The Supreme Court has called on all Muslims across Saudi Arabia to look for the Eid crescent on Thursday evening. (File/SPA)
Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday called on Muslims across the Kingdom to sight the crescent moon on Thursday, April 20.
Anyone who sights the crescent moon with their eyes or through binoculars should report the sighting to the nearest court and register their testimony, the court said.
If the crescent moon of Shawwal, the month after Ramadan, is spotted on Thursday evening, Eid will fall on Friday.
If there is no sighting of the Shawwal crescent moon on Thursday evening, Ramadan will last for 30 days and Eid will fall on Saturday.
The sighting of this moon will mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan, and the start of Eid Al Fitr.
Arab Saudi diperkirakan akan merayakan Idul Fitri pada Jumat, 21 April.
Arab Saudi akan melihat bulan sabit untuk Idul Fitri 2023, menandai akhir Ramadhan pada Kamis, 20 April.
The Abu Dhabi-based International Astronomy Centre (IAC) is expecting Eid Al Fitr to fall on Saturday — which could give residents a five-day long weekend.
In a statement, the IAC said sighting the crescent on Thursday may not be possible in most countries of the Arab and Islamic world, except for parts of West Africa starting from Libya. "But spotting remains very difficult and requires a precise telescope, professional monitoring and exceptional weather conditions," it said.
The IAC, however, clarified that its prediction is based on astronomical information. The exact date shall be confirmed only by the authorities based on the sighting of the new moon.
The United Arab Emirates has asked all Muslims in the country to search for the Shawwal crescent moon on Thursday evening that is April 20, 2023. The date corresponds with Ramadan day 29 (1444 AH) in the Islamic calendar.
The sighting of the Shawwal moon would mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan and the beginning of Eid Al Fitr.
As per the Emirates News Agency (WAM), the moon sighting committee has requested Muslims to watch for the crescent moon on Thursday.
The Supreme Court of Saudi announced that whoever sights the crescent moon, be it with the naked eye or with the help of binoculars is urged to report it to the nearest court and register a testimony.
So, if the crescent moon is spotted on Thursday, April 20, 2023, Eid Al Fitr will be celebrated on Friday, April 21, 2023. But if the Shawwal crescent is not sighted, then Saturday, April 22, 2023, will be the start of the Eid Al Fitr celebrations.
Residents in the United Arab Emirates will get a four-day or a five-day holiday break depending on the Moon sighting.
American arms manufacturers are struggling to obtain enough rocket motors to build missiles for Ukrainian forces, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. With multiple contractors relying on a single supplier, production targets have already been pushed back.
In a quarterly earnings report released on Tuesday, Lockheed Martin said that although its overall sales rose from a year earlier, sales of Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS) fell due to a “lower volume” leaving its factories.
Supply-chain snarls are still hindering efforts by weapons makers to produce more arms for Ukraine and refill stocks for the U.S. and its allies.
Lockheed Martin Corp. LMT -0.79%decrease; red down pointing triangle said Tuesday that sales of its long-range missiles known as the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, or GMLRS, fell in the latest quarter from a year ago. The U.S. has shipped hundreds to Ukraine, where they have been widely used against invading Russian forces.
GMLRS projectiles are artillery rockets, and are fired from Lockheed Martin’s M142 HIMARS platform. According to the most recent Pentagon figures, the US has given Ukraine 38 HIMARS platforms, and while the Defense Department does not disclose how many GMLRS projectiles have been sent to Kiev, a Reuters investigation put the figure at over 5,000 last November, more than the 4,600 Lockheed Martin can make in a year.
Lockheed Martin also uses solid-fuel rocket motors in its Javelin anti-tank missiles, of which more than 8,500 have been sent to Ukraine over the last year.
During a visit by President Joe Biden to the company’s Javelin manufacturing facility in Alabama last May, CEO Jim Taiclet vowed to double production of the shoulder-fired missiles by 2024. However, the company and the Pentagon told the Wall Street Journal that the date has since been pushed back to 2026.
