Category: World

WASHINGTON: Tulsi Gabbard, a 43-year-old former Democrat, has taken oath as the Director of National Intelligence inside the Oval Office with President Trump in attendance following the confirmation by US Senate. The swearing-in ceremony came after the US Senate voted 52 to 48, mostly along party lines, to confirm Gabbard to the position overseeing the 18-agency intelligence community and acting as Trump’s top adviser on intelligence issues. The vote was another victory for Trump as he pushes to secure quick Senate approval for all of his nominees for administration positions. The Senate’s…

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Moments after registering their marriage, Zhang Gang and Weng Linbin posed in front of a red backdrop adorned with a Chinese government emblem, fanning out the wad of cash they had received as an incentive to wed. Zhang’s home city of Luliang in northern Shanxi province is one of many places in China where local authorities are offering a slew of inducements to coax couples into tying the knot. The 1,500-yuan ($205) reward the couple received is part of official efforts to boost the country’s population, which fell for the…

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to meet with the United States President Donald Trump on Thursday at the White House, aiming to strengthen their previously warm relationship while addressing contentious issues like tariffs and immigration. The two leaders are expected to hold a joint press conference, a rare event for Modi, who is known for his extensive use of social media but typically avoids engaging with the press. Ahead of his visit, Modi has made significant tariff concessions, including a reduction in duties on high-end motorcycles, which is…

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WASHINGTON/MOSCOW/KYIV: Donald Trump has revealed that both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed a willingness to pursue peace during separate phone conversations with him on Wednesday, prompting the US leader to direct senior officials to initiate talks aimed at ending the ongoing war in Ukraine. The development comes after his defence secretary suggested Kyiv must abandon its ambitions of joining NATO and reclaiming territories occupied by Russia. After speaking with Putin for more than an hour, Trump said the Russian leader, who launched a full-scale invasion…

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MILAN: A leading Italian businessman has been swindled out of nearly €1 million (£870,000) in an elaborate scam that used artificial intelligence to clone the voice of Italy’s Defence Minister, Guido Crosetto. Italian police announced on Wednesday that they had located and frozen the funds in a foreign bank account. Fraudsters used AI to mimic the voice of Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, making calls that claimed to seek urgent financial assistance for the release of kidnapped Italian journalists in the Middle East. Some of Italy’s most prominent business figures,…

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Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, has agreed to pay approximately $10 million to settle a lawsuit filed by former US President Donald Trump, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, Reuters reported. This makes X the second social media platform to reach a settlement with Trump over the suspension of his accounts following the January 2021 Capitol riot by his supporters. In January, Meta Platforms also reached a settlement with Trump, agreeing to pay around $25 million. Trump had filed lawsuits in July 2021 against Twitter, now…

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Two transgender girls from New Hampshire Wednesday initiated the first legal challenge to President Donald Trump’s executive order that would bar them from participating in female school sports, Reuters reported. Parker Tirrell, 16, and Iris Turmelle, 15, along with their parents, filed a lawsuit last year against a state law in New Hampshire that would prevent transgender girls from competing in female sports — a measure adopted in various Republican-led states across the nation. In September, US District Judge Landya McCafferty, appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama, granted a preliminary injunction, blocking…

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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday said Iran should further strengthen its military power, including its missiles, after US President Donald Trump made threats against Tehran if it refused to negotiate regarding its nuclear programme. Khamenei’s comments come a day after Iran’s UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani condemned Trump’s remarks and called them “reckless and inflammatory statements” in interview with New York Post and Fox News in which the president said he preferred doing a deal to prevent Tehran developing nuclear weapons to bombing the country. “Progress should not be stopped,…

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready to swap land in negotiations with Russia, which freed at least one American prisoner in what US President Donald Trump described Tuesday as a goodwill gesture on ending the war. Zelensky has in the past refused to cede any territory after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. But in an interview with The Guardian published Tuesday, he said Kyiv was ready for serious talks ahead of a Friday meeting at the Munich Security Conference with US Vice President JD Vance —…

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WASHINGTON: Elon Musk appeared at the White House for the first time alongside US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, unveiling new plans to reduce government spending—though his young son momentarily drew attention away from the event. Dressed in a black “Make America Great Again” cap, black t-shirt, and overcoat, the SpaceX and Tesla tycoon spoke to reporters in the Oval Office while the US president sat behind the historic Resolute Desk. Tasked by Trump to lead federal cost-cutting efforts through his “DOGE” agency—the so-called Department of Government Efficiency—Musk warned that…

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