India

The United States on Thursday added Azerbaijan to a watchlist on religious freedom, following fears for Christian heritage after the country seized back an important enclave from Armenia.

A prominent parliamentary delegation, led by Rosen Zhelyazkov, Chair of Bulgaria's National Assembly, is set to embark on a significant diplomatic visit to India and Vietnam. The visit, scheduled for Thursday, marks a pivotal engagement aimed at fostering bilateral ties and mutual cooperation.

India landed a robot on the moon and NASA brought pieces of an asteroid back to Earth to study. A green comet illuminated night skies and a "ring of fire" eclipse captivated spectators from Oregon to Brazil. SpaceX launched nearly 100 rockets, and Japan and Europe put powerful new space telescopes into orbit.

Saudi Arabia has formally entered the BRICS group, as announced by the kingdom's state television.

Bollywood has made a financial comeback in 2023 worthy of one of its traditional singing-on-top-of-the-hills moments.

India's Hindi language movie industry made an impressive recovery after a pandemic-driven slowdown, audience fatigue with big studio productions and Bollywood megastars, and streaming platforms taking away a large chunk of viewership.

As New Year's Eve festivities draw near, an expert has warned that "caution should be exercised" in crowded celebrations in light of the new JN.1 sub-variant of COVID-19 spread.

Nurgyul Salimova, representing Bulgaria, clinched the fourth position at the World Rapid Chess Championship in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. This three-day event showcased Salimova's prowess as she garnered 8 points out of 11 in an intense battle of wits.

India's government has recently targeted high-profile journalists with Pegasus spyware, Amnesty International and The Washington Post said in a joint investigation published Thursday.

The attacks on crucial shipping traffic in the Red Sea straits by a determined band of militants in Yemen - a spillover from the Israeli-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip - is injecting a new dose of instability into a world economy struggling with mounting geopolitical tensions.

A Japanese tanker loaded with chemicals was hit by a drone off India "fired by Iran", the Pentagon said in a sign of increasing risk to commercial traffic outside the Red Sea, AFP reported.

It is the first time the Pentagon has openly accused Iran of directly striking ships since Israel's war against the Tehran-backed radical Hamas movement began on October 7.