Agence France-Presse

Meta blocks major Muslim Instagram page in India amid rising conflict

Company referred to policy for restricting content when governments say material goes ‘against local law’

Meta has banned a prominent Muslim news page on Instagram in India at the government’s request, the account’s founder said on Wednesday, denouncing the move as “censorship” as hostilities escalate between India and Pakistan.

Instagram users in India trying to access posts from the handle @Muslim – a page with 6.7 million followers – were met with a message stating: “Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content.”

Man admitted to Japan’s 2025 World Expo with 85-year-old ticket

Collector of Expo memorabilia had a ticket to the 1940 Grand International Exposition of Japan, which was postponed indefinitely due to the war

A man was admitted to the World Expo in Japan using a ticket to the 1940 Grand International Exposition of Japan, an event that was called off as war escalated, organisers said.

Tickets for the Grand International Exposition of Japan in Tokyo were released in 1938 but the event was postponed indefinitely as Japan became embroiled in the second world war.

Drone strikes hit Port Sudan airport and army base in third day of attacks

Loud explosions reported at dawn and plumes of smoke as RSF targets Sudanese government’s seat of power

Drones have struck the airport and targeted an army base in Port Sudan, officials said, the third straight day the seat of power of the government, which is aligned with the Sudanese army, has come under attack.

The country’s main fuel depot was hit on Monday, causing a massive blaze just south of the eastern city that had until Sunday been considered a safe haven for hundreds of thousands of displaced people fleeing a two-year war.

US asks judge to break up Google’s ad tech business after requesting Chrome sale

After Google lost its first monopoly trial, government asks it to sell off units of its core internet ads business

Google on Friday faced a demand by the US government to break up its hugely profitable ad technology business. The request came after a judge found the tech giant was commanding an illegal monopoly for the second time in less than a year.

“We have a defendant who has found ways to defy” the law, US government lawyer Julia Tarver Wood told a federal court in Virginia, as she urged the judge to dismiss Google’s assurance that it would change its behavior. “Leaving a recidivist monopolist” intact was not appropriate to solve the issue, she added.

Microsoft raises Xbox prices globally amid tariff uncertainty

Sony also raised PlayStation 5 price and Nintendo delayed Switch 2 pre-orders as Trump tariffs throw electronics manufacturing into chaos

Microsoft announced on Thursday that it will increase Xbox console prices worldwide, citing “market conditions” just days after Sony made a similar move with its PlayStation 5.

The tech giant also plans to raise prices for some new games developed by its video game subsidiaries.

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Israel facing ‘national emergency’ as it battles worst fires in a decade, says Netanyahu

Firefighters have rushed to control wildfires that have injured several people and prompted the military to deploy troops to help

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has warned that rapidly spreading wildfires near Jerusalem could reach the city, as he declared the situation a “national emergency”.

Thick smoke billowed above highways near Jerusalem on Wednesday as firefighters rushed to control wildfires that have injured several people and prompted the military to deploy troops to help.