Sky Star News

TikTok goes offline in the US hours before ban due to come in

A message appearing for US users said a law banning TikTok had been enacted, meaning "you can't use TikTok for now".
#TikTokBan #SocialMediaNews #DigitalTrends



TikTok went offline in the US hours before a new law banning the platform was due to take effect.

A message on the app for US users said a law banning TikTok had been enacted, meaning, "You can't use TikTok for now."

"We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office," it read.

It comes after the social media platform warned it would "go dark" on Sunday unless the outgoing Biden administration gave assurances the ban will not be enforced.

President-elect Donald Trump has said he would "most likely" give TikTok a 90-day reprieve from a ban once he takes office on Monday.

9 months ago | [YT] | 0

Sky Star News

Imran Khan was jailed for 14 years in a corruption case.
The 190m case is the latest in a series of charges that the detained former Pakistan PM faces.

Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan has been sentenced to 14 years in prison over a corruption case, in the latest of a series of charges laid against him.

It is the longest valid jail sentence the cricket star-turned-politician, who has been detained since August 2023, has received.

He has faced charges in over 100 cases, ranging from leaking state secrets to selling state gifts - all of which he has decried as politically motivated.

The latest case has been described by Pakistani authorities as the largest the country has seen, though the country has seen huge financial scandals in the past, some of which involved former leaders.

Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were accused of receiving a parcel of land as a bribe from a real estate tycoon through the Al-Qadir Trust, which the couple had set up while he was in office.

In exchange, investigators said, Khan used £190m ($232m) repatriated by the UK's National Crime Agency to pay the tycoon's court fines.

Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party argued that the land was donated to the trust for a spiritual education center and was not used for Khan's personal gain.

In a post on X, PTI chairman Gohar Ali Khan said that the former prime minister "has done no wrong" and that this was a "politically motivated unfair trial".

"But [Imran Khan] will not give in, he will not give up, he will not break," he wrote.

Friday's verdict comes after multiple delays as Khan's party held talks with the government.

After his conviction on Friday, Khan told reporters in the courtroom that he would "neither make any deal nor seek any relief."

Khan's prison sentence of 14 years is the maximum that could be given in the case. He has also been fined more than £4,000.

His wife has been sentenced to seven years and fined more than £2,000. Bibi, who has been out on bail since last October, was taken into custody in court after her sentence was announced.

In 2023, Khan was sentenced to three years in prison for not declaring money earned from selling gifts he had received while in office.

Last year, Khan received a 14-year jail sentence over the selling of state gifts, and another 10 years for leaking state secrets. Both those sentences were suspended months later.

Despite being in jail and barred from holding public office, Khan still looms large over Pakistan's political scene. Last year's election saw candidates backed by Imran Khan winning the most number of seats out of all the parties.

Khan's prosecution has triggered large-scale protests by his supporters - which have been met with a crackdown from authorities. Thousands of protesters have been arrested and many injured in clashes with the police.

9 months ago | [YT] | 0

Sky Star News

Nepal's leader says it has too many tigers. Does it?

Wild tigers killed nearly 40 people in Nepal between 2019 and 2023. Solutions are hard to come by.
#WildlifeConservation #NepalTigers #EcosystemBalance

Nepal has been celebrated globally for tripling its tiger population in a decade - but Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli thinks the country may have been too successful.

"In such a small country, we have more than 350 tigers… We can't have so many tigers and let them eat up humans," he said last month at an event organized to review the country's COP29 outcomes.

Attacks by tigers claimed nearly 40 lives and injured 15 people between 2019 and 2023, according to government data. But local communities say the figure is much higher.

"For us, 150 tigers are enough," Oli declared in December, suggesting that Nepal could send its prized big cats as gifts to other countries.

How many tigers are too many?
There is no one answer, experts say. It depends on the availability of prey in a given area. Ideally, each tiger should be near about 500 prey animals, such as deer, antelopes, or wild buffalo, tiger biologist Ullas Karanth says.

Experts argue that Oli's concern with capping tiger numbers is misplaced. Rather, Nepal's government should focus on "expanding protected areas that have reasonable natural densities of prey and tigers," Dr Karanth adds.

If wildlife is spilling out of protected areas in search of prey, that might explain why so many attacks have happened in places that border forests, where tigers have always encountered humans.

