Author: News Desk

Hanoi: Vietnam has instructed its telecommunication service providers to block the messaging platform Telegram, citing its failure to cooperate with criminal investigations involving its users. Telegram responded with surprise, asserting it had complied with Vietnam’s legal requests and is still processing a recent one, due by May 27. The Vietnamese government’s news portal revealed that the country’s Ministry of Science and Technology had issued official letters to internet service providers, warning them about ‘signs of law violation’ on Telegram. The ministry ordered ISPs to implement measures to prevent Telegram’s activities within Vietnam and to report their compliance by June 2.…

Washington DC: US President Donald Trump has warned Apple that iPhones sold in the United States must be manufactured domestically or face a 25 percent tariff. The statement, posted on his Truth Social platform, wiped nearly $70 billion off Apple’s market value as shares fell by 2.6 percent, pushing the company’s valuation below $3 trillion. Trump said he had already informed Apple CEO Tim Cook of this expectation and that iPhones assembled in countries like India or elsewhere would be subject to the new tariff unless Apple relocates its production to the US. “If that is not the case, a…

San Diego: All six occupants of a small private jet that crashed into a residential neighbourhood in Murphy Canyon, San Diego, on May 22, 2025, have been confirmed dead, according to investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Among those killed was well-known US music agent Dave Shapiro, 42, the co-founder of Sound Talent Group. Two unnamed employees from the agency and Daniel Williams, former drummer of the metal band The Devil Wears Prada, were also aboard the ill-fated flight. The aircraft, a twin-engine Cessna Citation, had departed Teterboro, New Jersey, at approximately 11:15 pm. local time on Wednesday.…

Hefei, China: Researchers have developed innovative contact lenses that allow people to perceive infrared light, a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum normally invisible to the naked eye. Unlike night vision goggles, these lenses are transparent and require no external power source, enabling wearers to simultaneously see infrared light alongside the full range of visible colors. Professor Tian Xue, a neuroscientist at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), explained that this breakthrough paves the way for a variety of wearable devices, such as contact lenses and glasses that could grant humans ‘super-vision.’ Xue also noted the potential benefits…

San Francisco: Sir Jony Ive, the influential British designer responsible for the iconic look of Apple’s most successful products, including the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad, is joining OpenAI following a $6.5 billion (£4.7 billion) acquisition of his startup, io. OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, expressed his enthusiasm about working with Ive, calling him ‘the greatest designer in the world’ and highlighting their shared vision to create a new generation of AI-powered computers. The collaboration will see Ive assume deep design and creative responsibilities across OpenAI, aiming to reimagine computing through innovative hardware. https://twitter.com/OpenAI/status/1925235156157440438 While AI software, especially tools like ChatGPT,…

London: UK net migration has dropped sharply in 2024, with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimating a 49.9 percent fall, from 860,000 in the year ending December 2023 to 431,000 in the year ending December 2024. This marks the largest annual decline in net migration since the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and the biggest numerical drop recorded for any 12 months. The sharp decline is largely attributed to a significant reduction in the number of people coming to the UK for work and study, particularly student dependents, following new immigration restrictions introduced by the previous Conservative government…

Beaverton, Oregon: Nike has announced that it will increase the prices of a range of its products starting June 1, with the changes affecting everything from shoes to apparel and sports equipment. The company stated that the decision is part of its ‘seasonal planning’ process, and notably did not reference the tariff policies implemented by US President Donald Trump, which have disrupted global trade flows and raised concerns across industries. According to Nike, most of its footwear priced above $100 (£74.50) will see a price hike of up to $10. Prices for clothing and equipment will also rise, ranging from…

London: In a global first, England will roll out a routine vaccine against gonorrhoea starting August 1, 2025, to combat rising infections and antibiotic resistance. Announced by NHS England, the programme will use the 4CMenB jab, currently administered to infants for meningococcal B disease, to protect at-risk populations against gonorrhoea, the UK’s second most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI). This move follows a record-breaking 85,000 gonorrhoea cases in England in 2023, the highest since records began in 1918. Health experts have raised concerns over the increasing presence of antibiotic-resistant strains, including those resistant to ceftriaxone, the first-line treatment, and…

Geneva: International Tea Day celebrates tea as the world’s most consumed drink after water, surpassing coffee and beer. Recognizing its global impact, the United Nations designated May 21 to honor tea’s cultural, economic, and social significance. From Tibetan po cha to English breakfast tea, this ancient beverage has unified societies for millennia. According to the UN, tea’s origins trace back over 5,000 years to northeast India, northern Myanmar, and southwest China. Language of tea Words for tea generally derive from two linguistic roots: ‘Cha’ – used in Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe ‘Te’ – used in Western Europe,…

Landerneau: A small town of 16,000 residents in France’s far-western Brittany region, Landerneau has finally broken the world record for the largest gathering of people dressed as Smurfs. After two failed attempts to outdo the previous record of 2,762 set by Lauchringen, Germany in 2019, the French town succeeded by assembling 3,076 people dressed in blue, with white hats and painted faces, cheerfully singing ‘smurfy songs.’ The Smurfs, created by Belgian cartoonist Peyo in 1958 and known as ‘Schtroumpfs’ in French, are tiny, human-like beings who live in the forest. The record-setting event had almost been abandoned after a 2020…