Musk's China Visit Concerning: US Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy

Republican leader and US presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy expressed concerns over Elon Musk's discussions with Chinese ministers on the Tesla CEO's first trip to the country in over three years. Mr Ramaswamy claimed that China was using prominent American business leaders as puppets to "advance their agenda".

Elon Musk, during an audience with China's Foreign Minister on Tuesday, announced that he will expand his business in the country. He also praised China's "vitality and promise" on Wednesday.

The billionaire used his sit down with Foreign Minister Qin Gang to voice opposition to the US decoupling from China, saying the interests of the two countries were intertwined, according to a government statement.

Calling Musk's remarks deeply concerning, Mr Ramaswamy said, "It's deeply concerning that Elon Musk met with China's foreign minister yesterday to oppose decoupling and referred to the U.S. & Communist China as "conjoined twins." Tesla's VP in China reposted that statement on Weibo in China, but curiously not here in the US."

I'm breaking an unspoken rule in the GOP, but I call it like I see it: it's deeply concerning that @elonmusk met with China's foreign minister yesterday to oppose decoupling and referred to the U.S. & Communist China as “conjoined twins.” Tesla's VP in China reposted that… pic.twitter.com/UD26pweilX

— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) May 31, 2023

The Republican leader also said that prominent US businessmen driving Beijing's agenda tilt the scales in China's favour.

"That tilts the global scales of perception in China's favor – and sadly, it's working. The US needs leaders who aren't in China's pocket, yet Biden is just another embodiment of that same problem," he said in a tweet.

Musk's first visit to China in three years comes as Tesla faces intensifying competition from Chinese-made electric vehicles and some uncertainty about expansion plans for the Shanghai plant.

Musk, who has previously suggested Taiwan could be run as a special administrative zone of China, has enjoyed significant official support for his Shanghai-based Gigafactory. Tesla contributed almost one-quarter of Shanghai's total automotive production value last year, and local authorities pledged earlier this month to boost ties with the company through autonomous driving and robot modules.

The Tesla chief's unannounced trip is the latest by a major US CEO to China since the country reversed its zero-COVID policy and reopened its borders. Apple's Tim Cook visited in March, while JP Morgan's Jamie Dimon and Starbucks' Laxman Narasimhan are also in China this week.

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Elon Musk Is Richest Person In World Again. He Replaces...

Elon Musk has retaken the title of world's wealthiest person.

The Tesla Inc. chief executive officer surpassed luxury tycoon Bernard Arnault on Wednesday after shares of Arnault's LVMH fell 2.6% in Paris trading.

Musk and the 74-year-old Frenchman have been neck-and-neck for the top spot this year in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a listing of the world's 500 richest people.

Arnault first surpassed Musk in December as the tech industry struggled and luxury showed resilience in the face of inflation. LVMH, which Arnault founded, owns brands including Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Hennessy.

Faith in the luxury sector's buoyancy is starting to fade amid mounting signs of slowing economic growth, particularly in the critical market of China. LVMH shares have tumbled about 10% since April, at one point wiping $11 billion from Arnault's net worth in a single day.

Musk, meanwhile, has gained more than $55.3 billion this year, largely due to Tesla. The Austin-based automaker — which comprises 71% of his fortune — has rallied 66% year-to-date. Musk's fortune is now valued at about $192.3 billion, according to the index, while Arnault's is about $186.6 billion.

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North Korea Vows More Spy Satellite Launches: Report

North Korea's Kim Yo Jong has said her country's military spy satellite will soon enter into orbit and vowed to ramp up military surveillance efforts, state media KCNA reported on Thursday.

"Enemies are most afraid of the DPRK's access to excellent reconnaissance and information means including reconnaissance satellite and, accordingly, we are aware that we should direct greater efforts to developing reconnaissance means," Kim, a powerful government official and sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said in a statement carried by the news agency.

Her remarks come after Pyongyang's satellite launch on Wednesday ended in failure.

In her statement, Kim also said the wide criticism of her country's satellite launch was "self-contradiction" as the U.S. and other countries have already launched "thousands of satellites."

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US Announces $300 Million Arms Package For Ukraine As War Intensifies

The Pentagon announced a new $300 million arms package for Ukraine on Wednesday, including air defense systems and tens of millions of rounds of ammunition.

The Defense Department said the latest shipments will bring the total value of US security assistance to Ukraine since Russia's February 2022 invasion to $37.6 billion.

"The United States will continue to work with its allies and partners to provide Ukraine with capabilities to meet its immediate battlefield needs and longer-term security assistance requirements," the Pentagon said in a statement.

The United States has been leading an unprecedented effort by NATO and other allied countries to supply Ukraine with weaponry and other aid.

The latest arms shipments come as Ukraine prepares a counter-offensive aimed at driving Russian forces back from swaths of occupied territory in the east and south of the country.

The Pentagon said the $300 million package includes munitions for Patriot air defense systems, AIM-7 air defense missiles, Avenger air defense systems and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles.

Also part of the package is ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds, 105mm tank ammunition and Zuni aircraft rockets.

The United States is sending more than 30 million rounds of small arms ammunition to Ukraine, the Pentagon said.

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EU, US To Ready AI Code Of Conduct "Within Weeks"

The European Union and United States said Wednesday they expect to draft a voluntary code of conduct on artificial intelligence "within weeks" with the hope that fellow democracies will sign on.

After talks with EU officials in Sweden, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the Western partners felt the "fierce urgency" to act following the emergence of the technology, in which China has been a growing force.

The voluntary code "would be open to all like-minded countries," Mr Blinken told reporters.

"There's almost always a gap when new technologies emerge," Anotony Blinken said, with "the time it takes for governments and institutions to figure out how to legislate or regulate."

European Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager added that a draft would be put forward "within weeks."

"We think it's really important that citizens can see that democracies can deliver," she said.

She voiced hope "to do that in the broadest possible circle -- with our friends in Canada, in the UK, in Japan, in India, bringing as many onboard as possible."

Sam Altman, whose firm OpenAI created the popular AI-driven ChatGPT bot, took part in the talks of the Trade and Technology Council between the EU and the United States, this year hosted in the northern Swedish city of Lulea.

The forum was set up in 2021 to ease trade friction after the turbulent presidency of Donald Trump but has since set its sights largely on artificial intelligence.

In a joint statement, the two sides called AI a "transformative technology with great promise for our people, offering opportunities to increase prosperity and equity."

"But in order to seize the opportunities it presents, we must mitigate its risks," it said.

"The European Union and the United States reaffirm their commitment to a risk-based approach to AI to advance trustworthy and responsible AI technologies."

It said that experts from the two sides would work on "cooperation on AI standards and tools for trustworthy AI and risk management."

The EU has been moving forward on the world's first regulations on AI which would ban biometric surveillance and ensure human control, although the rules would not enter into force before 2025 at the earliest.

China has also discussed regulations but Western powers fear that Beijing, with its growing prowess in the field and willingness to export to fellow authoritarian countries, could set global standards without Western unity.

The United States has made no serious effort to regulate AI despite rising calls, including by some in the tech industry.

Technology leaders, including Mr Altman, in a joint statement Tuesday warned that AI put the world at risk without regulation.

"Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war," they wrote.

ChatGPT burst into the spotlight late last year as it demonstrated an ability to generate essays, poems and conversations through minimal input.

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North Korea Fires 'Space Launch Vehicle' Amid Tensions, South Korea Says

North Korea has fired what it claims is a "space launch vehicle", the South's military said early Wednesday, prompting confusion in Seoul as the city briefly issued an evacuation warning in error.

North Korea had confirmed Tuesday that it planned to launch what it called "military reconnaissance satellite No. 1" before June 11, having already told Japan of its plans a day earlier.

Pyongyang fired "what it says is a space launch vehicle" southwards, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said, without giving further details.

Soon after, a text alert said: "Citizens, please prepare to evacuate and allow children and the elderly to evacuate first" as an air raid siren sounded in central Seoul.

Minutes after that, Seoul's interior ministry said the alert has been "incorrectly issued".

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the projectile flew over the Yellow Sea and did not affect the Seoul metropolitan area, Yonhap reported.

North Korea said Tuesday its new spy satellite would be "indispensable to tracking, monitoring... and coping with in advance in real time the dangerous military acts of the US and its vassal forces".

Criticising US-South Korea joint military exercises, including ongoing large-scale live-fire drills, a top North Korean military official said Pyongyang felt "the need to expand reconnaissance and information means and improve various defensive and offensive weapons", state media reported.

Pyongyang, which typically does not give advanced warning of missile launches, has been known to inform international bodies of purportedly peaceful satellite launch plans.

It told Japan Monday it would launch a rocket between May 31 and June 11.

Tokyo and Seoul strongly criticised the proposed launch, which they said would violate UN sanctions, which bar Pyongyang from any tests using ballistic missile technology.

Because long-range rockets and space launchers share the same technology, analysts say developing the ability to put a satellite in orbit would provide Pyongyang with cover for testing banned intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

In 2012 and 2016, Pyongyang tested ballistic missiles that it called satellite launches. Both flew over Japan's southern Okinawa region.

