Top World News

Dec 2, 2025 - World

Apple among big tech companies reportedly refusing to install Sanchar Saathi cybersecurity app on their devicesA political outcry has erupted in India after the government mandated large technology companies to install a state-owned app on smartphones that has led to surveillance fears among opposition MPs and activists.Manufacturers including Apple, Samsung and Xiomi have 90 days to comply with the order to preload the government’s Sanchar Saathi, or Communication Partner, on every phone in India. Continue reading...

Dec 2, 2025 - World

About 3.2 million people on Sumatra island have been affected, 2,600 have been injured and 504 are missingThe number of people killed by floods and landslides on Indonesia’s Sumatra island rose to 708 on Tuesday, the country’s disaster agency said, with 504 people missing.The toll was a sharp increase from the 604 dead reported by the agency on Monday. Continue reading...

Dec 2, 2025 - World

Many uncertain about the future after losing everything in the country’s deadliest natural disaster for yearsWhen the rains began, Layani Rasika Niroshani was not worried. The 36-year-old mother of two was used to the heavy monsoon showers that drench Sri Lanka’s hilly central region of Badulla every year. But as it kept pounding down without stopping, the family started to feel jittery.Some relocated to a relative’s house, but her brother and his wife decided to stay behind to collect the valuables. As they were inside, a landslide hit the family home. Continue reading...

Dec 1, 2025 - World

Iranian film-maker won Cannes film festival’s Palme D’Or prize earlier this year for It Was Just an AccidentIran has sentenced the Palme d’Or-winning film-maker Jafar Panahi in absentia to one year in prison and a travel ban over “propaganda activities” against the country.The sentence includes a two-year ban on leaving Iran and prohibition of Panahi from membership of any political or social groups, his lawyer Mostafa Nili said, adding that they would file an appeal. Continue reading...

Dec 1, 2025 - World

Critics voice concern as government says its Sanchar Saathi app combats cybersecurity threats for 1.2bn telecom usersIndia’s telecoms ministry has privately asked smartphone makers to preload all new devices with a state-owned cybersecurity app that cannot be deleted, a government order showed, a move likely to antagonise Apple and privacy advocates.In tackling a recent surge of cybercrime and hacking, India is joining authorities worldwide, most recently in Russia, to frame rules blocking the use of stolen phones for fraud or promoting state-backed government service apps. Continue reading...