An example is the "buffer zones" that lie between national parks and human settlements. Wildlife sightings are common here, but locals also use the area for cattle grazing and collecting fodder and firewood.

Forest corridors - strips of land that connect different parks and bio-reserves allowing wildlife to roam between them - have emerged as yet another flashpoint. Roads sometimes run through these areas, and locals also use them for foraging, leaving them vulnerable to attacks.

The rise in human fatalities is a sign that Nepal's once-successful conservation model is cracking, zoologist Karan Shah says.

9 months ago | [YT] | 0

Sky Star News

Australian influencer charged with poisoning her baby

The Queensland woman allegedly raised thousands of dollars by chronicling her child's supposed illness online.
#TrueCrime #InfluencerCulture #ChildSafety



An Australian influencer has been charged with poisoning her baby girl to elicit donations and boost online followers.

The Queensland woman claimed she was chronicling her child's battle with a terminal illness on social media, but detectives allege she was drugging the one-year-old and then filming her in "immense distress and pain".

Doctors had raised the alarm in October when the baby was admitted to hospital suffering a serious medical episode.

After months of investigation, the 34-year-old woman was charged with torture, administering poison, making child exploitation material, and fraud.

"[There are] no words for how repulsive offenses of this nature are," Queensland Police Det Insp Paul Dalton told reporters on Thursday.

Between August and October, detectives say that the woman - from the Sunshine Coast region - gave the child several prescription and pharmacy medicines, without approval.

She went to great lengths to obtain the unauthorized medications and cover up her behavior, they alleged, including using leftover medicine for a different person in their house.

Police began investigating on 15 October, when the baby was brought into the hospital experiencing "severe emotional and physical distress and harm". Tests for unauthorized medicines returned a positive result later in January, they said.

The woman raised A$60,000 (£30,500; $37,300) through GoFundMe donations - which the site is attempting to repay, Det Insp Dalton said.

Police had investigated other people over the alleged abuse, but there was no evidence to charge anyone else, he added.

The woman is due to face Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday.

Australia

9 months ago | [YT] | 0

Sky Star News

UK first as vertical rocket launch license granted

Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) has been awarded a license allowing them to launch rockets from Shetland.
#SpaceInnovation #RocketLaunch #UKAerospace

A company behind a rocket engine that exploded during a test at the UK's new spaceport in Shetland could still be the first in Europe to carry out vertical launches into orbit.

German firm Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) has been awarded the first Launch Operator Licence allowing it to launch rockets from the SaxaVord Spaceport.

The license, granted by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), gives permission for RFA to launch up to ten rockets a year into space carrying several small satellites and other payloads.

RFA described the license, the first of its kind to be awarded in Europe, as a "ground-breaking moment".

9 months ago | [YT] | 0

Sky Star News

India successfully conducts historic space-docking test

India is only the fourth country in the world with such technology after the United States, Russia, and China.
#IndiaSpace #SpaceDocking #AerospaceInnovation

Indian space agency Isro has for the first time successfully conducted space docking by joining together two small craft in space.

The technology is essential for the country's future ambition to build an Indian space station and put a person on the Moon.

The mission called SpaceX blasted off from the Sriharikota launch pad in southern India on 30 December. The two spacecraft, launched on a single rocket, separated in space. The docking process, initially scheduled for 7 January, was rescheduled several times.

On Thursday morning, the space agency announced that it had created history by becoming only the fourth country in the world with such technology after the United States, Russia, and China.

9 months ago | [YT] | 0

Sky Star News

US firm that accused Adani Group of fraud shuts down

Nate Anderson, the founder of Hindenburg Research, has announced his decision to disband the company.
#AdaniGroup #FraudAllegations #BusinessNews

A US-based short-seller that had published reports accusing top financial entities in India and abroad of financial wrongdoings and fraud is set to shut down.

Nate Anderson, the founder of Hindenburg Research, announced on Wednesday that he was disbanding the company almost eight years after starting it.

The firm made headlines in India in 2023 after publishing explosive reports about billionaire Gautam Adani's conglomerate, sparking political rows and major losses for the company.

Mr Anderson didn't share a specific reason for his decision but expressed a desire to spend more time with friends and family in the future.