Japan briefly activated its missile alert warning system for the Okinawa region early Wednesday, lifting it after about 30 minutes.

- 'Price and pain' -

Since diplomacy collapsed in 2019, North Korea has doubled down on military development, conducting a string of banned weapons tests, including test-firing multiple ICBMs.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last year declared his country an "irreversible" nuclear power, and called for an "exponential" increase in weapons production, including tactical nukes.

Kim this month inspected the country's first military spy satellite as it was prepared for launch, and gave the green light for its "future action plan".

In 2021, Kim had identified the development of such satellites as a key defence project for the North Korean military.

South Korea's foreign ministry earlier this week condemned the launch plan, saying the "so-called 'satellite launch' is a serious violation of UN Security Council resolutions banning all launches using ballistic missile technology".

"If North Korea eventually goes ahead with the launch, it will have to bear the price and pain it deserves."

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NATO Upbeat On Sweden Bid As US Urges Turkey To Say Yes

NATO's chief voiced guarded optimism Tuesday on welcoming Sweden to the alliance as the United States pressed holdout Turkey to drop its objections, two days after President Tayyip Recep Erdogan won re-election.

Sweden and Finland last year reversed decades of hesitation and formally applied to join NATO after Russia invaded Ukraine, which had unsuccessfully sought to enter the alliance whose members promise to defend one another.

But decisions must be unanimous and Turkey has used its leverage to push the two countries over the presence of Kurdish militants, letting Finland join NATO in April but still blocking Sweden.

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said it was "within reach" for Sweden to join in time for the July 11-12 NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.

"There are no guarantees but it's absolutely possible to reach a solution and enable the decision on full membership for Sweden by then," Stoltenberg told reporters in Oslo on the eve of a NATO foreign ministers' meeting to prepare for the summit.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, visiting Sweden on his way to Oslo, said the Swedish government had addressed Turkish concerns.

"The time is now to finalise Sweden's accession," Blinken told a news conference with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in the northern Swedish city of Lulea.

"We urge both Turkey and Hungary -- which also has not yet ratified -- to ratify the accession as quickly as possible," Blinken said.

"There is no reason for any further time. Sweden is ready now."

Blinken said the United States wanted the process to be "completed in the weeks ahead" but stopped short of saying if he was certain it would be finished by the summit.

- New Turkish anger -

Erdogan, Turkey's leader for two decades, won another five-year term on Sunday after a campaign in which he vowed to stand up to the West.

He has accused Sweden, with its generous asylum policies, of being a haven for "terrorists", especially members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) that is outlawed by Ankara.

Despite the rising hopes of accession, Sweden once again drew Turkish ire on Tuesday as Turkey deplored an "unacceptable" protest by activists in Sweden aimed at Ankara.

The pro-Kurdish Rojava Committee of Sweden posted an anti-Erdogan video on social networks on Monday showing a PKK flag being projected onto the Swedish parliament, the latest of several similar provocations by the group.

Stoltenberg said he was in "constant contact" with Turkish authorities to try to lift the final obstacles to Sweden's accession.

Blinken played down any connection between Sweden's membership and a potential US sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, though President Joe Biden appeared to draw a link in remarks to reporters after a congratulatory call to Erdogan.

"These are distinct issues. Both, though, are vital in our judgement to European security," Blinken said.

The Biden administration earlier this year indicated its support for a $20 billion F-16 package for Turkey including 40 new jets and upgrades on 79 existing planes.

But Congress looks likely to block the sale, with Bob Menendez, the powerful chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, voicing alarm that Erdogan would use the advanced war planes to intimidate or even attack fellow NATO ally Greece.

Sweden and Finland, while close defence partners of the West, had officially remained non-aligned militarily out of fear of angering their giant neighbour Russia.

Kristersson told Blinken that Lulea, where US and European officials will meet Wednesday on trade and technology issues, was a six-and-a-half-hour drive from the border with Russia.

"Filling the territorial gap in the North will be one of Sweden's many security contributions to NATO when we join the alliance," Kristersson said.

Hungary, whose hard-right government has tense relations with much of the European Union, has also refused to give its blessing to Sweden, though it is largely seen as following Turkey's lead.

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Watch: Chinese Jet Carries Out "Aggressive Maneuver" Near US Spy Plane

A Chinese fighter jet carried out an "unnecessarily aggressive" maneuver near a U.S. military plane over the South China Sea in international airspace, the United States said on Tuesday.

In a statement, the United States' military command responsible for the Indo-Pacific said the Chinese J-16 aircraft carried out the maneuver last week and forced the U.S. RC-135 plane to fly through its wake turbulence.

"The United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate – safely and responsibly – wherever international law allows," the statement said.

#USINDOPACOM Statement on #PRC Unprofessional Intercept: "We expect all countries in the Indo-Pacific region to use international airspace safely and in accordance with international law."

Read more⬇️https://t.co/jeAEg1lHXz pic.twitter.com/AvPKRZHCZB

— U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (@INDOPACOM) May 30, 2023

A video showed a fighter jet passing in front of the U.S. plane's nose and the cockpit of the RC-135 shaking in the turbulence.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In the past, China has said that the United States sending ships and aircraft into the South China Sea is not good for peace.

Such intercepts happen occasionally. In December, a Chinese military plane came within 10 feet (3 meters) of a U.S. Air Force aircraft and forced it to take evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision in international airspace.

The encounter followed what the United States has called a recent trend of increasingly dangerous behavior by Chinese military aircraft.

The incident took place before China snubbed a request by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to meet on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue Asian security summit in Singapore this week.

A senior U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that since 2021 China had declined or not responded to over a dozen requests to talk with the Pentagon.

Relations between China and the United States have been tense, with friction between the world's two largest economies over everything from Taiwan and China's human rights record to its military activity in the South China Sea.

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UN Nuclear Watchdog Asks Russia, Ukraine To Protect Zaporizhzhia Plant

U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi on Tuesday asked Ukraine and Russia to respect five principles to safeguard Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, suggesting he had not secured their agreement on protecting the facility.

Grossi has been trying for months to establish an agreement to reduce the risk of a catastrophic nuclear accident from military activity like shelling at Europe's biggest nuclear power plant, which is in Ukraine and has been occupied by Russia for more than a year.

His five principles included that there should be no attack on or from the plant and that it not be used as a base for heavy weapons such as multiple rocket launchers, artillery systems and munitions, and tanks or for military personnel that could be used for an attack from the plant.

In a briefing to the U.N. Security Council, Grossi also called for off-site power to the plant to remain available and secure; for all its essential systems to be protected from attacks or acts of sabotage; and for no action to be taken that undermines these principles.

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Russia Says 1 Killed, 2 Injured In Ukrainian Strikes In Belgorod

One person was killed and two others injured on Tuesday in a Ukrainian bombardment on a centre for displaced people in the border region of Belgorod, the regional governor said.

"Ukrainian armed forces fired artillery at a centre for displaced people housing elderly civilians and children... a security guard was killed and two people were injured," the governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram.

The two people injured are in intensive care in a "serious condition", he said.

In the post Gladkov added photographs of a damaged building with shattered windows, one showing a hole in the ground apparently caused by the impact of a strike, and another showing adults and children being loaded onto buses.

The Belgorod region, bordering Ukraine, has in recent weeks been hit by dozens strikes from across the border and seen attempted incursions from armed groups.

The Russian capital Moscow was itself targeted by drones early Tuesday morning in the first such attack since the beginning of the Kremlin's assault on Ukraine.

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Plastic Bags On Heads, Imran Khan's Party's Women Workers Brought To Court

The Pakistan government on Tuesday faced flak after two women workers belonging to former prime minister Imran Khan's party were brought to an anti-terrorism court in Lahore on Tuesday with their heads covered with 'shopping bags' for their alleged role in torching a senior military officer's house in the city.

Police presented the two Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf workers --Ayesha Masood and her young daughter Maha -- before the anti-terrorism court (ATC) in connection with the attack on Lahore Corps Commander House known as Jinnah House on May 9 following Khan's arrest in a corruption case.

The court sent both women to jail for seven days for an identification parade, a court official said.

In a video clip, both women can be seen brought to the ATC with their heads covered with shopping bags.

As the video went viral on social media, the government and establishment faced scathing criticism for 'humiliating women'.

"Women have been used as a weapon by this regime. The arsenal has been manifold; blackmail, harassment, threats, illegal arrests & perhaps even more. But women have also stood up against these vile tactics and shown tremendous courage," PTI leader and former federal minister Hammad Azhar said in a tweet.

Women have been used as a weapon by this regime. The arsenal has been manifold; blackmail, harassments, threats, illegal arrests & perhaps even more. But women have also stood up against these vile tactics and shown tremendous courage. pic.twitter.com/nBJl4HlgzZ

— Hammad Azhar (@Hammad_Azhar) May 30, 2023

In his address to the nation on Tuesday Khan said: "They (PMLN-led government and military establishment) have stooped too low as the PTI workers are being threatened that women from their houses will be taken away. Nobody could have imagined stooping to this level in Pakistan's politics”.