“We thought we could get there earlier,” Lockheed Martin’s Chief Financial Officer, Jay Malave, told the paper.
US missile makers like Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies source their rocket motors from a single supplier, Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings. However, although the Pentagon awarded Aerojet a $216 million contract last week to boost production, it said it was still recovering from a fire at one of its factories last year, while the sale of the company to aerospace giant L3Harris Technologies is still being scrutinized by antitrust authorities.
While rocket artillery and guided missile production are apparently hindered, Ukraine is also grappling with a shortage of conventional artillery rounds. Leaked Pentagon documents recently suggested that the shortfall is delaying a planned spring offensive by Kiev’s forces, while the US is reportedly looking to its allies to replenish its depleted stockpiles.
Russia has repeatedly warned that the influx of Western weapons will only prolong the conflict in Ukraine. The West’s involvement “is rising gradually,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier this month, adding that the West’s support for Kiev “cannot influence the final outcome of the special operation.”
The death toll rose to 29 on Wednesday from a fire at a Beijing hospital that was one of the Chinese capital’s deadliest in at least two decades, killing 26 patients and wounding dozens.
A fire at a Beijing hospital on Tuesday (April 18) has left more than two dozen dead, making it the Chinese capital's deadliest blaze in at least two decades.
Dramatic videos were posted on social media of people using tied bed sheets to escape the smoke and flames engulfing Changfeng Hospital.
The majority of those who died were patients, with the fire having been put out in half an hour, officials told a media briefing.
Early on Wednesday, many of those injured were still in hospital, with some in a serious or critical condition, officials said.
Adding that initial findings showed the fire was caused by inflammable painting material at a ward under renovation, mostly impacting a wing for critically ill patients.
By Wednesday, Reuters found many posts criticizing the fire on social media site WeChat had been either censored or deleted.
Authorities are investigating Beijing's deadliest fire since at least 2002, when a blaze at an internet cafe killed 25.
Social media showed dramatic videos of people using tied bed sheets to climb down the walls to escape smoke and flames after the fire broke out at Changfeng Hospital on Tuesday.
Broken and burned out windows could be seen at the site, where there were many police officers, some in plain clothes, Reuters witnesses said.
All but three of the 29 dead were patients, officials told a media briefing on Wednesday, with the fire having been put out in half an hour.
“There was a lot of smoke, I could see it,” said an elderly local resident who gave only his surname, Li. He gave Reuters video clips he took of smoke billowing from the upper floors of the hospital.
Authorities are investigating Beijing’s deadliest fire since at least 2002, when a blaze at an internet cafe killed 25.
Initial checks showed the fire, which mostly affected a wing for critically ill patients, was caused by inflammable painting material at a ward under renovation, the officials said.
By Wednesday, many social media posts critical about the fire on WeChat had been either censored or deleted, Reuters checks showed.
“Rescue work at the scene concluded in 3-1/2 hours, but the public only knew that 21 had died from the fire when it was already past eight in the evening,” one person wrote in a WeChat post subsequently deleted.
“It is very puzzling that little information was known about a fire killing 21 people in a densely populated major city like Beijing before the official notification.”
Early on Wednesday, 39 injured were still in hospital, three in critical condition, and 18 serious, the officials told the briefing.
The deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, has warned of the dangers South Korea's plans to supply weapons to Ukraine are fraught with.
"There have emerged new enthusiasts eager to help our enemies. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has said that in principle his country is ready to supply the Kiev regime with weapons," Medvedev said on his Telegram channel on Wednesday.
"Until recently, the South Koreans had vehemently assured that any possibility of supplying lethal weapons to Kiev was completely ruled out," he recalled.
"I wonder what the people of that country will say when they see Russia’s latest weapons in the hands of their closest neighbors - our partners in the DPRK?" Medvedev asked.
