Author: News Desk

Nairobi, Oct 18 (IANS) The lengthy 10-year ban slapped on Kenyan marathoner Titus Ekiru by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has exposed another dimension to the doping crisis that has plagued the country’s athletics for almost a decade.The AIU, in a statement in the Kenyan capital here on Monday evening, explained that the longest sanction imposed on a Kenyan athlete followed a comprehensive investigation which revealed the 31-year-old had tampered with investigations to obstruct the probe into two failed drug tests, reports Xinhua.It added that Ekiru colluded with a senior doctor in Nandi County in northwest Kenya from whom, on…

Caracas, Oct 18 (IANS) Yeferson Soteldo scored one goal and set up another as Venezuela cruised to a 3-0 home victory over 10-man Chile in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.The hosts took the lead through Santos midfielder Soteldo, who rifled a low shot into the far corner after Jose Martinez intercepted an errant Paulo Diaz pass, reports Xinhua.Soteldo then turned provider as his mazy run and cut-back from the left byline gave Salomon Rondon an easy tap-in at the near post.The visitors were reduced to 10 men just before the hour when Marcelino Nunez was shown a second yellow…

Islamabad, Oct 18 (IANS) Pakistan beat Cambodia 1-0 to register their first win in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers here.Harun Hamid scored the winning goal for Pakistan in the 67th minute at the Jinnah Sports Stadium, reports Xinhua.According to the Pakistan Football Federation, it is the first time that Pakistan has won a FIFA World Cup qualifying round match.The first leg between the two sides in Cambodia earlier this month ended in a goalless draw.Pakistan will play against Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Tajikistan in Group G in the second round of the qualifiers. –IANS cs

Montevideo, Oct 18 (IANS) Darwin Nunez and Nicolas de la Cruz scored either side of halftime as Uruguay secured a 2-0 home win over Brazil in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier here.Liverpool striker Nunez opened the scoring just before the interval with a bullet header that beat goalkeeper Ederson at his near post following Maximiliano Araujo’s cross from the left flank, reports Xinhua.Brazil suffered a setback just before halftime when Neymar was taken off on a stretcher following a challenge from De la Cruz.The latter doubled the hosts’ advantage 13 minutes from time as he slotted home a close-range…

New Delhi, Oct 18 (IANS) The upcoming Apple iOS 17.1 update will resolve concerns of some users about ‘burn-in’ on new iPhone screens., according to reports.The latest software build “fixes an issue that may cause display image persistence”, according to an update by the company.There were speculation that it might be a hardware issue with the OLED display, reports MacRumors.However, based on the iOS 17.1 update, Apple has addressed a software problem that mimicked screen burn-in.Those who have noticed “burn-in” on their iPhones should update to iOS 17.1 to ensure that it solves the problem.While reports of display problems came…

San Francisco, Oct 18 (IANS) Alphabet-owned autonomous vehicle company Waymo has laid off more employees, for the third time this year.The fresh layoffs are part of an internal reorganisation process, a company spokesperson told The San Francisco Standard, without revealing the exact number of affected employees. “A small number of Waymo teams recently made adjustments to their teams as part of normal course of business,” the spokesperson said. Earlier this year, Alphabet laid off dozens of Waymo employees as part of wide-scale layoffs across the company. In March, Waymo sacked more than 200 employees in its second round of layoffs.…

New Delhi, Oct 18 (IANS) Elon Musk on Wednesday said that in order to tackle bots, new X users will need to pay $1 per year to post on the platform, although they can read other posts for free.The company is rolling out the test of this new programme in New Zealand and the Philippines, before it launches it globally.X will require new users in New Zealand and the Philippines to pay $1 to create accounts.“Read for free, but $1/year to write. It’s the only way to fight bots without blocking real users,” Musk posted.“This won’t stop bots completely, but…

Washington,Oct 18 (IANS) The US House of Representatives has failed to elect a new speaker in the first round of voting, as right-wing Republican Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, failed to garner enough support from his own party two weeks after the historical ouster of Kevin McCarthy.On Tuesday night, Jordan, who was nominated by House Republicans on October 13, won 200 votes from the 220 Republicans present, while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic nominee, received all 212 votes from his party, with both falling shy of the 217 majority needed to become the next Speaker,…

Washington, Oct 18 (IANS) The US State Department has raised its travel advisory for Lebanon to Level 4 ‘Do Not Travel’ due to the “unpredictable security situation related to rocket, missile, and artillery exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah or other armed militant factions”.In the advisory issued on Tuesday, the Department said it will allow family members and some non-emergency US government personnel from the embassy in Beirut to voluntarily depart the country “due to the unpredictable security situation”.The advisory also noted that “large demonstrations have erupted in the wake of recent violence in Israel and Gaza” that erupted on October…

The state public works department officials said that the repair work for the most important roadways link between north Bengal and Sikkim had been going on on an emergency basis.“That process is finally over and the road link will be reopened on Thursday. This is a positive development since this Sevoke-Sikkim road link is in true sense the lifeline connection between the two states,” a department official said.He also said that certain parts of the highway were damaged in a major way because of the flash flood. “So people commuting from North Bengal to Sikkim or vice versa had to…