He claimed that his party leaders are being tortured.

The Punjab caretaker government, however, said that jails in the province have only seven women prisoners from PTI, including former provincial health minister Yasmin Rashid.

Pakistan saw unrest following the arrest of Khan, 70, by paramilitary Rangers in a corruption case on May 9. Khan was later released on bail.

Over 20 military installations and government buildings were damaged or torched during the riots. Over 100 vehicles of Punjab police and other security agencies were set on fire.

Law enforcement agencies have arrested over 10,000 workers of Khan's party from across Pakistan, including 4,000 from Punjab.

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China Launches Mission With First Civilian To Space Station

China sent three astronauts to its Tiangong space station on Tuesday, putting a civilian into orbit for the first time as it pursues plans to send a crewed mission to the Moon by the end of the decade.

The world's second-largest economy has invested billions of dollars in its military-run space programme in a push to catch up with the United States and Russia.

The Shenzhou-16 crew took off atop a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China at 9:31 am (0131 GMT), AFP journalists saw.

The launch was a "complete success" and the "astronauts are in good condition", said Zou Lipeng, director of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

Dozens of employees from the space programme, many of whom live year-round on the huge site, attended the launch, snapping selfies with the rocket in the background.

Children played as they waited for the launch, some waving Chinese flags as they sat on their parents' shoulders.

Spectators let out a loud "wow", shouting "good luck" and waving as the rocket took off in a cloud of ochre smoke.

Leading its crew is commander Jing Haipeng on his fourth mission, as well as engineer Zhu Yangzhu and Beihang University professor Gui Haichao, the first Chinese civilian in space.

China was the third country to put humans in orbit, and Tiangong is the crown jewel of its space programme, which has also landed robotic rovers on Mars and the Moon.

Shenzhou-16 is the first mission to Tiangong since it entered its "application and development" stage, authorities said.

The Shenzhou craft will dock at the space station's Tianhe core module.

The crew will then meet their three colleagues from the Shenzhou-15 flight, who have been at the station for six months and will return to Earth in the coming days.

Shenzhou-16 will carry out a number of experiments during the mission, including in "high-precision space time-frequency systems", general relativity, and into the origin of life, CMSA spokesperson Lin Xiqiang told reporters on Monday.

The space station was resupplied with drinking water, clothing, food and propellant this month in preparation for Shenzhou-16's arrival.

One expert told AFP that Tuesday's mission represented "a regular crew rotation flight", but even that was significant.

"Accumulating depth of experience in human spaceflight operations is important and doesn't involve new spectacular milestones all the time," said Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer and astrophysicist at the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

'Heavenly palace'

Plans for China's "space dream" have been put into overdrive under President Xi Jinping, and it is planning to build a moon base.

"The overall goal is to achieve China's first crewed landing on the Moon by 2030 and carry out lunar scientific exploration and related technological experiments," CMSA spokesman Lin said.

The final module of Tiangong -- which means "heavenly palace" -- successfully docked with the core structure last year.

The station carries several pieces of cutting-edge scientific equipment, state news agency Xinhua reported, including "the world's first space-based cold atomic clock system".

Tiangong is expected to remain in low Earth orbit at an altitude between 400 and 450 kilometres (250 and 280 miles) for at least 10 years.

It is constantly crewed by rotating teams of three astronauts.

China has been effectively excluded from the International Space Station since 2011, when the United States banned NASA from engaging with the country -- pushing Beijing to develop its own orbital outpost.

China's space agency reiterated on Monday it is actively seeking international cooperation in the project.

China plans to send two crewed space missions to Tiangong every year, according to the CMSA.

The next will be Shenzhou-17, with an expected launch in October.

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Libya Court Sentences 23 People To Death For Islamic State Campaign

 A Libyan court sentenced 23 people to death and another 14 to life in prison on Monday for their role in a deadly Islamic State militant campaign that included beheading a group of Egyptian Christians and seizing the city of Sirte in 2015.

The Attorney General's office said in a statement that one other person was sentenced to 12 years in prison, six to 10 years, one to five years and six to three years while five were acquitted and three others died before their case came to trial.

Islamic State's Libyan branch was one of the militant group's strongest outside its original territory in Iraq and Syria, taking advantage of the chaos and warfare that followed a 2011 NATO-backed uprising.

In 2015 it launched an attack on the luxury Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli, killing nine people, before abducting and beheading dozens of Egyptian Christians whose deaths it featured in grisly propaganda films.

After gaining territory in Benghazi, Derna and Ajdabiya in eastern Libya, the group seized the central coastal city of Sirte, holding it until late 2016 as it enforced a harsh regime of public morality backed up by brutal punishments.

Mustafa Salem Trabulsi, head of an organisation for bereaved families of people killed or disappeared by the group said he had hoped that all the suspects would face the death penalty but he accepted the outcome.

"My son is missing and my relative, my brother-in-law, was murdered in Sirte Square," he said.

Speaking in court on Monday, Fawzia Arhuma said she welcomed the death sentences after her son was killed by the group at a power station near Sirte.

"Today my son raised my head. Today I buried my son," she said.

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Biden Congratulates Turkey's Erdogan On His Win, Talks About F16s

US President Joe Biden said that in a call on Monday Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan repeated Ankara's desire to buy F-16 fighter jets from the United States, while Biden responded that Washington was keen to see Ankara drop its objection to Sweden's joining NATO.

The exchange took place when Biden called Erdogan to congratulate him on his victory in Turkey's presidential election on Sunday.

"I spoke to Erdogan. I congratulated Erdogan. He still wants to work out something on the F-16s. I told him we wanted to deal with Sweden, so let's get that done. And so we'll be back in touch with one another," Biden told reporters before departing the White House for Delaware.

"We're going to talk more about it next week," he added.

Bids for NATO membership must be approved by all NATO members. Both Turkey and Hungary have yet to approve Sweden's bid.

Turkey has sought to buy $20 billion worth of F-16s and nearly 80 modernization kits from the United States, but the sale has been stalled due to objections from the U.S. Congress over Ankara's problematic human rights record and Syria policy, even though the Biden administration has repeatedly said it supports the sale.

A much smaller $259 million package including avionics software upgrades for Turkey's current fleet of F-16 fighter aircraft was cleared by U.S. Congress earlier this year, days after Turkey ratified Finland's NATO accession.

The Biden administration has repeatedly rejected any assertion of any "quid pro quo" between the sale and the NATO enlargement, although Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in January said the U.S. side made it clear that an approval of NATO bids would be viewed positively by the Congress.

A bipartisan group of senators in a February letter to Biden said Turkey's failure to ratify the accession protocols for Sweden and Finland, which was still waiting at the time, would "call into question this pending sale", referring to the F-16s.

A source familiar with the discussions said the United States had previously told Turkey that it would be hard to get Congress to approve the F-16 deal if Ankara doesn't green light Sweden.

Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership last year, ditching long-held policies of military non-alignment following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Turkey ratified Finland's NATO accession in late March, but has continued to object to Sweden, saying Stockholm harbors members of militant groups it considers to be terrorists. Hungary has also not yet approved Sweden's bid.

Seeing Sweden join NATO by mid-July when the alliance is due to hold a leaders summit in Lithuania is among the top priorities for Washington

The Turkish Presidency in a brief statement on the call between Biden and Erdogan said the two leaders agreed to deepen cooperation on all aspects of their bilateral ties, whose importance they said has grown even more in the face of regional and global challenges.

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US Says China Declined Request To Meet Its Defence Chief In Singapore

Beijing has declined a US invitation for a meeting in Singapore between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu, the Pentagon said Monday.

"Overnight, the PRC informed the US that they have declined our early May invitation for Secretary Austin to meet with PRC Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu in Singapore this week," Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder said in a statement, refering to the People's Republic of China.

"The PRC's concerning unwillingness to engage in meaningful military-to-military discussions will not diminish (the Defense Department's) commitment to seeking open lines of communication with the People's Liberation Army," Ryder said.

A senior US defense official described the declined invitation as "just the latest in a litany of excuses," saying that since 2021, China has "declined or failed to respond to over a dozen requests from the Department of Defense for key leader engagements, multiple requests for standing dialogues, and nearly ten working-level engagements."

Li was sanctioned by the US government in 2018 for buying Russian weapons, but the Pentagon says that does not prevent Austin from conducting official business with him.

Austin is due to travel to Singapore later this week to attend the Shangri-La Dialogue, a defense summit where he met Li's predecessor Wei Fenghe last June.

Austin and Wei met again in Cambodia later in 2022, but tensions between Washington and Beijing soared this year over issues including Taiwan and an alleged Chinese spy balloon that was shot down by a US warplane after traversing the country.

