Author: Disha Mishra
Brazil’s Supreme Court on Thursday rejected former President Jair Bolsonaro’s request to have his passport returned so he could travel to the United States to attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, a decision seen by Reuters showed. Bolsonaro, who has been barred from running for office until 2030 and faces criminal charges for allegedly plotting a coup after his 2022 election defeat, had his passport retained in February 2024 on the order of Brazil’s top court. The former president denies any wrongdoing. His lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Right-wing Bolsonaro, who governed from 2019 to 2022…
South Korea’s arrested President Yoon Suk Yeol did not attend a second day of questioning by investigators on Thursday, further stonewalling a criminal probe into whether he committed insurrection with his bid to impose martial law. Yoon on Wednesday became the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested and was held at the Seoul Detention Centre after refusing to cooperate. He remained in the centre on Thursday, with his lawyer citing his health as a factor for his absence from the questioning. The investigators did not elaborate on why they did not compel him to attend. Authorities have 48…
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming national security adviser said on Thursday the new administration will keep TikTok alive in the United States if there is a viable deal. “We will put measures in place to keep TikTok from going dark,” Representative Mike Waltz told Fox News, noting the law gives authority for a 90-day extension for the app’s Chinese owner ByteDance to complete a divestiture “as long as a viable deal is on the table. Essentially that buys President Trump time to keep TikTok going.” TikTok did not immediately comment. A spokesperson for the Trump transition, Karoline Leavitt, said “President…
India became the world’s fourth nation on Thursday to achieve the feat 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 Organisation (ISRO) that are each roughly the size of a large refrigerator, successfully latched onto each other at about 9 a.m. (0330 GMT), an agency spokesperson said. The indigenous technology, crucial for satellite servicing, space station operations, and interplanetary missions, positions India for a key role in commercial and exploratory space efforts. “India has ambitious missions…
News that Israel and Hamas have reached a hostage release deal after 15 months of war in Gaza is bittersweet for Ruth Strum — one of her sons is expected to be freed, but a second will be left behind in captivity for now. “It is not easy for a mother to hear this,” Strum told Reuters, wearing a red t-shirt emblazoned with photos of her two burly sons and the plea: “Bring Iair and Eitan home”. Although she has no information on their whereabouts in the heavily bombarded Gaza Strip, Strum said she was sure they had been kept…
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary, hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, vowed to maintain the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency as he prepared to face questions from U.S. senators on Thursday on how he will implement Trump’s tax cut, tariff and deregulation plans. Bessent’s testimony at a Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing at 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT) will have financial markets on edge amid worries – reflected in rising bond yields – that Trump’s policy plans could stoke inflation and spark a new global trade war that threatens financial stability. The 62-year-old founder of Key Square…
U.S. President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump both claimed credit on Wednesday for a Gaza ceasefire-for-hostages deal that was months in the making but was helped across the line by a Trump envoy. In announcing the ceasefire, Biden noted the final deal largely mirrored the framework of a proposal he made back in May. He smiled when a reporter asked who the history books will credit for the ceasefire and asked, “Is that a joke?” “This plan was developed and negotiated by my team and will be largely implemented by the incoming administration. That’s why I told my team…
Israel airstrikes killed at least 77 people in Gaza overnight on Thursday, residents and authorities in the enclave said, hours after a ceasefire and hostage release deal was announced to bring an end to 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas. The complex ceasefire accord emerged on Wednesday after mediation by Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. to stop the war that has devastated the coastal territory and inflamed the Middle East. The deal, scheduled to be implemented from Sunday, outlines a six-week initial ceasefire with the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, where tens of thousands…
The ceasefire in Gaza represents a “great victory” for the Palestinian resistance, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday, warning against any possible breach by Israel. Palestinian armed group Hamas and Israel reached a deal for a ceasefire in Gaza that mediators said would take effect on Sunday. The agreement provides for the release of Israeli hostages held there during 15 months of conflict that devastated the enclave and killed tens of thousands of Palestinians. “The end of the war and the imposition of a ceasefire on the Zionist regime (Israel) is a clear and great victory for Palestine and a…
Significant progress was made on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal once the administrations of Joe Biden and Donald Trump began working hand in hand to make the case for urgency, outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew told Reuters.. Lew’s 15 months as President Biden’s envoy overlapped with a war that began on Oct. 7, 2023, with a Palestinian Hamas attack on Israel followed by an Israeli assault on Gaza. He spoke on Tuesday before a deal was reached. Lew, 69, will hand over the ambassador’s role to Mike Huckabee, a Baptist minister and former Arkansas governor, when…