World

Senior New Zealand minister Shane Jones has defended his controversial remarks on immigration, saying he uses “hyperbole” to gain “cut through” in public debates, even as criticism mounts over his “butter chicken tsunami” comment.The New Zealand First deputy leader on Wednesday said colleagues in Parliament had urged him to tone down his language, but he…

China’s space mission (AP image) China has selected two Pakistani astronauts as candidates for its space programme, according to the state’s Manned Space Agency.In a statement issued on Wednesday, the agency said that Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud have passed multiple rounds of selection and will soon travel to China for training. One of…

NASA‘s Voyager 1 was launched almost 49 years ago and is still actively travelling through deep space, currently over 15 billion miles away from Earth. Voyager 1 was created by humans and is the furthest any human-made object has ever travelled. However, Voyager 1is facing a power-related emergency due to its radioisotope thermoelectric generators losing…

A 32-year-old man in the UK has admitted to carrying out a religiously aggravated rape and assault on a Sikh woman inside her home in Walsall, after initially denying the charges during trial proceedings.According to Mirror, John Ashby, who has no fixed address, changed his plea at Birmingham Crown Court on Tuesday, accepting responsibility for…

Middle East on edge again: Two ships attacked in Strait of Hormuz Two vessels came under attack in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, further complicating fragile diplomatic efforts to bring the United States and Iran to the negotiating table.Earlier in the day, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard opened fire on a container ship, damaging it…

Iran on Wednesday hanged a man convicted of links to Mossad, the judiciary said, the latest in a string of executions against the backdrop of the war with Israel and the United States, AFP reported.The judiciary’s Mizan Online identified the man as Mehdi Farid and said he was executed after being found guilty of “intelligence…

Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a large medieval settlement on the lakebed of Lake Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan, that rewrites our understanding of trading routes in Central Asia. The settlement was discovered near the village of Toru Aygir, and was once part of an important urban centre along the Silk Road and contains well-preserved structures (fired-brick…

Iran has set a clear precondition for resuming negotiations with the United States, with its UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani stating that talks can only proceed if Washington lifts its naval blockade.In an interview cited by Tasnim News Agency, Iravani said the blockade amounts to a violation of the ceasefire and must be removed before…

Neanderthals are also continuing their own journey through history, and the latest scientific study conducted at Stajnia Cave in Poland is bringing an exciting new dimension to it. For the first time, scientists have been able to reconstruct what appears to be the oldest Neanderthal population in Central-Eastern Europe, thereby giving us more information about…

US President Donald Trump has reportedly given Iran a limited window of “three to five days” to come up with a unified proposal for negotiations, with American officials indicating the current ceasefire extension will not continue indefinitely, according to an Axios report citing three US officials.The report said Trump’s move amounts to a short deadline…