Category: World

South Korean prosecutors indicted impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday for being the “ringleader of an insurrection” after his abortive declaration of martial law, ordering the suspended leader to remain in detention. Yoon plunged the country into political chaos with his December 3 bid to suspend civilian rule, a move which lasted just six hours before lawmakers defied armed soliders in parliament to vote it down. He was impeached soon after, and this month became the first sitting South Korean head of state to be arrested. That came after…

Read More

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Tump’s administration has warned of imposing bounties on top Afghan Taliban leaders over American hostages in the war-ravaged country. Taking a strict stance on the issue in a post on X, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said: “Just hearing the Taliban is holding more American hostages than has been reported. If this is true, we will have to immediately place a VERY BIG bounty on their top leaders, maybe even bigger than the one we had on [Osama] bin Laden”. The threat comes days after…

Read More

Former infantryman and Fox News personality Pete Hegseth was sworn in as US defence secretary Saturday, having narrowly won Senate confirmation despite allegations of alcohol abuse, sexual misconduct and concerns over inexperience. Pledging to “restore the warrior ethos” in the Pentagon, Hegseth in brief remarks thanked President Donald Trump for selecting him and Vice President JD Vance for his tie-breaking vote in the Senate that allowed his nomination to pass. Vance’s vote Friday evening was only the second time in history a vice president had to intervene to save a cabinet nominee…

Read More

North Korea has test-fired sea-to-surface strategic guided cruise missiles, state news agency KCNA reported Sunday, adding that the weapons “precisely” hit their targets. “The war deterrence means of the armed forces of the DPRK are being perfected more thoroughly”, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said as he oversaw Saturday’s test, the agency reported. The missiles hit their marks after travelling along the 1,500-kilometre (930-mile) elliptical and figure-eight orbits, the report said, adding that there was “no negative impact on the security of neighbouring countries”. KCNA did not say where the test took…

Read More

SWANNANOA: During a visit to storm-hit areas of North Carolina on Friday, US President Donald Trump announced his intention to sign an executive order to overhaul or eliminate the main federal agency tasked to respond to natural disasters. Trump, on his first trip since reclaiming the presidency on Monday, accused FEMA of mishandling emergency relief efforts in North Carolina, which was devastated by flooding from Hurricane Helene in September. He said his executive order would begin the process of fundamentally overhauling or eliminating the agency. “FEMA has turned out to…

Read More

In the first high-level interaction between the United States and China since President Donald Trump assumed office, Beijing emphasised the need to foster cooperation and effectively manage differences between the two nations. During the first telephone conversation on Friday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed hope that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a well-known China hawk, would take a constructive approach focused on mutual benefit of the two nations and global stability. Rubio told Wang that Trump, who began his second term on Monday, would pursue a relationship with…

Read More

The United States, the world’s biggest donor, froze virtually all foreign aid on Friday, making exceptions only for emergency food, and military funding for two Middle Eastern countries, including Egypt. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent an internal memo days after President Donald Trump took office vowing an “America First” policy of tightly restricting assistance overseas. “No new funds shall be obligated for new awards or extensions of existing awards until each proposed new award or extension has been reviewed and approved,” said the memo to staff seen by AFP. The…

Read More

The 2025 General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) will bring together geoscientists from all over the world for one meeting covering all disciplines of the Earth, planetary, and space sciences. It will be held from 27 April–2 May 2025 in a hybrid format both in Vienna and virtually. We are pleased to announce that media registration for the meeting is now available. There are two types of registration available: on-site registration and virtual registration. Members of the media can expect several benefits including free registration for EGU25. Online participants will also…

Read More

RIYADH: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman congratulated Donald Trump on his return to the White House, saying in a call on Thursday that the kingdom would massively expand its investments and trade with the United States. Saudi Arabia’s top official passed on congratulations from his father, King Salman, during the call with Trump, according to a foreign ministry statement. The crown prince added that the kingdom would “expand its investment and trade with the United States to $600 billion over four years, and potentially beyond that”. In his own…

Read More

Donald Trump wished his wife and First Lady Melania Trump a 20th wedding anniversary along with a throwback picture from their wedding day in a post on his official X account. “Happy 20th Anniversary to Melania!” wrote Donald in an X post. The post is Donald’s first for Melania after he took oath as the US president for the second time. Both Donald and Melania have shared a notable relationship with some fluctuations during the Republican’s trial and rumours of family drama. She made her return to Washington in a…

Read More