Austin and other US officials have been working to shore up alliances and partnerships in Asia as part of efforts to counter increasingly assertive moves by Beijing, but there have also been tentative signs that the two sides were working to lower the temperature.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in Vienna earlier this month, and President Joe Biden recently said ties between Washington and Beijing should thaw "very shortly," citing the spy balloon incident as a factor that had boosted tensions.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Putin Tells Turkey's Erdogan Election Win Brings Chance To Strengthen Ties

Russian President Vladimir Putin once again congratulated Turkey's leader on his re-election and said it opened up new "new avenues" for cooperation between Ankara and Moscow, the Kremlin said Monday.

"The support expressed by the Turkish people for their leader opens new avenues for development of bilateral ties in a number of sectors," Putin said in a call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan according to the Kremlin.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Two US Employees Fired For Chasing Robbers Out Of Store. Here's Why

Two women employees in the US have claimed they were fired by their employers after they called the police to report a robbery at the store, New York Post reported. The incident happened at a Lululemon store in Atlanta, where masked robbers were captured on camera, taking merchandise from displays near the front of the store.

Meanwhile, Jennifer Ferguson and Rachel Rogers, the two employees in question, were seen yelling at and chasing masked robbers out of their store before calling the police. They reported the robbery to the Gwinnett Police Department, who later tracked down the thieves and charged them with felony robbery charges.

However, instead of appreciating them for their bravery, Lululemon fired them for "breaking the company policy" of not interfering with a robbery. The employees claimed that they were questioned by a regional manager on their decision to call the police before they were fired from the store. The women also claimed they were denied severance for the rule-breaking.

''It wasn't very clear. They didn't give specific reasoning besides just saying they have a ''no-tolerance policy,'' Ms. Rogers said. 

''We are not supposed to get in the way. You kind of clear path for whatever they're going to do. And then, after it's over, you scan a QR code. And that's that. We've been told not to put it in any notes, because that might scare other people. We're not supposed to call the police, not really supposed to talk about it,'' Ms. Ferguson, who was the assistant manager at the time, told 11Alive.

Talking to The Post, a spokesperson for the company confirmed that the Lululemon handbook does have a zero-tolerance policy on chasing or physically engaging with a thief.

''Safety is our number one priority, and no amount of merchandise in the store is worth putting yourself at risk for. Lululemon has a zero-tolerance policy on chasing or physically engaging with a guest when a theft or suspected theft has occurred. This also includes leaving the store to pursue a guest or gather additional information about the suspected or observed theft,'' an excerpt states.

The incident comes as several US states have been facing the menace of increased store robberies.

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PM Modi Congratulates Erdogan On Re-Elected As Turkey President

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his re-election, and expressed confidence that bilateral ties between the two countries on global issues will continue to grow.

Congratulations @RTErdogan on re-election as the President of Türkiye! I am confident that our bilateral ties and cooperation on global issues will continue to grow in the coming times.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 29, 2023

Erdogan won re-election Sunday, extending his rule into a third decade as the country reels from high inflation and the aftermath of an earthquake that levelled entire cities.

Modi tweeted, "Congratulations @RTErdogan on re-election as the President of Türkiye! I am confident that our bilateral ties and cooperation on global issues will continue to grow in the coming times."

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China To Send First Civilian To Space On Tuesday: Space Agency

China will send its first civilian astronaut into space as part of a crewed mission to the Tiangong space station on Tuesday, the country's Manned Space Agency said.

"Payload expert Gui Haichao is a professor at Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics," China Manned Space Agency Spokesperson Lin Xiqiang told reporters Monday.

Until now, all Chinese astronauts sent into space have been part of the People's Liberation Army.

Gui will be "mainly responsible for the on-orbit operation of space science experimental payloads", Lin said.

The mission commander is Jing Haipeng, and the third crew member is Zhu Yangzhu.

They are set to take off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China on Tuesday at 9.31 am (0131 GMT), the Manned Space Agency said.

Under President Xi Jinping, plans for China's "space dream" have been put into overdrive.

The world's second-largest economy has invested billions of dollars in its military-run space programme, with hopes of eventually sending humans to the Moon.

Beijing is trying to finally catch up with the United States and Russia after years of belatedly matching their milestones.

China is also planning to build a base on the Moon and the country's National Space Administration said it aims to launch a crewed lunar mission by 2029.

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Imran Khan Urges Court To Look Into "Reports Of "Rape" Of Party Workers

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has urged the country's top judiciary to take suo motu notice of the alleged abuse, including "reports of rape", of its female party workers and supporters who were arrested following the May 9 riots, Pakistan based The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

The Express Tribune is a daily English-language newspaper in Pakistan.

Imran Khan's allegations come hours after Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah claimed in a press conference that intelligence agencies had intercepted a call revealing a plot to stage a fake encounter and rape incident by members of the PTI.

The minister claimed that among the plans revealed during the intercepted call was a plot to raid and open fire at a PTI worker's house, resulting in casualties that could be shown to the world as gross human rights violations. The second plan was to stage an act of rape, the recording of which would be shared with global media outlets to propagate the alleged abuse against PTI, according to The Express Tribune.

The PTI chief, however, said he was convinced of the reports of the kind of treatment being meted out to the party's women workers in jail.

Imran Khan while addressing PTI supporters from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore, said: "After [Rana Sanaullah's] press conference, I have no doubt. The PTI women workers, the way they were detained and thrown in jail, and the way they were being treated...we also heard [reports] of rape."

The PTI chief claimed that the interior minister's statements could only mean two things. "Either they are afraid that these women, when they are released, will tell the stories of what happened to them, and [the government is] preparing for this scenario. Or that they are scared they have done something they cannot manage, so they want to preemptively create a narrative that this was all a big conspiracy and PTI did this themselves".

Imran Khan stated that he is getting reports of abuse from various locations. However, he added that such reports did not mention Adiala Jail but the female workers were being kept in deplorable conditions and the judiciary must take notice of the situation, according to The Express Tribune.

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Biden, McCarthy Confident That Debt-Crisis Deal Will Pass Through Congress

US President Joe Biden and Republican leader Kevin McCarthy said they were confident Sunday of pushing a debt crisis deal through Congress and avoiding a cataclysmic default, despite skepticism from some lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

The tentative agreement reached Saturday after weeks of intense talks offers a path back from the precipice, but getting it through both houses of Congress before the government starts running out of money will be a tough task.

Biden said he would speak to McCarthy at 3:00 pm (1900 GMT) "to make sure all the Ts are crossed and the Is are dotted."

Asked if there were any sticking points, the president replied: "None."

"I think we're in good shape," he told reporters.

The next step would be a legislative text that can be scrutinized by party members before a vote in the House of Representatives that McCarthy has scheduled for Wednesday.

But all the while the clock is still ticking down to the June 5 "X-date" when the Treasury estimates the cash to pay bills and debts will begin to run out.

A default would likely have catastrophic consequences, triggering a US recession and risking a global economic meltdown.

The basic framework of the deal suspends the federal debt ceiling, which is currently $31.4 trillion, for two years - enough to get past the next presidential election in 2024 and allow the government to keep borrowing money and remain solvent.

In return, the Republicans secured some limits on federal spending over the same period.

Unhappy Right, And Left

Congressional opposition to the bill comes from an unlikely union of hard-right Republicans who wanted deeper spending cuts and progressive Democrats who wanted no reductions at all.

McCarthy's wafer-thin majority in the House means passing the bill will require significant Democratic backing to balance out Republican dissent.

The speaker was out pushing the deal Sunday, arguing on the Fox network that the spending limits were a significant victory and insisting that 95 percent of House Republicans were "very excited."

"Maybe it doesn't do everything for everyone, but this is a step in the right direction no one thought we would be at today," McCarthy said.

But the tone of the Republican opposition was set by Representative Dan Bishop -- a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus -- who tweeted a vomit emoji and slammed McCarthy for securing "almost zippo."

'Scorched Earth'

Nicholas Creel, a political analyst and business law professor at Georgia College and State University said the deal was "ultimately likely" to pass through Congress, but he warned that "Freedom Caucus Republicans have the potential to play spoiler if they decide to go scorched Earth on McCarthy."

The tentative agreement represents a climb down of sorts by both sides.

Biden had initially refused to negotiate over spending issues as a condition for raising the debt ceiling, accusing the Republicans of taking the economy hostage.

And the big cuts that Republicans wanted are not there, although nondefense spending will remain effectively flat next year, and only rise nominally in 2025.

"Overall, the deal is probably best viewed as a win for Biden and Democrats given that it contains fairly modest spending cuts and would prevent another debt ceiling showdown or a government shutdown during the remainder of Biden's presidency," Creel said.

"Nobody has enough power to get too much of what they want right now, so a compromise like this that makes everyone a little unhappy is probably the best anyone could have hoped for," he added.

Speed Of The Essence

The countdown to the June 5 "X-date" means the legislation will have to clear Congress much more quickly than the normal timetable for even the most uncontroversial bills.

McCarthy is hoping to bring the narrow House majority of 222 Republicans with him, but opposition will come from 35 far-right lawmakers who told him to "hold the line" for more sweeping spending cuts.

That means a large number of Democrats will have to be persuaded to vote with a reduced number of Republicans -- something that rarely happens on big bills.

Pramila Jayapal, chair of the House Progressive Caucus, said the Democratic leadership should be concerned about securing their support.