"As they say, quid pro quo," he described such a situation.
South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol, in an interview with Reuters published Wednesday, did not rule out that Seoul might agree to supply weapons to Ukraine, if there was a serious threat to its population or if the laws of war were flagrantly violated.
Seoul Sending Weapons to Kiev Would Imply Its Involvement in Conflict, Kremlin Warns
South Korea’s weapons supplies to Ukraine would mean that Seoul is somehow involved in the conflict, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday.
"Certainly, any weapons supplies would imply a certain involvement in this conflict," he said, commenting on Seoul’s potential weapons deliveries to Kiev, TASS reported.
According to Peskov, South Korea has taken quite a hostile position toward Russia regarding the situation in Ukraine, and the announcement about potential arms supplies is a continuation of that policy.
"There is nothing brand new here. Both in terms of sanctions and other things, regretfully. Seoul has taken quite an unfriendly position in this story. And this is a continuation. Naturally, attempts will be made to drag increasingly more countries directly into this conflict," he added.
South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol, in an interview with Reuters published earlier on Wednesday, did not rule out that Seoul might agree to supply weapons to Ukraine, if there was a serious threat to its population or if the laws of war were flagrantly violated.
Seoul's new stance on Ukraine war expected to affect inter-Korean relations
President Yoon Suk Yeol signaled a shift in South Korea's policy stance on the war between Ukraine and Russia, opening the door for Seoul to possibly provide military aid to Kyiv. Experts said this will likely have a ripple effect on the diplomatic dynamics in Northeast Asia, especially inter-Korean relations.
In an interview with Reuters, released on Wednesday, Yoon said there is now more of a possibility for Seoul to provide military aid to Ukraine, in case of intolerable behaviors such as large-scale attacks on civilians.
"If there is a situation the international community cannot condone, such as any large-scale attacks on civilians, massacres or serious violation of the laws of war, it might be difficult for us to insist only on humanitarian or financial support," Yoon said.
He continued by saying that he believes there will be no limitations to support the illegally invaded country, but he will "take the most appropriate measures" considering South Korea's relations with the parties engaged in the war.
The comments were interpreted as a shift in South Korea's stance regarding its support for Ukraine. Despite calls from the United States and other Western countries, Seoul's official stance was limiting its Kyiv-bound support concerning humanitarian aid, though there were reports indicating that the country indirectly supported ammunitions by making up for a U.S. inventory shortage of 155-millimeter artillery shells.
In response to Yoon's comments, the Kremlin said, Wednesday, "South Korea has adopted an unfriendly stance towards Moscow" and supplying military aid to Ukraine would "signify a certain involvement in the conflict," according to Reuters.
Experts expressed mixed opinions on Seoul's new stance related to Ukraine, but agreed that this will have an impact on inter-Korean relations.
"Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said South Korea's relations with Russia will be destroyed if Seoul decides to supply weapons and ammunitions to Ukraine, and Russia will help North Korea," said Kim Joon-hyung, a professor at Handong Global University and former chancellor of the Korean National Diplomatic Academy.
"Yoon's remarks will give Russia greater freedom in helping North Korea, and this will only strengthen the bloc of North Korea, Russia and China as a rival to that of the South Korea-U.S.-Japan bloc."
Kim was referring to Putin's remarks at the Valdai International Discussion Club meeting in October, where the Russian leader said Seoul's ammunition support to Ukraine will "destroy our (Seoul-Moscow) relationship," pointing out how South Korea would react if Russia resumed cooperating with North Korea.
So far, there have been signs that Russia and North Korea are getting closer, with Russia claiming Pyongyang's consecutive missile threats are "a response to pressures from the U.S." Though Russia is also part of the international sanctions against the North, Moscow will likely take a more proactive stance in helping Pyongyang, because Seoul has dropped hints at providing military aid for Ukraine.
