Day: December 30, 2019

India's smartphone segment set to script double-digit growth story in 2021

Smartphone sales buck slowdown on strong urban, rural demand

3:07 pm December 30, 2019

New Delhi: The economic slowdown may have clipped sales of cars and biscuits in 2019, but smartphones bucked the trend as urban and rural users continued to buy, and even upgrade to, expensive handsets – a trend likely to pick up pace in the coming year. The growth in smartphone adoption was further fuelled by […]

US strike on Iran could have consequences in North Korea

White House warns North Korea over ‘Christmas gift’ threat

12:56 am December 30, 2019

Washington: The White House said Sunday it would consider “other tools” beyond personal diplomacy if North Korea went ahead with a threatened “Christmas gift” that could reignite global tensions over its nuclear program. Experts have interpreted the message delivered earlier this month by Pyongyang as a warning that a long-range missile test was imminent if […]

Iraq protesters lock down oil field, call strike

12:50 am December 30, 2019

Nasiriyah (Iraq): Iraqi anti-government protesters blockaded an oil field and rallied in southern cities Sunday while political factions remained paralysed in their attempts to form a new government. Several hundred people demanding jobs shut off access to the Nasiriyah field, 300 kilometres (190 miles) south of Baghdad, which produces 82,000 barrels of oil per day, […]

Ireland PM Leo Varadkar visits his father’s village in Maharashtra

12:41 am December 30, 2019

Mumbai: Ireland Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on Sunday visited his ancestral village alongwith his family members in the coastal Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra, calling it “a very special moment”. It was his first visit to the village of Varad in Malvan tehsil, around 500 km from Mumbai, said Varadkar, who became prime minister of Ireland […]

US, Russia said close to deal on nuclear warhead freeze

Putin thanks Trump for intel that helped foil attacks: Kremlin

12:39 am December 30, 2019

Moscow: Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Sunday thanked US counterpart Donald Trump for intelligence that helped to foil attacks on Russian soil, the Kremlin said. Putin thanked Trump “for the transfer, through special services, of information allowing the prevention of terrorist acts in Russia,” the president’s office said in a statement. Russia’s FSB, a successor […]