Author: Ranjan Shree

Abrams is set to perform in countries like Singapore, Thailand, and Taiwan for the first time – see the list of tour dates and how to get tickets Gracie Abrams has announced her 2025 ‘The Secret Of Us’ Asia tour, performing in various countries for the first time. See tour dates and ticket information below. The singer-songwriter announced the tour dates earlier today (December 3) – Abrams is set to perform in Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Japan and Thailand. “We are finally bringing our show to Asia for the first time ever!!!!!!!” Abrams told fans in an Instagram post. “I’m…

In a sprawling criminal investigation, all roads lead to the European Parliament’s subcommittee on human rights. Maria Arena is blaming her secretary. The Socialist MEP, who chairs the European Parliament’s human rights committee, accepted a trip to Qatar — and then failed to declare properly that the Qatari government paid for her flights and hotel, POLITICO can reveal. Arena has admitted the administrative misdemeanor, but blamed it on her office assistant who she said did not complete the paperwork as required. The senior MEP could now face sanctions including a financial penalty of up to €10,140 or being banned from…

Geneva (21/11) Following the publication of a report by the presidential committee, which dismissed the Channel 4 documentary on the Easter Sunday attacks, Azad Maulana – who has been in regular contact with Ravi Seneviratne and Shane Abeysekara via the Signal app – has confirmed that he will cooperate with an investigation led by them. Maulana also revealed that Nishantha Silva Kandappa, a former officer in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), a refuge in Switzerland, has been in regular contact with him. He further disclosed that he did not respond to the presidential committee’s inquiry due to the influence of…

The cybersecurity agencies of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance (the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada and New Zealand) issued a warning on Tuesday that hackers were increasingly exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities to access their targets’ networks. It marks a significant departure from similar advisories issued in 2022 and 2021, when the agencies warned that malicious cyber actors were exploiting older software vulnerabilities more frequently than recently disclosed ones. In a co-authored advisory, the agencies list the top 15 most routinely exploited vulnerabilities of 2023, with CVE-2023-3519 — an issue affecting Citrix’s networking product NetScalers — being the most widely used. Reports around the time…

The India-US partnership is the most important engagement globally, the cooperation will flourish if Harris becomes the US president: Neil Makhija The India-US partnership is the most important engagement globally and the cooperation will flourish further if Kamala Harris becomes the US president as she recognises the significance of the relationship, prominent Indian-origin Democratic leader Neil Makhija has said. In an exclusive interview with PTI, the young leader, considered to be close to Harris, also came down very hard on former president Donald Trump for his immigration policy that has triggered some concerns among immigrant communities in the US, including…

Russia is watching US policy like a hawk. That was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s message to reporters last week in Kyiv as he answered a question about Moscow’s willingness to negotiate. “It depends on the elections in the United States,” he said. If elected, Kamala Harris is expected to largely continue the policies of the Biden administration, which have been supportive of Ukraine despite some friction points, like the use of Western weapons to strike deep inside Russia. Taking a drastically different position, Donald Trump has suggested he will end support for Kyiv’s war effort and claimed he could settle…

It was bitter cold, but I don’t remember freezing or being cold. Hemingway wrote that the air was so cold when you took a breath it was like drinking water. We travelled by train, then we walked through the cold streets, no bus was running, we had to hustle to catch the last ride up the mountain, then it was up to the mountain, bundled up in two thick woolen blankets with the snow showering us. It was warm looking out of the peep hole I created, flying up the mountains sitting on the last ride of the day. The…

In October 2024, China’s first comprehensive regulation to tighten state control over the critical sector of rare earth resources took effect. Coming amid the global transition towards clean energy, the regulation demonstrates China’s increased leverage of its rare earth monopoly to outpace its geopolitical rivals like the United States, which remains far behind China in this sector. Intensified competition for rare earth elements risks overshadowing collaborative efforts to develop clean technology.Mountain Pass, owned by MP Materials, is the only large-scale rare earth mining and processing facility in North America. Image from Wikimedia Commons.In the race to develop clean technology, major…

Moscow (11 September/ 33.33). Russia waged a 2-year war of aggression against its neighbor, the Ukraine. Two years on, hundred thousand of deaths, families destroyed, Russia is no where near its 3-day goals of occupation. The Russian army slugs on, mile for mile, killed for killed. Vladimir Putin and his Siloviki continues a red army model. Heavy artillery, wave of men urging forward. The result, mass casualties. Total loss of life, and equipment. What does Russians do if in trouble. Reversing to its all bag of tricks. Spies and sabotage. Recent Russian sabotage operations across Europe were “reckless”, Moore said,…

Brussels/Dushanbe (10/8- 75) Once more Tajikistan comes on the radar screen. Who will be the next president of Tajikistan? How is the ban on the hijab helping the deradicalization of Tajik society? What is the role of the Chinese and Russian influence? And how is the relationship with the European Union coming along? Every year we face a plethora of Tajik issues, for example corruption and drug usage involving officials, now the ban on face veils, or the newest version a ban on black clothes. The desecration of the grave of one of leaders and the promotions of killer squad…