"Yes, they have to worry," she told CNN, adding she was "not happy" with what she was hearing about the concessions made by Biden.

If a default still occurs, the government would not miss loan repayments until mid-June but in the meantime it would likely have to halt $25 billion in social security checks and federal salaries.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Biden, McCarthy Confident That Debit-Crisis Deal Will Pass Through Congress

US President Joe Biden and Republican leader Kevin McCarthy said they were confident Sunday of pushing a debt crisis deal through Congress and avoiding a cataclysmic default, despite skepticism from some lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

The tentative agreement reached Saturday after weeks of intense talks offers a path back from the precipice, but getting it through both houses of Congress before the government starts running out of money will be a tough task.

Biden said he would speak to McCarthy at 3:00 pm (1900 GMT) "to make sure all the Ts are crossed and the Is are dotted."

Asked if there were any sticking points, the president replied: "None."

"I think we're in good shape," he told reporters.

The next step would be a legislative text that can be scrutinized by party members before a vote in the House of Representatives that McCarthy has scheduled for Wednesday.

But all the while the clock is still ticking down to the June 5 "X-date" when the Treasury estimates the cash to pay bills and debts will begin to run out.

A default would likely have catastrophic consequences, triggering a US recession and risking a global economic meltdown.

The basic framework of the deal suspends the federal debt ceiling, which is currently $31.4 trillion, for two years - enough to get past the next presidential election in 2024 and allow the government to keep borrowing money and remain solvent.

In return, the Republicans secured some limits on federal spending over the same period.

Unhappy Right, And Left

Congressional opposition to the bill comes from an unlikely union of hard-right Republicans who wanted deeper spending cuts and progressive Democrats who wanted no reductions at all.

McCarthy's wafer-thin majority in the House means passing the bill will require significant Democratic backing to balance out Republican dissent.

The speaker was out pushing the deal Sunday, arguing on the Fox network that the spending limits were a significant victory and insisting that 95 percent of House Republicans were "very excited."

"Maybe it doesn't do everything for everyone, but this is a step in the right direction no one thought we would be at today," McCarthy said.

But the tone of the Republican opposition was set by Representative Dan Bishop -- a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus -- who tweeted a vomit emoji and slammed McCarthy for securing "almost zippo."

'Scorched Earth'

Nicholas Creel, a political analyst and business law professor at Georgia College and State University said the deal was "ultimately likely" to pass through Congress, but he warned that "Freedom Caucus Republicans have the potential to play spoiler if they decide to go scorched Earth on McCarthy."

The tentative agreement represents a climb down of sorts by both sides.

Biden had initially refused to negotiate over spending issues as a condition for raising the debt ceiling, accusing the Republicans of taking the economy hostage.

And the big cuts that Republicans wanted are not there, although nondefense spending will remain effectively flat next year, and only rise nominally in 2025.

"Overall, the deal is probably best viewed as a win for Biden and Democrats given that it contains fairly modest spending cuts and would prevent another debt ceiling showdown or a government shutdown during the remainder of Biden's presidency," Creel said.

"Nobody has enough power to get too much of what they want right now, so a compromise like this that makes everyone a little unhappy is probably the best anyone could have hoped for," he added.

Speed Of The Essence

The countdown to the June 5 "X-date" means the legislation will have to clear Congress much more quickly than the normal timetable for even the most uncontroversial bills.

McCarthy is hoping to bring the narrow House majority of 222 Republicans with him, but opposition will come from 35 far-right lawmakers who told him to "hold the line" for more sweeping spending cuts.

That means a large number of Democrats will have to be persuaded to vote with a reduced number of Republicans -- something that rarely happens on big bills.

Pramila Jayapal, chair of the House Progressive Caucus, said the Democratic leadership should be concerned about securing their support.

"Yes, they have to worry," she told CNN, adding she was "not happy" with what she was hearing about the concessions made by Biden.

If a default still occurs, the government would not miss loan repayments until mid-June but in the meantime it would likely have to halt $25 billion in social security checks and federal salaries.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Nepal Approves Second Hydropower Project To Be Developed By India

Nepal on Sunday decided to allow India's Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) Limited to develop a second hydropower project in the country.

At present SJVN is developing a 900-MW Arun -III hydroelectric project, a run-of-river located on the Arun River in Eastern Nepal, scheduled to be completed in 2024.

A meeting of the Investment Board Nepal (IBN) chaired by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" approved the draft project development agreement (PDA) to be signed with India's state-owned SJVN to develop the 669-megawatt (MW) Lower Arun Hydropower project in eastern Nepal, an official statement said.

The development comes days before Prime Minister Prachanda's visit to India starting Wednesday.

The draft needs to be endorsed by the Council of Ministers before it gets implemented.

The previous meeting of the IBN had approved Rs 92.68 billion investment for the development of the project.

"The development of this 669-MW transformative project will prove to be a milestone for the socio-economic development of the country," according to the statement by the IBN.

The SJVN has formed a local company, Lower Arun Power Development Company, in Nepal.

The Lower Arun project located in the Sankhuwasabha and Bhojpur districts will not have any reservoir or dam and will be a tailrace development of Arun-III, which will mean water re-enters the river for the Lower Arun project.

This is the third project undertaken, all through negotiation windows, on the Arun River after the 900 MW Arun-III and 695 MW Arun-IV hydroelectricity projects.

The three projects will generate nearly 2,300 MW of electricity from the river in the Sankhuwasabha district, The Kathmandu Post newspaper reported.

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Biden, Republicans Reach Deal Days Before US Defaults On Payments

US President Joe Biden and Republican lawmakers struck a deal in principle to raise the country's debt ceiling Saturday, in a crucial first step towards eliminating the threat of a disastrous default with just days to spare.

The government is expecting to hit its borrowing limit on June 5, raising the possibility of the world's largest economy failing to honor its repayment obligations for the first time and igniting a firestorm in global markets.

Party leaders now face a race against time to muscle the agreement through Congress, with hard-right Republicans and Democratic progressives both crying foul over concessions made to seal the deal.

The culmination of weeks of tense, high-stakes negotiations in Congress and the White House, the accord would permit the government to add to its $31 trillion-plus debt, avoiding a downgraded credit rating, likely recession and potentially millions of job losses.

And it goes some way towards appeasing fiscal hawks in the House of Representatives who have demanded significant rollbacks of Biden's domestic spending agenda as a condition of averting a default.

"I just got off the phone with the president a bit ago," McCarthy tweeted Saturday evening. "After he wasted time and refused to negotiate for months, we've come to an agreement in principle that is worthy of the American people."

'Manufactured crisis'

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had warned of a possible default on June 1 if Congress failed to raise the ceiling on borrowing, but gave lawmakers some breathing room on Friday when she updated the estimate to June 5.

Even with the later deadline, the legislation will still have to clear Congress much more quickly than the normal timetable for even the most uncontroversial bills.

But it has rattled House conservatives angry that their leadership was yielding too much ground and worried Democrats, who complained that it was a betrayal of the voters who installed Biden on a progressive mandate.

Democrats have framed the standoff as a "manufactured crisis" forced upon the country by Republicans, as the debt ceiling has been raised dozens of times by both parties with no attached demands and little drama.

Meanwhile moderates have voiced frustration that they are being asked to swallow a deal they had no role in negotiating and that they fear will lose them vulnerable seats at the next election.

'Hold the line'

McCarthy is hoping to bring a majority of the 222 House Republicans with him, but the deal is likely to face opposition from 35 far-right lawmakers who called on him to "hold the line" against any compromise on the party's debt limit package passed in April.

That bill was dismissed by leaders in the Democratic-majority Senate as "extreme."

"By handing his gavel over to the hard right, the speaker is giving the American people two terrible options: either default on the debt, or default on the country, with steep cuts to law enforcement, first responders, veterans, seniors, and even cancer research," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said after it advanced from the House.

There have been grumblings from the right flank of the Senate too, where Utah's Mike Lee said Thursday he would "use every procedural tool at my disposal" to stop any deal lacking "substantial" cuts.

Congress was adjourned for an extended holiday weekend but lawmakers will likely be called back to vote.

Congressional staffers will first have to turn the agreement into legislative text and then it would normally take another six days at minimum to advance from both chambers of Congress -- even without rebels gumming up the works.

The government doesn't actually miss loan repayments until mid-June but will likely have to halt $25 billion in social security checks and federal salaries if it loses borrowing authority earlier.

The drawn-out battle has been monitored closely by the major ratings agencies, with Morningstar and Fitch both warning that they could opt for a downgrade, even if crisis is averted.

When Barack Obama's administration narrowly averted a default 12 years ago, a ratings downgrade cost taxpayers more than $1 billion in higher interest costs.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Putin Orders Stronger Border Security For "Fast Movement" Into Ukraine

President Vladimir Putin on Sunday ordered stronger border security to ensure "fast" Russian military and civilian movement into Ukrainian regions now under Moscow control.

Speaking in a congratulatory message to the border service, a branch of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), on their Border Guard Day holiday, Putin said their task was to "reliably cover" the lines in the vicinity of the combat zone.

