Los Angeles, Feb 12 : NASA and SpaceX are accelerating the target launch and return dates for the upcoming crew rotation missions to and from the International Space Station (ISS), which will bring the agency’s stranded astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore back home. The agency’s Crew-10 launch now is targeting March 12, pending mission...
Category: International
Blast occurs in N. Afghanistan, casualties feared
Kabul, Feb 11 : A blast occurred in northern Afghanistan’s Kunduz province on Tuesday morning, a local police official confirmed. The blast occurred outside the Kabul Bank, within Police Precinct 4 in Kunduz city, the capital of the province, said Jumadin Khaksar, the provincial police spokesman. No individual or group has commented regarding the blast...
Palestinians won’t have right to return once relocated: Trump
Washington, Feb 11: U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that he did not think the Palestinian people, whom he wanted to drive out of the Gaza Strip should return to the enclave once the reconstruction there has been completed. Asked in an interview with Fox News if the Palestinians now residing in Gaza, who under...
Trump raises aluminum tariffs to 25 pc, ends exemptions on steel and aluminum
Washington, Feb 11 : U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signed proclamations to raise tariffs on aluminum from 10 percent to 25 percent and ended duty-free quotas, exemptions and exclusions for steel and aluminum tariffs. “This is a big deal. This is the beginning of making America rich again,” Trump said when signing the proclamations...
No one has power to displace Palestinians: Turkish president
Istanbul, Feb 10 : Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said here Sunday that no one has the power to displace Palestinians from their homeland. “No one has the power to expel Gazans from their ancient and eternal homeland. Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem all belong to the Palestinians,” Erdogan told a press conference...
Lebanon orders army to retaliate against fire from Syria
Beirut, Feb 9: The Lebanese army said on Saturday it had ordered troops deployed along the Syrian border to retaliate against fire originating from Syrian territory. The army, in a statement, said it had acted on directives from Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, ordering military units along the northern and eastern borders to respond to sources...
Missing plane found in Alaska, all 10 on board confirmed dead: Reports
Washington, Feb 8 : All 10 people who were on board the plane that went missing in Alaska Thursday have died, US media reported, citing the US Coast Guard. The Bering Air single-engine turboprop plane was traveling from Unalakleet to the hub community of Nome, the Associated Press reported. The volunteer fire department of the...
Trump signs executive order imposing sanctions on ICC
Washington, Feb. 7 : U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), claiming that the court “has engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.” “The ICC has no jurisdiction over the United States or Israel, as neither country is party...
Quake measuring 6.1 hits Halmahera, Indonesia: GFZ
Jakarta, Feb 5 : An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 jolted Halmahera, Indonesia at 03:12:30 GMT on Wednesday, the GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences said. The epicenter, with a depth of 111.0 km, was initially determined to be at 1.62 degrees north latitude and 127.21 degrees east longitude. UNI
Sweden: Mass shooting kills 10 at school
Helsinki, Feb 5: The school shooting in central Sweden’s Orebro is the worst mass shooting in the country’s history, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said at a press conference late Tuesday. Swedish police confirmed on Tuesday evening that around ten people were killed in the shooting, which took place at noon at Risbergska Skolan, an...
Erdogan to visit Syria before March: Reports
Ankara, Feb 4: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Syria before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins on March 1, Turkish pro-government newspaper Turkiye reported, citing sources. Syria’s Interim President Ahmed Sharaa, will visit Turkey on Tuesday, February 4 and will officially invite President Erdogan to Damascus, and the latter will pay...
China to impose additional tariffs on certain U.S. products starting from Feb 10
Beijing, Feb 4 : China will impose additional tariffs on certain U.S. products starting from February 10, said the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council on Tuesday. An additional 15-percent tariff will be imposed on imported coal and liquefied natural gas originating from the United States, according to a statement from the commission. Crude...
Passenger jet collides with helicopter while landing at Washington’s Reagan Airport
Washington, Jan 30 : A passenger jet collided with a helicopter on Wednesday while landing at Washington’s Reagan National Airport, said the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). There is no information on casualties and the collision remains under investigation. A black hawk helicopter collided with a passenger jet, according to Fox News. Local police and...
20 killed in plane crash in South Sudan: state minister
Juba, Jan 29 : At least 20 people have been confirmed dead and one remains in critical condition following a plane crash in South Sudan. The flight was transporting passengers from Unity State to Juba, the capital of South Sudan, with 21 people on board, Unity State Minister of Information and Communication Gatwech Bipal told...
2nd phase of Hamas-Israel prisoner-hostage exchange deal completed: Red Cross
Gaza, Jan 26 : The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced Saturday the completion of the second phase of a prisoner-hostage exchange between Hamas and Israel, implemented under the initial terms of a ceasefire agreement. The second phase, including the release of 200 Palestinian prisoners and four Israeli hostages, was carried out after...
Four released Israeli hostages handed over to IDF, ISA forces: Israeli Military
Tel Aviv, Jan 25 : Four Israeli hostages released by Hamas in the Gaza Strip were handed over to the Israel Defence Forces and Israel Security Agency (ISA) forces on Saturday, the IDF announced. Hamas-run broadcaster Al Aqsa reported earlier in the day that the movement had handed over four Israeli women to Red Cross...
Will impose big sanctions on Russia if Ukraine conflict not resolved: Trump
Washington, Jan 24: US President Donald Trump has said that he will impose “massive tariffs and big sanctions” on Russia if there is no settlement to the Ukraine conflict. “I’m going to put massive power … if they don’t settle this war soon, like almost immediately, I’m going to put massive tariffs on Russia and...
US: Judge blocks Trump blatantly unconstitutional executive order to end birthright citizenship
Washington, Jan 24: A federal judge said Thursday that President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship was “blatantly unconstitutional” and issued a temporary restraining order to block it, media reports said. Judge John Coughenour, a Ronald Reagan appointee who sits in Seattle, granted the request by Washington Attorney General Nick Brown and three other...
UN confirms US will leave World Health Organisation in 2026
Washington, Jan 24: The United States is set to officially withdraw from the World Health Organisation (WHO) in January 2026 after the UN body received a formal letter from US President Donald Trump this week. UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Thursday that the withdrawal was now set in motion after Trump pledged on...
Taliban announces release of US citizens in prisoner swap deal
Kabul, Jan 23 : The Taliban government in Afghanistan has announced the release of two detained Americans in a prisoner swap deal with the United States, media reports said. The Taliban Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul did not name the US citizens but said they were exchanged for Khan Mohammad, who was arrested in...
Trump re-designates Houthis as terrorist organisation
Washington, Jan 23 : U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to re-designate the Houthis, a Yemen-based militant group, as a “Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO).” According to a fact sheet released by the White House, Trump’s executive order reversed the one issued by Joe Biden four years ago that removed the Houthis from...