"Yoon's comments were an unnecessary attempt to put South Korea into the front line of the Ukraine war by unnecessarily determining our enemy," Kim said.
Go Myong-hyun, a research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, also noted that Russia may show a gesture of strengthening its relations with North Korea as a protest against Seoul's new stance on the Ukraine issue, but it will likely be more confined to rhetorical actions citing international sanctions.
"It is quite obvious that Russia will not be happy about Yoon's comments, and in response, Russia may make a gesture of strengthening its relations with North Korea in order to sway the current environment," Go said.
"The greatest concern would be possible missile and nuclear cooperation between the North and Russia, but it will be unlikely given the various international sanctions that impede such cooperation. Thus, the responses could be limited to just rhetoric."
Unlike Kim, Go said Yoon's comments on supporting Ukraine are strategic steps, which came after considerations regarding the progress of the Ukraine war.
The analyst noted that Yoon set a condition for non-humanitarian support, which he will consider when there is a large-scale attack on civilians or a full-scale war.
The Ukraine War is now showing signs of heading toward a stalemate, with hard-fought battles being limited to certain regions, thus, in reality, making it slim for Seoul to actually provide military aid to Ukraine.
"This means that South Korea has made a strong voice on supporting Ukraine ― as the U.S. and other European states have done ― while having a low possibility of providing military support," Go said. "This can show that Seoul is now on the same side with its allies and friendly nations on the Ukraine issue, and clearing its ambiguities on global issues."
'Ultra-high-performance weapons'
During the interview, Yoon also noted that South Korea is developing "ultra-high-performance, high-power weapons" to fend off the North's threats.
Although Yoon did not explain what those weapons are, pundits assume that he was referring to a blackout bomb, which neutralizes power grids and cuts the enemy's electric power supply, or electromagnetic pulse weapons.
Also mentioned are the Hyunmoo-5 ballistic missile and hypersonic missiles. South Korea's military is set to test-launch the Hyunmoo-5, which is capable of carrying a heavy warhead weighing up to nine tons.
Apple, one of the largest smartphone companies in the world, opened its first official offline store in India. The development highlights the important role of the Indian market for the Cupertino-based tech giant.
The first Apple store in India, called Apple BKC, is located in Mumbai, and the company is all set to open a second store in the country’s capital, Delhi, in a couple of days.
Apple says that the newly opened store, Apple BKC, runs on 100% renewable energy. It has a dedicated solar energy system and has zero reliance on fossil fuels for the store’s operations.
While Apple has just now launched its first store in India, the company has been present in the market for over 25 years but relied on third-party sellers for its products in the country. The company aims to boost its sales in the Indian market and has already paved ways to increase the production of iPhones in India.
The Indian smartphone market has been dominated by Android, and companies like Samsung and Xiaomi remain the top brands. Apple’s devices fall under the premium segment, defined as phones priced above ₹30,000 (approx. $365), which accounts for about 10 percent of the total phones sold in the country.
Last year, Apple shipped around 6.5 million iPhones, compared to about 50 million units each in the United States and China. It has less than 5% of the smartphone market share in India, but the company sees potential for growth in demand for Apple iPhones in the market.
Apple is aiming to boost sales and manufacturing of iPhones in India in a move analysts say resembles its strategy when it first entered China, now one of the company's biggest markets.
Apple claims its Mumbai store is "one of the most energy-efficient" locations in the world and has a dedicated solar energy system and has zero reliance on fossil fuels for the store's operations. Apple BKC runs on 100% renewable energy, Apple said.
Cook has long viewed India as a key market to Apple's future and in February he said he was "bullish" on the world's fifth-largest economy and the company is putting a "significant amount of energy" into the market. Cook traveled to India for the opening of the store, nearly seven years after his first visit as Apple CEO.
India's smartphone market, however, has been dominated in recent years by Samsung and Chinese brands such as Xiaomi, with low-to-mid-tier priced devices finding support from customers in a price-sensitive market. Apple has very little market share in India.
