Author: News Desk

Washington DC: Donald Trump has been sworn in as the 47th President of the United States, with Vice President JD Vance by his side. The new president and vice president are attending three inaugural balls to celebrate the occasion. Trump, who arrived directly from the Oval Office, signed a flurry of executive actions earlier in the day. Among the most notable was the issuance of nearly 1,600 pardons related to the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021. Many of these pardons are expected to be released shortly. Speaking to US Military members based in South Korea via a video call…

Washington DC: On the eve of her husband’s inauguration, incoming First Lady Melania Trump launched the $MELANIA cryptocurrency, just one day after President-elect Donald Trump introduced his own $Trump coin. Both coins have experienced volatile trading but have seen significant gains. Melania announced the launch on the social platform X, posting, “The Official Melania Meme is live! You can buy $MELANIA now.” The $MELANIA coin is a crypto asset created and tracked on the Solana blockchain, with a market valuation of around $1.3bn, while $Trump’s coin is valued at approximately $8.7bn. Both coins include disclaimers stating they are “not intended…

Gaza City: Ninety Palestinian prisoners were released early on Monday, January 20th, as part of the first phase of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, according to the Israeli prison service. This move follows the release of three Israeli hostages by Hamas to the Red Cross in Gaza City, which occurred hours after the ceasefire began.  The hostages—Doron Steinbrecher, Emily Damari, and Romi Gonen—are in stable condition and receiving treatment in a Tel Aviv hospital. Hamas has stated that for every Israeli hostage freed, 30 Palestinian prisoners will be released from Israeli jails. The majority of the prisoners freed…

Jerusalem, Israel: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the Israeli military not to initiate the Gaza ceasefire, until Hamas provides the list of captives to be released. His office issued a statement confirming that the ceasefire will not go into effect until the list of abductees promised by Hamas is received. Hamas, in turn, blamed the delay in handing over the names on “technical field reasons” but affirmed its commitment to the ceasefire deal announced last week. Despite the delay, international pressure on both parties makes it likely that the ceasefire will still be implemented, with Qatar expected to…

Washington DC: TikTok went offline in the US just hours before a new law banning the platform was set to take effect. A message on the app informed users that the law had been enacted, stating, “you can’t use TikTok for now.” It also noted that President Trump had indicated he would work on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. This move came after the platform warned the outgoing Biden administration it would “go dark” unless assurances were made that the ban would not be enforced. President-elect Trump had previously suggested he would likely give TikTok a…

Detroit, USA: Toyota subsidiary Hino Motors has agreed to pay $1.6 billion and plead guilty to deceiving US regulators by falsifying emissions and fuel consumption data from its diesel engines. This resolution includes a five-year ban on exporting diesel engines to the United States. The charges, filed in a Detroit court, revealed that Hino sold 105,000 illegal engines in the US between 2010 and 2022. The settlement, which still requires court approval, also includes commitments to rectify environmental damage caused by the fraud. The US Justice Department described Hino’s actions as a “criminal conspiracy,” accusing the company of submitting “false…

Ottawa, Canada: After months of speculation, former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor Mark Carney has officially declared his bid for the leadership of Canada’s governing Liberal Party. Carney, 59, launched his campaign in his hometown of Edmonton, Alberta, at a hockey rink where he learned to skate as a child. In his announcement, Carney stated, “I’m doing this because Canada is the best country in the world, but it could still be even better.” If successful, Carney will replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who announced his intent to resign after nine years in office once a new…

Sriharikota, India: India’s space agency, ISRO, has successfully completed its first-ever space docking, joining two spacecraft in orbit as part of the SpaDeX mission. This marks a crucial step in India’s aspirations to build its own space station and send astronauts to the Moon. The mission, named Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX), launched on December 30,2024 from the Sriharikota launch pad in southern India. The two small spacecraft, dubbed the Chaser and the Target, weighing approximately 220 kg each, separated after launch and traveled at different speeds to create a 10-20 km distance between them before docking. Prime Minister Narendra Modi,…

Jerusalem, Israel: Israel’s cabinet is set to meet, to approve a ceasefire and hostage release agreement with Hamas in Gaza, raising hopes for an end to the 15-month conflict. The agreement, which includes an initial six-week truce, is expected to begin on Sunday, 19th of January. However, fighting continues, with Gaza’s civil defense agency reporting at least 20 Palestinian deaths since the deal was announced on Wednesday evening. Israeli airstrikes last night killed more than 20 people, including 12 residents in a residential block in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood. There has been no immediate comment from the Israeli military.…

New York: RedNote, the Chinese social media app also known as Xiaohongshu, has experienced a significant surge in US users just days ahead of a proposed ban on TikTok. In a live chat session titled “TikTok Refugee”, more than 50,000 users from the US and China joined discussions, where American users exchanged ideas with Chinese counterparts about topics like food and unemployment. However, some conversations veered into more sensitive areas, such as the political differences between China and Hong Kong, prompting caution from Chinese users. The app’s surge in popularity has made it the second-most popular free app on Apple’s…