The Indian Income Tax Department has searched the offices of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in New Delhi and Mumbai, weeks after the BBC released a documentary about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Rights groups and opposition politicians have denounced the move as an intimidation tactic, and the BBC's employees have asked not to be identified. The Indian government's actions have raised serious questions about the freedom of the press in the country.
Posts published in “World”
After nearly 50 years, the death of Nobel Prize winning Chilean poet Pablo Neruda is set to be investigated by forensic experts from Canada, Denmark and Chile. Maria Reyes, a family member of Neruda, has revealed that the experts have determined that Neruda was poisoned with a substance not available in Chile at the time, and that there was evidence of a third-party presence in the poet's hospital room. The report is set to be released on Wednesday, and it is hoped that it will provide closure to Neruda's family and fans.
The United States is facing a tense moment in global geopolitics as it confronts simultaneous diplomatic and national security crises with Russia and China. In response, the White House has defended the shootdowns of three unidentified objects in American airspace, citing the risk they posed to civilian commercial air traffic. The shootdowns come as the war in Ukraine is about to reach its first anniversary and a spy balloon drama has provided a tangible symbol of an emerging challenge from Beijing, leaving the Biden administration with the great burden of navigating the complex geopolitical landscape.
Rescue teams in Turkey and Syria have been working tirelessly to save victims of the devastating earthquakes that struck the region last week, having already saved an 18-year-old boy, a man, and a 10-year-old girl. The death toll has passed 35,000 and is expected to increase, but the teams are still hearing voices from under the rubble, providing a glimmer of hope for more survivors.
US military has recovered key electronics from a suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down earlier this month off the coast of South Carolina. The debris field was estimated to be about 1,500 square meters and fighter jets have since intercepted and shot objects out of the sky over Alaska, northern Canada and Lake Huron. The US military is continuing to investigate the incident and is taking steps to ensure US airspace is monitored and protected.
A coolant leak on a Russian supply ship docked to the International Space Station (ISS) has caused the launch of a replacement Soyuz capsule to be postponed until March. The leak was discovered on the Soyuz MS-22 crew ferry ship, which was docked at the Russian Rassvet module, and is believed to have been caused by a presumed micrometeoroid impact in December. The delay of the Soyuz capsule launch will not affect the operations of the ISS, as there are currently three crew members on board.
The Pentagon has released details on an unidentified flying object shot down in Canadian airspace, which was a "small, metallic balloon with a tethered payload below it." China has reported that high-altitude balloons belonging to the United States had flown over its airspace without permission more than 10 times since early last year. Lawmakers are pressing the Biden administration for more information on the objects and if they posed any threat to the United States or its allies.
The US military has shot down three unidentified objects in North American airspace in the past week. John Kirby, the National Security Council’s coordinator for strategic communications, has said that the objects were detected by early-detection radar. He did not comment on whether the objects had any connection to China’s spy balloon. The US military is continuing to investigate the objects and their origin.