Attacks inside Russia have been growing in intensity in recent weeks, chiefly with drone strikes on regions along the border but increasingly also deep into the country, including on an oil pipeline northwest of Moscow on Saturday.

"It is necessary to ensure the fast movement of both military and civilian vehicles and cargo, including food, humanitarian aid building materials sent to the new subjects of the (Russian) Federation," Putin said in a message posted on the Kremlin's Telegram messaging channel.

Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk are the four regions in Ukraine that Putin proclaimed annexed last September following what Kyiv said were sham referendums. Russian forces only partly control the four regions.

On Saturday, officials said three people were injured in Ukrainian shelling in Belgorod, a region that was the target of pro-Ukrainian fighters this week that sparked doubts about Russia's defence and military capabilities.

The Kursk and Belgorod Russian regions bordering Ukraine have been the most frequent target of attacks that have damaged power, rail and military infrastructure, with local officials blaming Ukraine.

Kyiv almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia and on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine, but said that destroying infrastructure is preparation for its planned ground assault.

Ukraine indicated on Saturday that it was ready to launch a long-promised counteroffensive to recapture territory taken by Russia in the 15-month long war, a conflict that has claimed the lives of thousands and turned Ukrainian cities into rubble.

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Shah Mahmood Qureshi To Lead Imran Khan's Party If He's Disqualified: Report

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said that PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi would lead the party in case of Khan's disqualification by a court, Pakistan-based Geo News reported.

Imran Khan in a meeting with journalists and lawyers at his Zaman Park residence in Lahore on Saturday said: "If I am disqualified, Shah Mahmood Qureshi will run the party."

The statement comes as the PTI chief has been facing a slew of cases ranging from corruption to terrorism since being ousted from power in April last year, as per Geo News.

Imran Khan was on May 9 arrested in a 190 million pounds Al-Qadir Trust case by Rangers personnel in compliance with National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrest warrants.

The PTI chief was released after the Supreme Court declared his arrest illegal.

Imran Khan's arrest on May 9 triggered countrywide violent protests with supporters ransacking and torching defence and public installations across the country.

Subsequently, the high-powered National Security Committee (NSC) comprising top civil and military leadership vowed to try rioters under relevant laws including the Army Act, according to Geo News.

Mr Khan while commenting on the mass departure of leaders from his party over the May 9 vandalism, said the situation is going to change soon.

"I will give a big surprise in the coming days," he added.

Imran Khan said some party leaders were leaving the party under compulsion while some had been exposed.

Calling the youth a major asset of his party, Khan said the party ticket was their right and added that PTI will win the next general elections despite desertions of the party leaders, Geo News reported.

He also called for holding a referendum to gauge the popularity of his party among the masses.

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Imran Khan Forms Negotiation Body For Election Talks With Government: Report

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on instructions of party chief Imran Khan, constituted a seven-member negotiation committee for talks with the incumbent government over elections, Pakistan-based ARY News reported.

The party (PTI) while taking to Twitter, said that the seven-member committee, which will be headed by Shah Mahmood Qureshi, will decide the plan of action with the government regarding the elections.

The committee comprises party vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Pervez Khattak, Asad Qaiser, Hammad Azhar, Haleem Adil Sheikh, Murad Saeed and Aon Abbas Buppi.

The development came after the PTI suffered major blows as prominent leaders, Fawad Chaudhry, Shireen Mazari and Maleeka Bokhari, announced to quit the party.

PTI lawmakers and members have, following the May 9 violence, parted their ways from the party. During the violence, military installations including General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi and Corps Commander House Lahore were attacked after the arrest of party chairman Imran Khan.

The Express Tribune reported that troubles continue to mount for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as the former ruling party finds itself trapped in financial difficulties, leaving its employees without salaries and encountering the predicament of bouncing cheques.

Following the resignation of key PTI officials, the party's financial structure has suffered a severe blow. According to party leaders, employees in PTI's nine regional and district offices across the country are not receiving their salaries, Express News reported.

Due to the exodus of the central leaders from the party, not a single cheque has been cleared from the party's accounts in the past 17 days, The Express Tribune reported.

According to party sources, hundreds of employees running 15 PTI sub-wings are deeply concerned. The party's think tank has also become ineffective, while more than USD 500,000 earmarked for the martyrs' fund also cannot be disbursed.

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Egypt Unearths Tombs, Mummification Workshops In Ancient Burial Ground

Egypt unearthed human and animal mummification workshops as well as two tombs in the ancient burial ground of Saqqara, officials said on Saturday, marking the latest in a string of discoveries that the country hopes can help revive its vital tourism industry.

Mostafa Waziri, the head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, told reporters that the two large "embalming workshops" date back to the 30th dynasty (380-343 BC) and the Ptolemaic (305-30 BC) eras.

A view of the embalming workshop site for animals at the newly discovered site. (File)

The discovery was made after a year-long excavation near the sanctuary of the goddess Bastet, which is home to the catacombs of mummified cats in Saqqara, some 30 kilometres (18.6 miles)south of Cairo.

It was the same spot where hundreds of mummified animals and statues were uncovered in 2019.

"We found embalming workshops, one for humans and one for animals. We found all the tools that they used (in mummification) in ancient times," Mr Waziri said.

Both workshops featured stone beds, clay pots, ritual vessels, natron salt, which is one of the main ingredients for mummification, and linens among other mummification instruments.

The Saqqara excavations also led to the unearthing of two small 4,400 and 3,400-year-old tombs nearby, belonging to two priests, Ne Hesut Ba of the Old Kingdom's fifth dynasty and Men Kheber of the late kingdom's 18th dynasty respectively.

Inscriptions of cultivation, hunting and other daily activities were found on the walls of Ne Hesut Ba's tomb while "scenes showing the deceased in different positions" were engraved in Men Kheber's tomb, officials said.

Egypt has carried out extensive digging operations in Saqqara and other ancient locations in recent years, which resulted in a number of high-profile discoveries.

The country plans to inaugurate the Grand Egyptian Museum, a state-of-the-art facility near the Giza Pyramids on the outskirts of Cairo, after construction is completed later this year.

Egypt hopes it can further lure back tourists after the industry started to rebound of late, having been battered by the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine.

Tourism revenues climbed to $7.3 billion in the second half of 2022, a 25.7% increase compared with the same period a year earlier, according to recently released central bank data.

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US Bride, 19, Dies On Wedding Day After Being Trapped In House Fire

A 19-year-old woman tragically died in a house fire in US' Wisconsin just hours before she was set to walk down the aisle, the Independent reported. Paige Ruddy was asleep on the second story of a Reedsburg home when it became engulfed in flames on May 23 around 4 am. She suffered a fatal brain haemorrhage caused by smoke inhalation and died in the hospital the next day.

Notably, she had already exchanged vows with her husband-to-be Logan Mitchell-Carter on Monday and was planning a small ceremony with her close friends and family at the Sauk County Courthouse the next day.

However, on Tuesday, her family woke up to the terrible news. Local fire department Chief Craig Douglas said Ms. Ruddy couldn't navigate through the smoke to safety.  The house, in which the couple was staying, belonged to the groom's grandparents and reportedly lacked any working smoke detectors.

The Sauk County Coroner's office confirmed to WMTV that its preliminary investigation shows that Ms. Ruddy's cause of death was smoke inhalation. The cause of the fire is under investigation but police suspect no foul play was involved. Three other people were home at the time of the fire and managed to escape before firefighters arrived at the scene around 4 am.

''She was just a precious human. There was nothing about her that you couldn't like. She was this presence you never knew you needed in your life, but always did,'' Ruddy's aunt told NBC 15.

 A funeral will take place next week. Meanwhile, the family has set up a GoFundMe dedicated to covering her medical and funeral expenses.

''Monday night the Ruddy family in Reedsburg, Wisconsin went to sleep excited to attend Paige Ruddy and Logan Mitchell-Carter's small wedding ceremony. Instead, they were woken by police to be informed that there was a fire. Despite the amazing efforts of those who love her, the Reedsburg police and firefighters, EMTs, med flight, and the amazing staff at UW hospital over two horrible days, Paige could not be saved. She passed surrounded by her family and friends who took up a large waiting room in the hospital,'' a note on the page reads.

''There are enough good qualities about Paige to fill up a room. Since she was a toddler Paige was full of life, ready to help anyone with anything, and an absolute joy to be around. She was kind, fun, and according to her family had lots of spunk. Paige always worked hard at everything she did,'' it further reads.

Ms. Ruddy's family said she had just graduated from Reedsburg Area High School in June 2022 and planned to enroll in a Vet Tech program at Madison Area Technical College this fall, People reported.

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"Game Over": Nawaz Sharif's Daughter Amid Exodus In Imran Khan's Party

Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz on Friday told Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan that the "game is over", following an exodus of his party's senior members, Pakistan-based Geo News reported.

Maryam made the speech in Pakistan's Vehari while addressing the PML-N's youth convention. During her address, she talked about the incidents on May 9, the day on which the PTI chief was arrested, triggering violent protests countrywide.

