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DHAKA: Unidentified gunmen on Monday (December 22, 2025) shot in the head Motaleb Shikder, a second leader of Bangladesh’s violent student-led 2004 uprising. The attack took place in southwestern Khulna city, days after the killing of prominent youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi....more
MOSCOW: A senior Russian general was killed in southern Moscow on Monday after an explosive device placed under his car went off, investigators said in a statement. Russia's Investigative Committee, which examines major crimes, said it had opened a probe into the "murder" of Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, head of the training department within the General Staff....more

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration has announced a huge arms sale worth around $11bn to Taiwan, which includes advanced rocket launchers, self-propelled howitzers and a variety of missiles. This package, which still needs to be approved by the US Congress, will be the second arms sale to Taiwan since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January....more
NEW DELHI: India and New Zealand have announced reaching a free trade agreement that is expected to boost trade between the two countries by hundreds of millions of dollars. New Delhi and Wellington confirmed the agreement on Monday, saying the deal is expected to be formally signed in the first quarter of next year....more

By Deepak Arora
GURUGRAM: Lexus New Delhi successfully hosted an exclusive “Sip & Paint” brunch event last Sunday at its Gurugram showroom located in Sector 29. The unique event brought together guests from different walks of life for a relaxed and creative afternoon. The afternoon featured a guided painting workshop by Ashima Anand and Ananya Bajoria. Wide variety of cocktails did the round during the event. The visitors were also given a specially curated sumptuous brunch experience. All these reflected the brand’s spirit of Omotenashi, the Lexus philosophy of exceptional hospitality....more
MUSCAT: India and Oman inked a free trade agreement on Thursday in Muskat in order to increase economic cooperation between the two nations. Under the FTA, Oman has offered "zero-duty access" to on 98.08% of its tariff lines, covering 99.38% of India’s exports to the country. The agreement was signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's four-day, three-nation visit....more

MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin said he’s willing to discuss bringing Russia’s war in Ukraine to an end, even as he ruled out changes sought by Kyiv and Europe to a US peace plan drawn up with Moscow. Putin said he had “practically agreed” on proposals for ending the war set out at summit talks with US President Donald Trump in Alaska in August....more
WASHINGTON: The Trump administration announced Tuesday it was expanding travel restrictions to an additional 20 countries and the Palestinian Authority, doubling the number of nations affected by sweeping limits announced earlier this year on who can travel and emigrate to the U.S....more
SYDNEY: The Australian government has announced a gun buyback scheme in the wake of the Bondi Beach attack - its deadliest mass shooting in decades. The scheme is the largest since the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, which left 35 people dead and prompted Australia to introduce world-leading gun control measures....more
JOHANNESBURG: Nine people were killed when gunmen opened fire at a bar outside Johannesburg early Sunday, police said, in the second such shooting in South Africa this month. Ten more were wounded in the early morning attack at the tavern in the impoverished Bekkersdal township in a gold mining area around 40 kilometres (25 miles) southwest of the city....more

WASHINGTON: The US Justice Department on Friday released more than 300,000 pages of records from its investigations into the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, bowing to pressure from lawmakers who forced disclosure through a new bipartisan law....more
LONDON: Sophie Kinsella, author of the bestselling Shopaholic series of novels, has died at the age of 55, her family have announced. The writer, whose real name is Madeleine Sophie Wickham, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer in 2022....more

TEL AVIV: IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir warns that the military will strike Israel’s enemies, “wherever required, on near and distant fronts alike,” apparently hinting that Israel will again need to strike in Iran. “At the center of the longest and most complex war in Israel’s history stands the campaign against Iran. Iran is the one that financed and armed the ring of strangulation around Israel and stood behind the plans for its destruction,” he says at a handover ceremony for the head of the IDF Planning Directorate....more
NEW DELHI: Telecom major Bharti Airtel on December 18 appointed Shashwat Sharma as MD & CEO for 5 years, effective January 1, 2026. "Shashwat Sharma is currently the CEO Designate at Bharti Airtel, leads the Consumer Business for the Company. In addition, he has worked closely with the current CEO, Gopal Vittal, getting a deep understanding across all business and functions. In his earlier roles, Shashwat has led the Consumer business and has worked as Chief Operating Officer of Airtel responsible for all operations. He has had a strong track record of performance and creating meaningful impact across all the areas he has worked on," said Airtel in a stock exchange filing....more |