But India is undergoing a "premiumification of market," according to Neil Shah, partner at Counterpoint Research. Smartphones priced above $400 now account for 10% of the total volumes of handsets shipped versus 4% before the pandemic, according to Shah. He said this category of smartphones accounts for 35% of total smartphone market revenue.
"Apple as usual has got the timing right on 'peaking at the right time' with its flagship store strategy to catalyse this trend in its favour," Shah told CNBC via email.
India has a growing middle class, a young and "mobile first" population willing to pay more for phones, especially in Mumbai and Delhi, two of the country's wealthiest cities and the location of the new Apple stores.
iPhone sales in focus
Apple's India push offers the opportunity for the U.S. technology giant to boost revenue and iPhone sales near the levels seen in markets like the U.S. and China, analysts said.
Apple shipped about 6.5 million iPhones in India in 2022, compared to around 50 million each year in both the U.S. and China, according to Counterpoint Research. Shah said India "has the potential to reach that scale" in the coming years.
Shipments refer to the iPhones Apple sends to retailers but do not equal sales. However, it is an indicator of the demand for iPhones in a country.
Apple made $6 billion in revenue in the year through to March, growing 50%, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Dan Ives, analyst at Wedbush Securities, said that could rise further over the next two years.
"Apple is now aggressively looking at India from both a production and retail expansion over the coming years that we believe will be a strategic poker move for Cupertino that could ramp annual revenue to $20 billion by 2025 in India," Ives said in a note published Tuesday.
But it's not just about selling iPhones. Apple's strategy over the years has involved getting users locked into its suite of products including the Apple Watch and services like Apple Music.
"Apple can cross sell other products such as Macs, Watch, AirPods, iPads and services to the growing iPhone user base maximising the revenue opportunity," Shah said.
Manufacturing push
For Apple, India also represents a key part of its manufacturing strategy for the future.
Apple began assembling its flagship iPhone 14 in India last year — the first time that the company has produced its latest device in the country, so close to its initial launch. Piyush Goyal, India's minister of commerce and industry, said in January that Apple is aiming to make 25% of all of its iPhones in India.
Part of the move in India is tied to the government's push to bring high-tech manufacturing to the country. But Apple is also trying to diversify its assembly of products away from China. Supply chain fragilities in the world's second-largest economy were exposed during the Covid pandemic and the strict measures Beijing took to control the outbreak.
Production was disrupted last year at Apple's biggest iPhone factory, located in Zhengzhou, China, by a Covid outbreak and worker protests. That factory is run by the Taiwanese firm Foxconn.
Wedbush's Ives said Apple's India strategy — with both a retail and manufacturing push — mirrors the technology giant's steps it took in the China market 10 years ago.
"As Foxconn/Apple put more skin in the game on the iPhone production front within India this will go hand in hand with a bigger retail presence within India as seen this week which mirrors the early days of the China penetration strategy going back a decade," Ives said.
"Rome was not built overnight and neither will Apple's broader India strategy, however, we view this week as Apple diving into the deep end of the pool in India as this massive market slowly converts into the Apple ecosystem over the coming years with iPhone market share gains front and center."
Delaware, April 18 (Reuters) - Fox Corp (FOXA.O) and Fox News on Tuesday settled a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million, averting a trial putting one of the world's top media companies in the crosshairs over its coverage of false vote-rigging claims in the 2020 U.S. election.
The settlement, which legal experts said was the largest struck by an American media company, was announced by the two sides and the judge in the case at the 11th hour.
The jury had been selected earlier in the day and the trial poised for opening statements in Wilmington, Delaware. Dominion had sought $1.6 billion in damages in the lawsuit filed in 2021.
Dominion CEO John Poulos called the settlement "historic."
"Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion that caused enormous damage to my company, our employees and our customers," Poulos said in a statement.