9 months ago | [YT] | 0

Sky Star News

Pakistan Airlines ad shows a plane flying at the Eiffel Tower

The ad has drawn widespread criticism and Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif has ordered an investigation.
#PakistanAirlines #TravelInspiration #EiffelTower

Pakistan's flag carrier has drawn widespread criticism for putting out an advertisement that showed a plane flying towards the Eiffel Tower.

The ad, which had the caption "Paris, we're coming today," was meant to promote the resumption of Pakistan International Airlines flights to the French capital.

Some social media users noted the ad's resemblance to the terrorist attacks in the US on 11 September 2001.

One user wrote on X, "Is this an advertisement or a threat?" Another called for the company to "fire your marketing manager."

9 months ago | [YT] | 0

Sky Star News

Biden warns 'dangerous' oligarchy taking shape in farewell address

The outgoing president used his final televised speech from the Oval Office to issue a series of warnings.

#BidenFarewell #DemocracyInDanger #OligarchyAlert

Outgoing US President Joe Biden warned of a "dangerous" oligarchy taking shape in America, as he delivered his farewell address and ended his decades-long career in politics.

"Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power, and influence that really threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedom," he said on Wednesday.

Biden, 82, took aim at an ultra-wealthy "tech-industrial complex" which he said could wield unchecked power over Americans.

He also used his final televised speech from the White House to issue warnings about climate change and social media disinformation.

Speaking from the Oval Office where his family had gathered to watch, he touted his single-term administration's record, referencing job creation, infrastructure spending, healthcare, leading the country out of the pandemic, and making the US a safer country.

He added, however, that "it will take time to feel the full impact of all we've done together, but the seeds are planted, and they'll grow and they'll bloom for decades to come".

Biden wished Donald Trump's incoming administration success, but then issued a series of pointed warnings, with the president stating "So much is at stake right now".

On climate change, he said, "powerful forces want to wield their unchecked influence to eliminate the steps we've taken to tackle the climate crisis to serve their own interests for power and profit".

On misinformation, Biden warned that "Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation, enabling the abuse of power".

He also took a swipe at social media companies such as Meta, which has recently announced it will get rid of independent fact-checkers. "Social media is giving up on fact-checking. The truth is smothered by lies told for power and for profit," Biden said.

And his attack on an ultra-wealthy "tech-industrial complex" was a veiled reference to Silicon Valley executives such as Elon Musk, the world's richest man who is close to Trump and provided huge financial backing to his campaign.

Other tech bosses such as Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg have made efforts to improve relations with Trump ahead of his return to the White House.

Closing his speech, Biden called on Americans to "stand guard" of their country: "May you all be the keeper of the flame."

His farewell address came on the same day he announced a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which he referenced in his opening remarks.

Biden said the negotiations had been some of the toughest of his career, and took credit for helping get the deal over the line.

The deal will see a ceasefire take effect on 19 January, a day before Trump is due to take office. The incoming president has also taken credit for the agreement, saying it was only possible because he won the election in November.

9 months ago | [YT] | 0

Sky Star News

Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan stabbed at his Mumbai home

The actor was taken to the city's Lilavati hospital where he is undergoing surgery.
#SaifAliKhan #BollywoodNews #MumbaiIncident


Popular Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan has been hospitalized for multiple stab injuries after an intruder reportedly barged into his house and attacked him.

The attack took place early Thursday morning in an upscale neighborhood of Mumbai City, where Khan lives with his family.

The city police told BBC Marathi that the actor was injured after a scuffle broke out between him and an unidentified man who entered his house sometime after midnight.

Khan's family has not made any public statements but his publicity team said it was a case of "attempted burglary" without giving any further details.

Khan has been taken to the city's Lilavati Hospital where he is undergoing surgery.

Niraj Uttamani, the hospital's chief operating officer, told BBC Marathi that Khan had received six stab wounds, of which two were deep.

"One is close to the spine. He is being operated upon by a team of specialist doctors," he added.

Police have launched an investigation.

"An unknown person entered the actor's house. After that, an argument broke out between him and the intruder," said Mumbai's Deputy Commissioner of Police Dixit Gedam.

In a statement released on Thursday morning, the actor's team asked his fans to respect his privacy.

"We request the media and fans to be patient. It is a police matter. We will keep you updated on the situation", they said.

9 months ago | [YT] | 0