Author: Disha Mishra
International power rivalry is playing out in the Indian Ocean region, India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Wednesday, adding that a strong naval presence in the key trade route was his country’s biggest priority. While Singh did not name any country, analysts say that China, which commands the world’s largest naval force with more than 370 ships, has been a security concern for India since ties nosedived in 2020 after 24 troops died in clashes along their Himalayan frontier. The UK and the U.S. also have a joint military base in the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia. Chinese…
Iran never plotted to kill Republican U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in an NBC News interview on Tuesday, denying past claims from Trump and the U.S. government. In November, the U.S. Justice Department charged an Iranian man in connection with an alleged plot ordered by Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard Corps to assassinate the U.S. president-elect. Law enforcement thwarted the alleged plan before any attack was carried out. Trump also said last year during the U.S. election campaign that Iran may have been behind attempts to kill him. “None whatsoever,” Pezeshkian said on NBC News , opens…
Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was arrested and questioned by authorities in relation to a criminal insurrection investigation on Wednesday, saying he was only cooperating with what he called an illegal probe to avoid violence. His arrest, the first ever for an incumbent South Korean president, is the latest head-spinning development for one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies even though the country has a history of prosecuting and imprisoning former leaders. Since lawmakers voted to stand him down after his short-lived declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, Yoon has been holed up at his hillside residence, guarded…
WASHINGTON, Jan 14 (Reuters) – President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, came under fire during his confirmation hearing on Tuesday as Democrats railed against him and voiced deep concern about his inexperience, alleged drunkenness and past opposition to women in combat. Hegseth, a former Fox News host, is one of the most controversial figures ever nominated to be Secretary of Defense. The 44-year-old slammed diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the military, and, in his latest book, questioned whether the top U.S. general has the job because he’s Black. Prior to his nomination, Hegseth strongly opposed…
WASHINGTON, Jan 14 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday laid out plans for the post-war management of Gaza, saying the outgoing Biden administration would hand over the roadmap to President-elect Donald Trump’s team to pick up if a ceasefire deal is reached. Speaking at the Atlantic Council in Washington in his final days as the U.S. top diplomat, Blinken said Washington envisioned a reformed Palestinian Authority leading Gaza and inviting international partners to help establish and run an interim administration for the enclave. A security force would be formed from forces from partner nations and vetted…
LONDON, Jan 14 (Reuters) – The British minister responsible for financial services and fighting corruption resigned on Tuesday after weeks of questions over her financial ties to her aunt Sheikh Hasina, ousted last year as prime minister of Bangladesh. Tulip Siddiq, 42, had repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and Prime Minister Keir Starmer said last week he had full confidence in her. The resignation of a second government minister in two months is a blow to Starmer, whose approval ratings have plunged since his Labour Party won a general election in July. Siddiq was handed the portfolio for financial services policy…
Jan 14 (Reuters) – The Qatar stock index led most Gulf equities higher on Tuesday as hopes for a Gaza ceasefire rose after mediators reported a “breakthrough” in Doha talks. Negotiators were hoping to finalise details of a plan to end the war in Gaza, after U.S. President Joe Biden indicated a ceasefire and hostage release deal was imminent. The Qatari benchmark index (.QSI), opens new tab snapped a three-session losing streak with a rise of 1.6%, its biggest daily gain in over two months with almost all its shares higher. Qatar Gas Transport (QGTS.QA), opens new tab climbed 6.2%…
PRAYAGRAJ, India, Jan 14 (Reuters) – Naked Hindu ascetics smeared in holy ash charged into the waters of sacred rivers in India on Tuesday, part of a large crowd of 35 million devotees who took the holy dip on the second day of the Maha Kumbh Mela, or Great Pitcher Festival, seeking absolution from their sins. The “royal bath” of the ascetics is a key part of the event, held every 12 years in the northern city of Prayagraj, because Hindus believe it confers salvation from the cycle of birth and death, in addition to the absolution of sins. Thousands…
WASHINGTON, Jan 14 (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday that it has deleted malware planted on more than 4,200 computers by a group of criminal hackers who were backed by the People’s Republic of China. The malware, known as “PlugX,” affected thousands of computers around the globe and was used to infect and steal information, the department said. Investigators said the malware was installed by a band of hackers who are known by the names “Mustang Panda” and “Twill Typhoon.” In court records filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, prosecutors allege…
STILFONTEIN, South Africa, Jan 14 (Reuters) – South African rescuers have pulled out 36 dead bodies and 82 survivors from a gold mine deep underground in two days of operations, police said on Tuesday, adding that the survivors would all face illegal mining and immigration charges. Police began laying siege to the mine in August and cut off food and water supplies in an attempt to force the miners to the surface so they could be arrested as part of a crackdown on illegal mining. Hundreds more men and dozens more bodies are still trapped underground, according to a miners’…