Author: Trainee Reporter

Bishkek: Polling is underway in Kyrgyzstan’s snap parliamentary elections, where allies of President Sadyr Japarov are widely expected to secure a dominant victory, further consolidating the leader’s hold on power. The vote takes place in a political landscape devoid of formal parties or organised opposition, marking a sharp departure from Kyrgyzstan’s once-vibrant democratic tradition. Analysts say the result is likely to cement Japarov’s influence ahead of the 2027 presidential election, in which he is expected to seek another term. Once regarded as Central Asia’s most democratic state, Kyrgyzstan has experienced three uprisings since its independence from the Soviet Union in…

Washington: United States President Donald Trump has declared that he will invalidate all executive orders issued under former President Joe Biden that he claims were signed using an autopen, reviving an unproven allegation aimed at undermining Democratic policies. Trump alleged that approximately 92 percent of Biden’s documents were authorised through the mechanical signature device, insisting that any such orders are terminated, and of no further force or effect. Trump, who has repeatedly questioned Biden’s mental fitness, accused the former president of not being involved in the signing process. Trump warned that Biden would face perjury charges if he denied the…

Florida: Airlines worldwide are preparing for flight delays and schedule disruptions after Airbus instructed immediate modifications to thousands of its aircraft, following the discovery that intense solar radiation could corrupt data vital to flight controls. Around 6,000 aircraft, roughly half of Airbus’s global fleet, have been flagged for updates. The majority, approximately 5,100 planes, can be fixed with a simple three-hour software update. However, 900 older aircraft will require full computer replacements and cannot carry passengers until those systems are updated. The issue came to light after a JetBlue A320 experienced a sudden loss of altitude on October 30, forcing…

Turkey: Pope Leo XIV has begun the first international journey of his papacy, a six-day mission focused on healing historical divides, strengthening interfaith relations, and offering solace to communities facing conflict. The trip will first take him to Turkey, where he will mark a milestone Christian anniversary, before travelling to Lebanon just days after Israeli airstrikes struck Beirut. Honouring a defining Christian moment A major highlight awaits in the Turkish town of Iznik, ancient Nicaea, where the Pope will join leaders from various Christian traditions to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea. Held in 325 AD,…

Washington: Two National Guard soldiers are in critical condition after being gunned down in downtown Washington DC, less than two blocks from the White House, in what city officials have described as a targeted attack. The shooting unfolded near Farragut Square, a busy area frequented by office workers, prompting a rapid response from nearby National Guard members and a brief security lockdown in the capital. Authorities said a lone suspect opened fire on the two Guardsmen from West Virginia while they were on a high-visibility patrol at the corner of 17th and I streets. Other Guard members who heard the…

Japan: Nearly a century after the idea of dark matter was first proposed, a new study suggests researchers may have caught the elusive substance in action for the very first time. The findings, while still tentative, could mark a defining moment in the decades-long search to understand what makes up more than a quarter of the universe. Prof. Tomonori Totani, an astrophysicist at the University of Tokyo, analysed data from NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and identified a pattern of high-energy gamma rays emerging from the centre of the Milky Way. These gamma rays, Totani said, appear to align with…

Brasília: Brazil’s Supreme Court has ordered former president Jair Bolsonaro to begin serving his 27-year and three-month prison sentence after judges ruled that all avenues for appeal had been exhausted. The decision by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, marks the most consequential legal blow yet against the right-wing leader, who was convicted of orchestrating a conspiracy to overturn the 2022 election after losing to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro, 70, will serve his term in a federal police facility in Brasília, where he has been held after being deemed a flight risk. During a court hearing, Bolsonaro admitted attempting to…

Washington: United States President Donald Trump has unveiled a sweeping Genesis Mission national initiative aimed at harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate scientific breakthroughs across key strategic sectors. Trump signed an executive order establishing ‘The Genesis Mission’, the latest step in his administration’s push to spur AI development through deregulation, infrastructure investment and public-private collaboration. The directive orders US Energy Secretary Chris Wright to unite scientists and technologies across the country’s 17 national laboratories into a single cooperative research ecosystem. Under the initiative, US supercomputers and vast data repositories will be interconnected to form what officials describe as a ‘closed-loop…

Ethiopia: Ethiopia’s north-eastern region has witnessed a rare geological event after the Hayli Gubbi volcano erupted for the first time in nearly 12,000 years, spewing massive ash plumes up to 9 miles (14km) into the atmosphere and drifting across the Red Sea toward Yemen and Oman. The eruption continued for several hours and occurred in the Afar region about 500 miles north-east of Addis Ababa near the Eritrean border. Though no casualties have been reported, officials warn of long-term economic consequences for local pastoral communities. Local official Mohammed Seid said the eruption has coated multiple villages in volcanic ash, threatening…

Philippine: Seven people have been arrested in the Philippines in connection with a major corruption scandal involving flood control projects across the country, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr announced. The suspects are among more than a dozen individuals indicted by the Sandiganbayan, the nation’s special anti-corruption court, in what is expected to become a series of sweeping investigations into so-called ‘ghost’ infrastructure schemes. The arrests came two months after Marcos set up a commission to investigate the scandal, which the Department of Finance estimates may have cost taxpayers as much as 118.5 billion pesos ($2 billion). The move followed mass protests…