The General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces has released the first report on the causes of a recent helicopter crash that resulted in the deaths of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage, IANS reported.
Tag: BBC
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell again freezes during press conference
For a second time in just over a month, US Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell froze for more than 30 seconds while speaking to reporters at an event in Kentucky.
Hawaii’s Maui island wildfire deadliest in century as deaths near 100
The raging wildfire that swept through Lahaina town on the Hawaiian island of Maui this week has killed at least 93 people, making it the most deadly US fire in a century. Maui County officials said early Sunday that firefighting crews are continuing to extinguish flare-ups in the Lahaina and Upcountry Maui fires. In the Upcountry Maui fire, three structures in Olinda and 16 structures in Kula were destroyed.
TuneCore hires Indian-origin Spotify exec as Vice President, International
TuneCore, a global platform for independent musicians – owned by Paris-based Believe, has hired a former Spotify executive as the Vice President, International, to drive the company’s international growth by accelerating expansion into new global markets and managing the successful execution of localized business strategies.
Indian American teen Dev Shah wins 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee
Dev Shah, a 14-year-old Indian American from Florida, has won the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee, by correctly spelling the word “psammophile” — an organism that lives in sandy areas.
US debt ceiling deal clears first procedural hurdle in Congress
A hardline Republican revolt could not prevent legislation to raise the US debt ceiling from clearing its first procedural hurdle in the House of Representatives. The two parties finally reached a deal late Tuesday evening after a showdown lasting months, then weeks of painstaking negotiations.
Report says Twitter okayed 83% of govt requests to restrict content, Elon Musk responds
Under Elon Musk, Twitter approved a staggering 83 per cent of government requests to either restrict or block content globally, including in India and Turkey, a media outlet reported. Since Musk’s takeover in October 2022, the micro-blogging platform received 971 requests from governments (compared to only 338 in the six-month period from October 2021 to April 2022), according to a report in El Pais, a Spanish-language daily newspaper.
Truck rams into White House security barriers, Secret Service detains driver
The driver of a truck that rammed into the security barriers outside the White House has been detained, a Secret Service official said. The incident which occurred in Lafayette Square at about 10 pm on Monday triggered evacuations of nearby hotels, including the Hay Adams which is located about 236 metres from the White House, the BBC reported.
Harry-Meghan looked nervous, says Indian American cab driver
ukhcharn Singh, an Indian-American cab driver in New York City who drove Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for a short while while they tried to escape the paparazzi, said the Duke and Duchess of Sussex “looked nervous” during the brief ride.
Indian startups with ‘strong fundamentals’ will survive: Vinod Khosla tells BBC
With Indian startups facing trying times amidst funding crunch and mass firings, ace Indian-origin venture capitalist Vinod Khosla says the ones with “strong fundamentals” will continue to be funded, though at lower valuations, a media report said.
Covid-19 pandemic most likely originated from Chinese lab in Wuhan: FBI chief
Christopher Wray, Director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), has said that the Covid-19 pandemic “most likely” originated from a “Chinese government-controlled lab” in Wuhan city.
Justice Katju: The fast moving events in the Indian subcontinent
Justice Katju says, The beauty of Ghalib’s poetry (as also of much of other Urdu poetry) is that it is often universal in time and place. Today in India and Pakistan, the pace of history has speeded up. Events are taking place more and more rapidly, and one wonders where all of this will end.
George Soros may have bolstered Narendra Modi’s electoral prospects
Hungarian American billionaire investor George Soros may bolster the electoral prospects of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
By wading into India’s choppy political waters and saying that Modi’s “stranglehold” on the country’s government could be weakening in the wake of the devastating allegations of a variety of fraudulent corporate practices by the embattled business tycoon Gautam Adani’s empire, Soros may cause precisely the opposite effect to what he had intended.
On BBC searches by India’s agencies, US invokes freedom of press
The US has reaffirmed its conviction that “free press strengthens democracy” as a general rule without seeking to impose its views directly on the searches of BBC offices by income tax authorities in Delhi and Mumbai.
No classified documents found at Joe Biden’s beach house: Lawyer
A lawyer for US President Joe Biden has said that no classified documents were found in the latter’s beach house in in Rehoboth, Delaware, during an FBI search of the property.
BBC’s Modi documentary and its fallout
In banning the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) much reviled and equally celebrated documentary ‘India: The Modi Question’ Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has only managed to lend it weight it may not necessarily deserve.
British Indian doctor gets two more life sentences for abusing 28 women patients
A British Indian doctor, already convicted of 115 offences of sexual assault against 28 women, has got two more concurrent life terms for carrying out unnecessary invasive examinations. Manish Shah, 53, was handed over two life sentences on Monday with a minimum term of 10 years to run concurrently with the earlier sentences.
US House adjourns with no Speaker elected for first time in 164 years
The US House of Representatives has again adjourned for a third day without electing a new Speaker even after 11 votes, becoming the longest contest to select a person to take the gavel in 164 years.
Teeanager charged with attempted murder for New York Times Square machete attack
A 19-year-old has been charged with two counts of attempted murder over a machete attack on three police officers near Times Square in New York City on New Year’s Eve.
One-third of global economy will be in recession in 2023: IMF Chief
International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Kristalina Georgieva has warned that one-third of the global economy will be in recession this year and 2023 will be “tougher” than 2022 as the US, EU and China will see their economies slow.
Former Pope Benedict XVI dies at 95
Former Pope Benedict XVI passed away at his residence in the Vatican on Saturday. He was 95, according to an official announcement.
US considering imposing new Covid restrictions on Chinese arrivals
The US is considering imposing new Covid restrictions on Chinese arrivals after Beijing announced it would reopen its borders next month, media reports said.
Gautam Adani, NDTV and editorial ‘Laxman Rekha’
As the world’s largest democracy, India should have created a global media platform a long time ago. It is never too late to do so, especially now that the mainstream media are being so consistently bitten in their behinds by shoot-and-scoot social media outfits with manifest success.
Nepal Supreme Courrt orders release of ‘Bikini Killer’ Charles Sobhraj after 19 years in jail
The Supreme Court of Nepal on Wednesday ordered the release of serial killer Charles Sobhraj, who is also known as the ‘bikini killer’ or ‘serpent killer’. Hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by Sobhraj, a joint bench of Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla and Til Prasad Shrestha ordered his release if he need not be jailed for another case, adding that arrangements be made to return the French citizen back to his country within 15 days.
US House panel votes to make six years of Donald Trump tax returns public
A US House of Representatives panel has voted to make six years of former President Donald Trump’s tax returns public. On Tuesday evening, the Democrat-led House Ways and Means Committee voted 24-16 to publish the documents, with all all Republicans opposed to the decision.