A Japan Airlines airplane was on Tuesday seen in flames on the runway of Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. The images showed the plane moving briskly along the runway before an explosion burst from beneath it. The cause of the incident was not immediately clear, but media reports said that the Airbus collided with a coastguard aircraft. According to the latest reports,...
WORLD
India-UAE joint military exercise ‘Desert Cyclone’ to kick off Today
The inaugural edition of joint military exercise “Desert Cyclone 2024” will kick off on January 2, marking a significant milestone in the strategic partnership between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The two-week-long exercise, scheduled from January 2 to January 15, will be conducted in the arid terrains of Rajasthan, with a primary focus on enhancing interoperability and sharing...
Tsunami warning after major quake in centralJapan
A significant earthquake, initially measured at 7.4 magnitude, struck the north-central region of Japan on Monday, as reported by NHK, the public broadcaster. Following the quake, the Japan Meteorological Agency released a tsunami warning for the coastal areas of Ishikawa, Niigata, and Toyama prefectures. NHK reported that the tsunami warning advised immediate evacuation from coastalregions due to anticipated waves reaching...
“Reunification” With Taiwan Inevitable: Xi Jinping In New Year’s Address
China’s “reunification” with Taiwan is inevitable, President Xi Jinping said in his New Year’s address on Sunday, striking a stronger tone than he did last year with less than two weeks to go before the Chinese-claimed island elects a new leader. The January 13 presidential and parliamentary elections are happening at a time of fraught relations between Beijing and Taipei....
Spy Balloon Used US Internet Service to Send Data to China
A US official revealed that the Chinese spy balloon, which traversed the United States in early 2023, used an American internet service provider to transmit periodic data related to navigation and location back to China, CNN reported. This connection emerged as one of the means by which the US intelligence agencies were able to track the balloon’s location and gather...
China’s Xi claims ‘reunification’ with Taiwan is ‘inevitable’ as crucial election looms
The “reunification” of Taiwan with China is “inevitable,” Chinese leader Xi Jinping claimed in a speech Tuesday, reiterating Beijing’s long-held stance on the self-ruled island democracy ahead of a crucial election there next month. “The realization of the complete reunification with the motherland is an inevitable course of development, is righteous and what the people want. The motherland must and...
Israel Continues Strikes In Gaza Despite International Calls To Halt War
Israel on Tuesday kept up its strikes against Gaza targets despite grave concern expressed by the United Nations, and international calls for a halt to the Israel-Hamas war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again vowed there would be no peace until the destruction of Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules Gaza, and the military said the war would last months. Israel’s...
Alleged “Donkey” Flight, Stranded In France, Lands In Mumbai With 276 On Board
An Airbus A340 carrying 276 passengers, mostly Indians, landed in Mumbai early this morning, following a four-day detention in France over suspected human trafficking allegations. The aircraft landed in Mumbai shortly after 4 am. It had taken off from Vatry airport near Paris around 2.30 pm local time. French authorities confirmed that 276 passengers had boarded the plane for the flight,...
Russian Ship, Suspected Of Carrying Drones Destroyed, Claims Ukraine
Ukraine’s air force said Tuesday it had destroyed a Russian fleet ship off the Crimean peninsula suspected of carrying drones for use in Moscow’s war against Kyiv. “Around 2:30 am (0030 GMT) on December 26, tactical aviation of the Air Force attacked with cruise missiles the Novocherkassk large landing ship of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation in...
Pope decries Israeli strikes reaping ‘appalling harvest’ of civilian deaths in Gaza
Pope Francis said in his Christmas message on December 25 that children dying in wars, including in Gaza, are the “little Jesuses of today” and that Israeli strikes there were reaping an “appalling harvest” of innocent civilians. In his Christmas Day “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and world) address, Pope Francis also called the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants “abominable” and again...
Israel presses Gaza offensive, seizes largeamounts of weapons
Israel pressed its offensive against Hamas on Thursday night as soldiers uncovered anddestroyed rocket launchers and other weapons, the Israel Defence Forces said on Fridaymorning. In the central Gaza village of Jahar al-Dikh, troops located a Hamas weapons warehouse.Soldiers also spotted rocket launchers that had been used to fire rockets at Israel inprevious days. The launchers were destroyed in an...
How China is cashing in on war in Ukraine
On China’s snowy border with Russia, a dealership that sells trucks has seen its sales double in the past year thanks to Russian customers. China’s exports to its neighbour are so strong that Chinese construction workers built warehouses and 20-storey office towers at the border this summer.The border town Heihe is a microcosm of China’s ever closer economic relationship with Russia....