced Gerstner's death in an email sent Sunday to employees, but did not provide a cause of death

US clears Samsung, SK Hynix chip tool shipments to China for 2026

The approval is a temporary relief for the South Korean firms and follows a U.S. decision earlier this year to revoke licence waivers given to some tech companies

Bangladesh polls: BNP's Tarique Rahman files nomination papers in Dhaka

Bangladesh Nationalist Party acting chairman Tarique Rahman submitted his nomination papers on Monday for the upcoming elections. The papers were filed around 12:00 pm on Monday at the office of the Dhaka Divisional Commissioner in Segunbagicha, the Daily Star reported. Abdus Salam, BNP chairperson's adviser, accompanied by Professor Dr Farhad Halim Donar, chief adviser of the Doctors Association of Bangladesh (DAB), submitted the nomination on Rahman's behalf. Rahman will contest the February 12 election from the Dhaka-17 constituency. Today is the final day for the submission of nomination papers for the 13th National Parliamentary Election. Speaking at a briefing, Salam expressed gratitude to all, saying city residents warmly welcomed Rahman after 17 years in exile. He added that they expect the people of Dhaka-17 to spontaneously cast their votes for him in the February 12 election. On Sunday, Bangladesh's Election Commission approved the inclusion of Rahman in the voter list

Nepal's former rapper to run for PM in key vote after Gen Z protests

Rapper turned-Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, aka Balen, a popular elected official, joined the RSP or national independent party, led by a former TV host-turned politician Rabi Lamichhane on Sunday

Taiwan condemns China's joint military drills, deploys forces to respond

Taiwan on Monday condemned China's joint military drills around the island, disregarding international norms and using military intimidation to threaten neighbouring countries. Taiwan's Defence Ministry on Monday said in a post on X that rapid response exercises were underway, with forces on high alert to defend the island In a separate statement, it said it had deployed appropriate forces in response, conducting combat readiness drills. The Chinese Communist Party's targeted military exercises further confirm its nature as an aggressor and the biggest destroyer of peace, the ministry said. Monday's drills heightened tensions on both sides. Karen Kuo, spokesperson for the Taiwanese president's office, said the operation was undermining the stability and security of the Taiwan Strait and Indo-Pacific region and openly challenging international law and order. Our country strongly condemns the Chinese authorities for disregarding international norms and using military intimidation t

Iran is in full-scale war with US, Israel and Europe: President Pezeshkian

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Saturday his country is in a full-scale war with the US, Israel and Europe ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting Monday with US President Donald Trump. Pezeshkian said in an interview published on the website of the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday that the war is worse than Iran's deadly war with Iraq in the 1980s. We are in a full-scale war with the US, Israel and Europe; they don't want our country to remain stable, he said. Pezeshkian said the West's war against Iran is more complicated and more difficult compared to the 1980-1988 war with Iraq that left more than 1 million casualties on both sides. The remarks came two days before a planned meeting between Trump and Netanyahu during Netanyahu's visit to the US Iran is expected to be a key topic in the talks. Israeli and US strikes on Iran that came during a 12-day air war in June killed nearly 1,100 Iranians including senior military ..

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