India lose five after Smith’s heroics put Australia in charge of 4th Test on December 28, 2024Australia’s fiery pace attack destroyed India’s top order on Friday to put them in the driving seat of the fourth Test after they set a daunting first innings target on the back of Steve Smith’s 34th Test century. The visitors were 164-5 at the close on day two at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, still 310 […]
Iga Swiatek not expecting WADA appeal over doping scandal on December 28, 2024World number two Iga Swiatek said on Friday she was ready to put a drugs scandal behind her, insisting there was no reason for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to appeal against her case. The 23-year-old Pole tested positive for the heart medication trimetazidine (TMZ) in an out-of-competition sample in August when she was ranked […]
Elena Rybakina takes Kazakhstan past Spain in United Cup debut on December 28, 2024Elena Rybakina guided Kazakhstan to a 2-1 victory against Spain in her United Cup debut at the RAC Arena in Perth on Friday. The world number six defeated Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-2 6-3 in the singles and then combined with Alexander Shevchenko to clinch the deciding mixed doubles. Kazakhstan can qualify for the quarter-finals of […]
ANF seizes over 49 kg drugs on December 28, 2024Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) while conducting four operations recovered 49.250 kg drugs worth over Rs 5.4 million and arrested five suspects, said an ANF Headquarters spokesman here on Friday. He informed that 250 grams hashish was recovered from an accused arrested near a university in Rawalpindi. The arrested accused confessed to selling drugs to the students […]
India announces state funeral for former PM Manmohan Singh on December 28, 2024India announced seven days of state mourning on Friday after the death of former prime minister Manmohan Singh, one of the architects of the country’s economic liberalisation in the early 1990s. Singh, who held office from 2004 to 2014, died at the age of 92 late on Thursday evening at a hospital in New Delhi. […]
Bethlehem marks sombre Christmas under shadow of war on December 26, 2024Christians gathered at the Church of the Nativity in the holy city of Bethlehem on Tuesday to mark a solemn Christmas overshadowed by war, as Pope Francis led mass in the Vatican. In Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, festive decorations were missing for a second consecutive year. The crowd of several hundred paled in […]
Sweeping Vietnam internet law comes into force on December 26, 2024New Vietnamese internet rules requiring Facebook and TikTok to verify user identities and hand over data to authorities came into force on Wednesday, in what critics say is the latest attack on freedom of expression. Under “Decree 147”, all tech giants operating in Vietnam must verify users’ accounts via their phone numbers or Vietnamese identification […]
At least nine dead in Brazil plane crash: authorities on December 23, 2024At least nine people died when a small plane crashed on Sunday morning in Gramado, in southern Brazil, authorities said, slamming into a commercial area of the tourist city. The aircraft crashed into the chimney of a building, struck the second floor of a house and then “fell on a furniture store,” the Rio Grande […]
Stokes out of England’s Champions Trophy squad on December 23, 2024England Test captain Ben Stokes has been ruled out of next year’s Champions Trophy one-day international tournament in Pakistan and the preceding white-ball tour of India, team management announced Sunday. The 33-year-old star all-rounder was not considered after damaging a hamstring during England’s defeat by New Zealand in the third Test at Hamilton earlier this […]
Minorities fear targeted attacks in post-revolution Bangladesh on December 23, 2024For generations, the small Hindu temple outside the capital in Muslim-majority Bangladesh was a quiet place to pray — before arsonists ripped open its roof this month in the latest post-revolution unrest. It is only one of a string of attacks targeting religious minorities since a student-led uprising toppled long-time autocratic leader Sheikh Hasina in […]