Trump sends many to work without pay
Washington: US President Donald Trump has called tens of thousands of federal employees back to work without pay to get the government running amid a partial shutdown well into its third week. Out of 800,000 federal workers who didn’t receive paychecks during the shutdown, nearly 50,000 furloughed employees were called back to their jobs amid the crisis that was affecting dozens of federal agencies, the Washington Post reported.
US, UK hold rare joint drills in SCS
Hong Kong: The US and the UK on Wednesday finished a joint six-day drill in the South China Sea, a move that is likely to stoke anger in China as it claims a large area of the contested sea as its territory, the media reported. The US military announced in a statement cited by CNN that the guided-missile destroyer USS McCampbell and the Royal Navy frigate HMS Argyll conducted operations in the South China Sea between January 11 and 16.
US service members killed in Syria
Washington: US service members were among those killed on Wednesday in a fiery explosion at a market in the northern Syria town of Manjib, the US military officials said.
Asset details: 332 Pak lawmakers suspended
Islamabad: The membership of 332 Pakistani lawmakers, including that of the country’s high-profile Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, was suspended on Wednesday after they failed to submit details of their properties and assets to the poll body, according to media reports.
Nairobi attack over: Kenyan president
Nairobi: Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Wednesday that Islamists who stormed an upmarket hotel complex, killing 14 people, had been “eliminated” after an almost 20-hour siege in which hundreds of civilians were rescued.
INF Treaty: Putin ready for talks with US
Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he is ready for a “serious conversation” with the US on the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty issue despite Washington’s declared intention to withdraw from the pact.
Scientists 3D-print artificial Venus flytrap
Washington: Scientists have created a 3D-printed artificial version of the Venus flytrap plant that can selectively capture small objects in response to external, environmental cues, without the need for any batteries, circuits or processors of any kind.