international

24 Jul

YouTube hits 10 bn Play Store download milestone

editor0 CommentsBusiness, Entertainment, international

The Google-owned YouTube app for Android users has surpassed a whopping 10 billion downloads on the Google Play Store. According to 9To5Google, video streaming has exploded in popularity over the past decade with improving global internet speed, introduction of 4G devices and increasing access to smartphones/tablets. As the largest and most well-known streaming platform globally, it was always likely that YouTube would become the first “proper” user-facing Android app to hit such a download milestone on the Play Store, it added. Given that the app comes pre-installed on almost all devices, it is marginally bolstered and could even include some…

24 Jul

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to visit India on July 27-28

editor0 CommentsIndia, international

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will arrive in India on Tuesday and will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, the government announced on Friday, amid growing worries about the American exit from Afghanistan.It will be Mr Blinken's first visit, after assuming charge as US Secretary of State following US President Joe Biden's election, to India, which since the late 1990s has moved increasingly close to the United States as the world's two largest democracies see shared interests on a rising China and other challenges. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin visited New Delhi as part of his…

22 Jul

Jeff Bezos Offers Skittles To Crew Inside New Shepard Capsule

editor0 Commentsinternational

Tech billionaire Jeff Bezos created history on Tuesday when he and a crew of three others travelled to the edge of space and back. The founder of Amazon made the trip in a spacecraft developed by his company, Blue Origin. The two-decade-old space company developed a spacecraft called the New Shepard. Jeff Bezos was accompanied on the flight by his 53-year-old brother, Mark Bezos, 82-year-old aviation pioneer Wally Funk, and 18-year-old Oliver Daemen. The world was able to witness the historic moments through a live webcast. The spacecraft carried the crew to the Karman Line, which is considered to be…

22 Jul

Olympics set to begin amid Covid-19 gloom

editor0 CommentsHealth, international, Sports

The Olympic Games, beginning on Friday, is the world’s biggest sporting extravaganza but in the Japanese capital, which is the host city, there is clear lack of enthusiasm. According to media reports, the local public is largely indifferent which is understandable, considering that the Games are being held in the times of the Covid-19 pandemic. “For Tokyo locals, concern has been replaced by indifference. A thriving city enthusiastically hosting a global sporting event is a sight to behold. Right now, Tokyo is not one. That is hardly the fault of the Japanese. With about 80% of the population opposed to…

17 Jul

Taliban hands over Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui’s body to Red Cross

editor0 CommentsIndia, international

The body of Pulitzer Prize-winning Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, who was killed in Afghanistan's Kandahar, has been handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) by the Taliban on Friday. Noted Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui was killed on Thursday night in a clash between the Afghan special forces and Taliban attackers. Tolo News, a leading news channel of Kabul has reported that Mr Siddiqui, working for Reuters news agency, was covering the clashes betweeen the two sides in Kandahar over the last few days and he died in Spin Boldak district, which has a contentious international border…

16 Jul

Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui killed in Afghanistan clashes

editor0 CommentsAccident, India, international

Indian photojouralist Danish Siddiqui was killed while covering a clash between Afghan security forces and Taliban fighters in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar city on Friday. He was on a reporting assignment embedded with the Afghan Special Forces.Condoling Danish Siddiqui's demise, Farid Mamundzay, the Afghanistan’s Ambassador to India, tweeted: "Deeply disturbed by the sad news of the killing of a friend, Danish Seddiqi in Kandahar last night. The Indian Journalist & winner of Pulitzer Prize was embedded with Afghan security forces. I met him 2 weeks ago before his departure to Kabul. Condolences to his family & Reuters."Danish Siddiqui, a…

13 Jul

At least 44 killed, 67 injured in coronavirus hospital fire in Iraq

editor0 CommentsHealth, international

As rescuers combed the smoke-charred building in search of more bodies, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi held urgent meetings with senior ministers and ordered the suspension and arrest of health and civil defense managers in Nassiriya, his office said in a statement. The manager of the hospital was also suspended and ordered to be arrested, the statement added. Already decimated by war and sanctions, Iraq's healthcare system has struggled to cope with the coronavirus crisis, which has killed 17,592 people and infected more than 1.4 million. "Health crews carried charred bodies out of the burning hospital while many patients were coughing…

13 Jul

B’desh decides to ease lockdown for a week ahead of Eid

editor0 CommentsHealth, international

The Bangladeshi government has decided to ease the ongoing lockdown for a week from Thursday onwards ahead of Eid-ul-Azha. Bangladesh’s Press Information Department (PID) made the announcement on Monday night, saying the lockdown restrictions will be eased until July 22 on the occasion of Muslim festival, which will be celebrated on July 21, reports Xinhua news agency. The country’s cabinet division will issue a notification containing details on easing of the restrictions and prohibitions on Tuesday, said the announcement. As part of easing the lockdown measures, the government is very likely to allow public transport services resume on the condition…

10 Jul

YouTuber Karl Rock Barred From Entering India

editor0 CommentsIndia, international

YouTuber Karl Rock, who has been barred from entry in India since last October, had violated the terms of his visa, the Union Home Ministry said today. Married to an Indian, the New Zealand national has been blacklisted by the Centre and he has raised the matter with several authorities, both here and in his home country. Mr Rock's wife, Manisha Malik, meanwhile, has approached the Delhi High Court challenging the Centre's alleged "arbitrary and unreasonable" decision, a PTI report has said. She has cited Article 21, which guarantees one the fundamental right to life and dignity, to oppose the…

09 Jul

Saddened: PM Modi offers condolences to Haiti over assassination of President Jovenel Moise

editor0 Commentsinternational, Political

The assassination of Haiti President Jovenel Moise came as a shock for the world. The President and his wife, Martine Moise were attacked at their private residence by a group of unknown gunmen. The information was shared by the interim Prime minister of Haiti, Claude Joseph. Saddened by the grave incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has offered condolences to the family of President Moise, his family, and the people of Haiti."Saddened by the assassination of President Jovenel Moise and the attack on First Lady Martine Moise of Haiti. My Condolences to the family of President Moise and the people of…