Author: National Tone

Al-Shabab is claiming responsibility for two car bombs in Hiraan after it was pushed out of the region.Two car bombs have killed several people and flattened houses in central Somalia’s Hiraan region on Wednesday, security officials and witnesses said. “We were awoken this morning by two huge explosions,” Ahmed Nur, a local elder, told Reuters. “We have seen many houses levelled to the ground. At least 10 people died including civilians, soldiers and Macawisley [militia] fighters.” There were varying counts by militiamen and local officials. Farah Abdullahi, a Macawisley spokesman for the local Mahas district, also said the blasts killed…

Read More

The United Arab Emirates and China have called for a UN Security Council meeting after Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in a widely denounced move. The Council is expected to convene on Thursday, diplomats told Reuters late on Tuesday. Ben-Gvir’s actions drew fierce condemnation across the world, with Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UAE joining the Palestinians in condemning him. The Palestinian leadership called the intrusion “an unprecedented provocation”. The Palestinian foreign ministry said it “strongly condemns the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by the extremist minister Ben-Gvir and views it as an…

Read More

George Boughey will be looking to hit the ground running in 2023 with his all-weather star Pocket The Packet, who aims for a fifth all-weather win at Gosforth Park.2.20 Newcastle – Packet tries to Pocket another prizePocket The Packet disappointed when favourite last time but it wouldn’t shock if he bounced back in the talkSPORT Download The App Handicap (2:20) at Newcastle. Kevin Stott takes the ride, having won on his two previous starts before only finishing sixth last time out for the George Boughey team.A pair of handicap debutants will also be worth considering in Tantalus (Ben Haslam) and…

Read More

Tech giant argues a $161m fine for exploiting the market dominance of its Android operating system should be quashed.Google has told a tribunal in India that the country’s antitrust investigators copied parts of a European ruling against the US firm for abusing the market dominance of its Android operating system, arguing the decision be quashed, legal papers show. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) in October fined Alphabet Inc’s Google $161m for exploiting its dominant position in markets such as online search and the Android app store, and asked it to change restrictions imposed on smartphone makers related to pre-installing apps.…

Read More

Tanks rolled out for independence celebration just days after jailing of country’s democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.Myanmar troops and weaponry have paraded through the capital Naypyidaw to mark 75 years of independence from Britain, just days after the country’s military rulers sent the democratically-elected leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to prison for a combined 33 years. Tanks, missile launchers and armoured cars rolled through the dawn air to a parade ground in the capital on Wednesday to kick off a military procession marking the 75th anniversary of independence, the Agence France-Presse news agency reported. Civil servants…

Read More

McConnell has become the longest serving Senate leader in the chamber’s history as the 118th US Congress convenes.As the 118th United States Congress convenes for the first time on Tuesday, its upper chamber is marking a record broken by Senator Mitch McConnell, who has become the longest-serving Senate leader in history. McConnell, an 80-year-old Republican from Kentucky, has surpassed the late Democratic Senator Mike Mansfield’s record of 16 years. McConnell has served as Republican party leader in the Senate since 2007. Tuesday’s milestone in the Senate comes in stark contrast to the drama unfolding in the House of Representatives, where McConnell’s…

Read More

The Buffalo Sabres wore ‘Love for 3’ T-shirts prior to their game in Washington against the Capitals on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after the frightening scene involving Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin in Cincinnati. .acf-block-preview .instagram-twitter-container width: 340px; margin: 0 auto; Hamlin, who wears the No. 3, was in critical condition after the Bills say his heart stopped following a tackle during the Monday Night Football game, which was indefinitely postponed. The Capitals held a moment of silence before opening faceoff of the hockey game. .acf-block-preview .instagram-twitter-container width: 340px; margin: 0 auto; The Sabres also had posters paying tribute…

Read More

A xenophobic gunman is suspected of killing two men and one woman at a Kurdish cultural centre last month.With tears and cries of “Martyrs live forever”, thousands of Kurds from across Europe have come to the suburbs of Paris to say farewell to three of their own killed in a December attack in the French capital. Buses were chartered to bring people from across France and some neighbouring countries to the politically charged funeral in Villiers-le-Bel, north of Paris. The coffins of the three people – one woman and two men – were wrapped in the flags of the Kurdistan…

Read More

Kevin McCarthy fails to win majority in now Republican-controlled chamber as he faces opposition from far-right legislators.For the first time in nearly a century, the United States House of Representatives has failed to elect a speaker in the first round of voting as Republican Kevin McCarthy fell short of securing a majority in the chamber to succeed Nancy Pelosi. Republicans narrowly won control of the chamber in November’s midterm elections, but several right-wing legislators of McCarthy’s own party refused to back him during the new House’s first meeting on Tuesday. The speaker must acquire a majority of the votes, excluding…

Read More

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings placed forward Jakub Vrana on waivers Tuesday, two-plus weeks after he returned from the player assistance program set up by the NHL and NHL Players’ Association. .acf-block-preview .instagram-twitter-container width: 340px; margin: 0 auto; It also comes a week after he was assigned to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins on a conditioning loan. The 26-year-old from the Czech Republic has 98 goals and 91 assists in 323 career regular-season games. The NHL and NHLPA started the player assistance program in 1996, giving players access to a confidential phone line and counselors in each city…

Read More