Maryan while taking a jibe at the PTI over leaders' mass departure, said that there were ques of those quitting the party.

The PTI leaders' exodus started when the security forces launched a crackdown against the party following the attacks on the civil and military institutions, including the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi and the Lahore Corps Commander's House (Jinnah House), according to Geo News.

Over 70 lawyers and leaders from the party have parted ways with the PTI so for following the May 9 mayhem.

"How will the people stand when the leader himself is a jackal?" she criticised the former prime minister, who was removed from office via a vote of no confidence in April last year.

"Your people are revealing that Imran Khan is the mastermind of May 9 [incidents]" she added, as per Geo News.

The PML-N senior vice president said that Khan was the mastermind of the May 9 "terrorism" but his workers are facing anti-terrorism court.

Meanwhile, Imran Khan on Friday appealed for immediate talks with state officials. This comes as pressure mounts on him amid a crackdown on his top aides and supporters that saw thousands arrested as well as many leaving his party, Pakistan based The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

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Bill Introduced In US Congress To Make Diwali A Federal Holiday In Country

A prominent American lawmaker on Friday introduced a bill in the US Congress to declare Diwali, the festival of lights, a federal holiday, a move welcomed by different communities from across the country.

"Diwali is one of the most important days of the year for billions of people across the globe, and for countless families and communities in Queens, New York, and the United States, Congresswoman Graced Meng told reporters during a virtual news conference here soon after introducing the bill in the House of Representatives.

The Diwali Day Act, when passed by the Congress and signed into law by the President, would make the festival of lights the 12th federally recognised holiday in the United States.

Establishing a federal holiday for Diwali, and the day off it would provide, would allow families and friends to celebrate together, and demonstrate that the government values the diverse cultural makeup of the nation, the Congresswoman said. "Diwali celebrations are a wonderful time here in Queens, and each year it is easy to see just how important this day is to so many people. America's strength is derived from the diverse experiences, cultures and communities that make up this nation," she said.

"My Diwali Day Act is one step toward educating all Americans on the importance of this day, and celebrating the full face of American diversity. I look forward to shepherding this bill through Congress," Meng said.

Welcoming the move, New York Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar said, "This year, we saw our entire state speak with one voice in support of recognising Diwali and the South Asian community."

"My extraordinary partner in government Congresswoman Meng is now taking the movement national with her historic legislation to make Diwali a federal holiday. Together, we are showing that Diwali is an American holiday. To the over 4 million Americans who celebrate Diwali, your government sees you and hears you," she said.

Applauding Meng for her continued work to increase the visibility of the Asian-American community, New York State Senator Jeremy Cooney said naming Diwali a federal holiday not only honours those who observe but highlights a cultural tradition some Americans do not experience regularly.

"Diwali is a special holiday for so many South Asian and Indo-Caribbean communities," said New York City Councilman Shekar Krishnan.

"As the first Indian American ever elected to NYC government, I am so proud to support Congresswoman Meng's legislation to establish 'Deepavali' as a federal holiday. It is crucial that children like my own are able to officially celebrate our holidays with their families in a way that I was not able to growing up," he said.

A large number of community members applauded the introduction of the Diwali Day Act in the House of Representatives.

"The recognition of Diwali and Bandi Chhor Divas is pivotal to enriching the cultural fabric of the United States and fostering greater understanding and appreciation for the rich South Asian diaspora," said Sim J Singh Attariwala, Senior Policy and Advocacy Manager of The Sikh Coalition.

"Today is a milestone that demonstrates our visibility, our contributions, and the progress we are making in the United States with the Diwali Day Act," said Richard David, Board Member at the Indo-Caribbean Alliance.

Congratulation Congresswoman Meng, Coalition of Hindus of North America president Nikunj Trivedi said this joyous festival is celebrated by millions of Americans and symbolizes the victory of good over evil and of light over darkness and brings together people from all backgrounds to cherish goodness, well-being, peace and prosperity - things that everyone can value and benefit from.

"As Hindu Americans, we are so glad to see a bill to honour the multitude of celebrations that take place across the Indian subcontinent, the Caribbean, and beyond on Diwali," said Ria Chakrabarty, Policy Director for Hindus for Human Rights.

"It is high time to recognise Diwali as a holiday in US public schools," said Dr. Neeta Jain, founder and president of the International Ahimsa Foundation.

"Our children should be treated equally. As our children celebrate other cultures, others should celebrate and learn about our culture as well. This is the only way we can teach children to have mutual respect, mutual understanding and mutual acceptance," she said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Over 9,000 Afghans File Asylum Applications In EU In A Month: Report

The European Census Bureau has reported that over the past month, more than 9,000 Afghan citizens have applied for asylum applications in the EU member states, a record-high number of asylum applications by any single country, according to Khaama Press.

According to the European Census Bureau, asylum interests in the EU member states at the beginning of the current year have increased by 40 per cent compared to last year.

While releasing the monthly report on Thursday, the European Census Bureau said that 76,500 people have submitted asylum applications to the EU in February alone, indicating a 40 per cent increase compared to that of last year.

The EU has added that based on the available statistics, the number of initial asylum requests in February last year was 54,370.

It is reported that Syrians and Afghans are the largest groups of asylum seekers in the EU member states over the past years.

The statistics indicated that 77 per cent of the asylum application have been recorded in Spain, Germany, France and Italy respectively. Germany alone received more than 25,000 applications in February, making it the largest number of asylum requests in the country, as per Khaama Press.

According to European Union statistics, among the new asylum seekers, 2,745 are unaccompanied minors of which 1,025 were Afghan citizens.

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Imran Khan Calls For Immediate Talks With Pak Government Amid Row: Report

Former Pakistan Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Friday appealed for immediate talks with state officials. This comes as pressure mounts on him amid a crackdown on his top aides and supporters that saw thousands arrested as well as many leaving his party, Pakistan based The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

The clampdown started earlier this month when Imran's supporters were involved in violent protests following his brief arrest on May 9.

"I would like to appeal for talks because what is currently happening is not a solution," Imran said in a live talk streamed on YouTube, warning that the country was headed towards anarchy, as per The Express Tribune.

The political unrest worsened as Pakistan faced its worst economic crisis in decades. Inflation was at record highs, economic growth was anaemic, and there were fears that the country could default on external debts unless the International Monetary Fund unlocked delayed disbursements.

Meanwhile, three Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders on Thursday announced quitting the Imran Khan-led party. With this, a huge list of leaders have deserted the party following the May 9 riots, Geo News reported.

Maleeka Bokhari in a press conference in Islamabad, said: "I condemn the events that transpired on May 9. For every Pakistani, the events that took place on May 9 are very painful."

Announcing her "dissociation" from the party, Bokhari said she wasn't under duress and "no one forced me into making this decision".

Cheema in a a separate press conference, said he and his wife could not continue with the Khan-led party due to the violence that ensued after the PTI chief's arrest.

"I was there at the Corps Commander House myself. It saddened me to see what was happening there. The people who were involved in it should be punished," he said.

He said it is a party's failure if its workers are violent.

Former Pakistan Finance Minister Asad Umar has also stepped down as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)'s Secretary General. The announcement by Umar came shortly after he was released from the Adiala Jail, Pakistan based The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

Umar announced his decision during a press conference at National Press Club in Islamabad on Wednesday.

"Not possible for me to lead the party under these circumstances. I am resigning as Secretary General and core committee member of PTI," he said while addressing the press conference.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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There Are "Serious Obstacles" To Peace In Ukraine: Russia Tells China

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told China's special envoy Li Hui on Friday that there were "serious obstacles" to resuming peace talks, blaming Ukraine and Western countries.

"The Russian foreign minister reaffirmed Moscow's commitment to a political-diplomatic resolution of the conflict, noting the serious obstacles to the resumption of peace talks created by the Ukrainian side and its Western mentors," the foreign ministry said.

During the meeting with Mr Li, who was China's ambassador in Russia between 2009 and 2019, Mr Lavrov also praised Beijing's "balanced" position on Ukraine.

While China says it is a neutral party in the Ukraine conflict, it has been criticised for refusing to condemn Moscow for its offensive.

"Both sides expressed readiness to further strengthen Russian-Chinese foreign policy cooperation, invariably aimed at maintaining peace and stability in the region and on the planet as a whole," the Russian foreign ministry said.

Separately, Mr Li also met with two Mr Lavrov deputies, Mikhail Galuzin and Andrei Rudenko, Moscow said.

"Concern was expressed about the dangerous consequences of the growing involvement of NATO countries in the Ukrainian conflict, (and) their actions to militarise Ukraine," the foreign ministry said, referring to the meeting between Galuzin and Li.

The Chinese envoy's visit to the Russian capital came after Mr Li met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv earlier this month.

Mr Li has said there is "no panacea to resolve the crisis".

Since the start of Moscow's assault on Ukraine, Beijing and Moscow have drawn closer under a partnership that has served as a diplomatic bulwark against the West.

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Moscow in March, saying ties were "entering a new era".

