Author: Disha Mishra

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’…

WASHINGTON, Jan 14 (Reuters) – The United States has banned imports from another tranche of companies over alleged human rights abuses involving the Uyghurs in China, targeting 37 textile, mining and solar entities, a federal government notice published on Tuesday said. The companies include Huafu Fashion Co., one of the world’s largest textile manufacturers, and 25 of its subsidiaries. The companies were added to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List, which restricts the import of goods tied to what the U.S. describes as China’s human rights abuses and ongoing genocide in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. U.S. authorities…

BEIJING, Jan 14 (Reuters) – The annual travel rush for China’s Lunar New Year celebrations officially began on Tuesday, with many taking a mental break from their worries about the future to reunite with family or take a holiday. The peak travel season in the world’s second-largest economy kicked off with a train departing from Beijing minutes after midnight, taking early bird travellers from the capital to Hefei in eastern Anhui province. Most people aim to be with family for the traditional reunion dinner on the eve of the New Year, which falls on Jan. 29 this year. The 40-day…

DOHA/CAIRO/JERUSALEM, Jan 14 (Reuters) – Negotiators were meeting in Qatar on Tuesday 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 close, after 15 months of conflict that upended the Middle East. More than eight hours of talks in Doha had fuelled optimism. Officials from mediators Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. as well as Israel and Hamas said on Tuesday that an agreement for a truce in the besieged Palestinian enclave and the release of hostages was closer than ever. Qatar’s foreign ministry…

LOS ANGELES, Jan 14 (Reuters) – Los Angeles firefighters braced on Tuesday for a new round of intense winds that could fuel two monstrous wildfires that have already killed at least 24 people, leveled entire neighborhoods and scorched an area the size of Washington, D.C. Much of Los Angeles and Ventura County could experience wind gusts of 50 to 70 mph from early Tuesday through Wednesday as dry Santa Ana winds picked up after relative calm last week, according to the National Weather Service. It declared a red flag warning, meaning the situation was dangerous and could ignite new fires…