 

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"Cried Like A Baby": Ex-Nepalese Soldier With Artificial Legs Who Scaled Everest

Hari Budhamagar, an ex-British Gorkha soldier, who lost both his legs during the Afghan war, on Friday said he "cried like a baby" after conquering Mt. Everest.

The 44-year-old mountaineer scripted a world record as he became the world's first double above-the-knee amputee to summit the 8,848.86-metre peak on May 20. He lost both his legs while fighting on the side of the UK Government in war-torn Afghanistan.

“My eyes were full of tears as I reached just 100 metres below the peak,” he said, adding that “the tears turned into ice” before they fell on the ground.

The mountaineer described the moment of extreme joy he experienced while fulfilling his highest dream in life.

“After I reached the top, I cried like a baby,” he told reporters in Kathmandu describing his success story.

“I did never cry when in grief, but I cried in joy sometimes,” he said.

After putting his artificial legs on top of the world, he embraced the supporting Sherpa team on Mt. Everest.

Mr Budhamagar had to stay at the Everest base camp for 18 days due to bad weather, before heading towards higher altitude.

"My aim to climb the mountain is for making people aware of disability, not to set new records,” Mr Budhamagar said.

Mr Budhamagar had postponed his plan to scale Mt Everest in 2018 after the government introduced a mountaineering regulation that banned blind, double-amputee and solo climbers from climbing the mountains including Everest in 2017.

A writ petition was filed against the ban and in response to that the Supreme Court nullified the rule by issuing an order in 2018 paving the way for Mr Budhamagar to write the history. 

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"There Will Be No Default": Joe Biden On US Debt Crisis

President Joe Biden declared Thursday the United States would avoid a disastrous credit default even as lawmakers went on a 10-day break without a deal on raising the nation's borrowing limit to keep paying the bills.

There are seven days until June 1 -- the earliest possible point when the government estimates it could run out of money to service its debts -- and missed loan repayments would likely spark a recession, roiling world markets.

But members of the House of Representatives began hitting the road for the Memorial Day recess after their final vote Thursday morning and are not due to return until June 4.

"There will be no default," Biden said at the White House, adding that his negotiations with Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who leads the narrow majority in the House of Representatives, had been "productive."

But Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries slammed the Republicans from the House floor, accusing them of having abandoned their jobs in Washington to "risk a dangerous default in a crisis that they've created."

"And these Republicans, they're going to say that Joe Biden refused to sit down with them," he added. "That's a fake narrative that they've continued to try to put into the public domain."

House Republicans are demanding cuts of up to $130 billion, with spending next year capped to 2022 levels, in return for their votes to raise the borrowing cap. They also want tightened work requirements for benefits claimants and a clawback of unspent pandemic aid dollars.

- Military readiness -

Democrats reject the proposed cuts and want the Republicans to sign off on a no-strings-attached hike, as they have dozens of times in the past.

Economists have spent months raising the prospect of economic catastrophe should the government default, and top military brass added their own dire prognosis Thursday, warning that the crisis would have a "significant negative impact" on troops.

"Readiness clearly would be impacted. So our large-scale exercises that we do at various training centers would probably either slow down or come to a halt in many, many cases," Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters.

McCarthy has said lawmakers will get 24 hours' notice if they are required to return for a vote during the recess, with negotiators for the Republicans and the White House reportedly closing the gap on their differences.

Speaking on Fox News Thursday, the speaker rejected demands for a "clean" bill and added that he would not agree to tax increases on corporations or the rich as an alternative to cuts for reducing the nation's $31 trillion-plus debt burden.

- 'Manufactured crisis' -

McCarthy pointed to a CNN poll out this week in which showed 60 percent support for a debt ceiling hike if accompanied by cuts, although 51 percent of respondents in a new Monmouth University survey said they wanted the two issues to be separated.

"We know where our differences are, and we will continue to be at the table to try to solve this problem," McCarthy said.

Only one other democracy -- Denmark -- has a formal debt ceiling, but it is managed without the political high drama that periodically grips Washington.

Raising the cap simply enables the government to make repayments on loans that have already been approved and carried out, and has no implications for future spending.

Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told investors at a conference in Washington the default threat was a "manufactured crisis" that was already making borrowing more expensive and costing Americans money.

A batch of Social Security payments worth about $25 billion is scheduled to go out on June 2 and those payments could be halted if the Treasury Department is unable to cover loan repayments.

A federal judge in Boston has set a May 31 hearing for a lawsuit filed by unionists contending that the 14th Amendment requires Biden to borrow funds to pay US obligations, regardless of what Congress does.

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3 More Leaders Quit Imran Khan's Party In 24 Hours, Condemn May 9 Violence

Three Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders, on Thursday announced quitting the Imran Khan-led party. With this, a huge list of leaders have deserted the party following the May 9 riots, Geo News reported.

Maleeka Bokhari in a press conference in Islamabad, said: "I condemn the events that transpired on May 9. For every Pakistani, the events that took place on May 9 are very painful."

Announcing her "dissociation" from the party, Bokhari said she wasn't under duress and "no one forced me into making this decision".

"As a lawyer, I want to play a positive role in Pakistan. I also want to spend time with my family," she said, according to Geo News.

Bokhari quit the party hours after her release from Adiala Jail, where she was sent after being arrested under Section 4 of the Maintenance of Public Order.

Bokhari in a presser, backed the authorities' decision to investigate the May 9 events and said the people behind the violent events should be punished.

"When a red line has been crossed, then action should be taken in line with the law," she added.

Cheema in a a separate press conference, said he and his wife could not continue with the Khan-led party due to the violence that ensued after the PTI chief's arrest.

"I was there at the Corps Commander House myself. It saddened me to see what was happening there. The people who were involved in it should be punished," he said.

He said it is a party's failure if its workers are violent.

"This career [..] is in our blood ... it was not an easy decision to leave politics. You serve the nation in politics, but not at the cost of armed forces ... not at the cost of people who protect the country," Cheema added, according to Geo News.

Former Pakistan Finance Minister Asad Umar has stepped down as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)'s Secretary General. The announcement by Umar came shortly after he was released from the Adiala Jail, Pakistan based The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

Umar announced his decision during a press conference at National Press Club in Islamabad on Wednesday.

"Not possible for me to lead the party under these circumstances. I am resigning as Secretary General and core committee member of PTI," he said while addressing the press conference.

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South Korea Launches Homegrown Rocket After Delay

South Korea launched its homegrown Nuri rocket on Thursday, officials said, a day after it was forced to postpone due to a technical glitch just hours before lift-off.

It marks the third launch of the Nuri, which successfully put test satellites into orbit last year after a failed 2021 attempt saw the rocket's third-stage engine burn out too early.

Wednesday's launch was called off over a computer communication error which was resolved by Thursday, allowing the launch -- a key step forward for the country's burgeoning space programme -- to go ahead.

The three-stage rocket, more than 47 metres (155 feet) long and weighing 200 tonnes, soared into the sky from the Naro Space Center in South Korea's southern coastal region, leaving a huge trail of white smoke.

"Flight normal," said a female announcer on the official government livestream of the launch, as Nuri soared into the sky.

In previous tests, the rocket carried payloads mainly designed for verifying the performance of the launch vehicle.

This time, the rocket was topped with eight working satellites, including a "commercial-grade satellite", according to the science ministry.

Five minutes after the launch, the rocket reached an altitude of 300 kilometres and the second-stage separation was confirmed.

All eight satellites Nuri was carrying then successfully separated, according to the official livestream.

More than 200,000 viewers were watching the livestream of the launch on YouTube, with one commenting: "Fly high Nuri! Let's go to space!"

- Space race -

South Korea has laid out ambitious plans for outer space, including landing spacecraft on the Moon by 2032 and Mars by 2045.

In Asia, China, Japan and India all have advanced space programmes, and the South's nuclear-armed neighbour North Korea was the most recent entrant to the club of countries with their own satellite launch capability.

Ballistic missiles and space rockets use similar technology and Pyongyang claimed to have put a 300-kilogram satellite into orbit in 2012 in what Washington condemned as a disguised missile test.

The South Korean space programme has a mixed record -- its first two launches in 2009 and 2010, which in part used Russian technology, both ended in failure.

The second one exploded two minutes into the flight, with Seoul and Moscow blaming each other.

Eventually a 2013 launch succeeded, but still relied on a Russian-developed engine for its first stage.

Last June, South Korea became the seventh nation to have successfully launched a one-tonne payload on their own rockets.

The three-stage Nuri rocket has been a decade in development at a cost of two trillion won ($1.5 billion).

Its third launch was to put a domestically developed satellite with an observation mission into orbit.

The 180-kilogram NEXTSat 2 satellite, developed by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), is meant to be placed into orbit at an altitude of 550 kilometres, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute said.

The satellite has a small synthetic aperture radar that can capture high-resolution images regardless of weather conditions.

"With the success of the third launch, it signals that South Korea has a homegrown launch vehicle. I was watching with emotion," Lee Chang-hun, a professor of aerospace engineering at KAIST, told Yonhap TV.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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