"Truthful reporting in the media is essential to our democracy," Poulos said.
At issue in the lawsuit was whether Fox was liable for airing the false claims that Denver-based Dominion's ballot-counting machines were used to manipulate the presidential election in favor of Democrat Joe Biden over then-President Donald Trump, a Republican.
Tuesday's settlement spared Fox the peril of having some of its best-known figures called to the witness stand and subjected to potentially withering questioning, including executives such as Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old who serves as Fox Corp chairman, as well as on-air hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Jeanine Pirro.
Fox anchor Neil Cavuto broke into his news show "Your World" about 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time to report the settlement. A statement by Fox was read on air.
"We are pleased to have reached a settlement of our dispute with Dominion Voting Systems," the statement said. "We acknowledge the Court's rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false. This settlement reflects FOX's continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards. We are hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues."
FOX HAS BILLIONS IN CASH
Shares of Fox Corp closed up slightly at $34 per share, but were down 1% in after-hours trading following disclosure of the settlement amount. Fox has cash on hand to pay for a settlement. It committed $3 billion to buy back shares in the first quarter after revenues beat estimates. Fox Corp CEO Lachlan Murdoch told Wall Street analysts in February that the company had about $4 billion cash on hand.
Dominion lawyers declined to answer questions about whether Fox News would apologize publicly or make changes.
Fox News is the most-watched U.S. cable news network.
The settlement of $787.5 million is the largest amount of money paid to conclude an American media libel case, said Richard Tofel, principal of Gallatin Advisory. The previously highest payment occurred in 2017 when Walt Disney Co paid $177 million, in addition to insurance recoveries, to settle the "pink slime" defamation case against its ABC network by Beef Products Inc.
Dominion sued Fox Corp and Fox News, contending that its business was ruined by the false vote-rigging claims that were aired by the news outlet known for its roster of conservative commentators. The trial was to have tested whether Fox's coverage crossed the line between ethical journalism and the pursuit of ratings, as Dominion alleged and Fox denied. Fox had portrayed itself in the pretrial skirmishing as a defender of press freedom.
Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis, presiding over the case, had ordered a one-day trial postponement on Monday. Fox was pursuing settlement talks, two sources familiar with the matter said. Davis delayed the trial on Tuesday, as the two sides appeared to hammer out the deal in private.
The primary question for jurors was to be whether Fox knowingly spread false information or recklessly disregarded the truth, the standard of "actual malice" that Dominion must show to prevail in a defamation case.
In February court filings, Dominion cited a trove of internal communications in which Murdoch and other Fox figures privately acknowledged that the vote-rigging claims made about Dominion on-air were false. Dominion said Fox amplified the untrue claims to boost its ratings and prevent its viewers from migrating to other media competitors on the right.
ANOTHER LAWSUIT PENDING
Adding to the legal risks for Fox, another U.S. voting technology company, Smartmatic, is pursuing its own defamation lawsuit seeking $2.7 billion in damages in a New York state court.
"For many plaintiffs, a court holding, and admission by the defendant about falsity, are even more important than any actual money damages," said Mary-Rose Papandrea, a constitutional law professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law.
Fox had earlier argued that claims by Trump and his lawyers about the election were inherently newsworthy and protected by the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. Davis ruled in March that Fox could not use those arguments as a defense, finding its coverage was false, defamatory and not protected by the First Amendment.
The lawsuit referenced instances in which Trump allies including his former lawyers Rudolph Giuliani and Sidney Powell appeared on Fox News to advance the false allegations.
Dominion CEO John Poulos and lawyers speak to the media after Dominion Voting Systems and Fox settled a defamation lawsuit for $787.5 million, avoiding trial, over Fox's coverage of debunked election-rigging claims, in Delaware Superior Court, in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. April 18, 2023. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
Murdoch internally described the election-rigging claims as "really crazy" and "damaging" but declined to wield his editorial power to stop them and conceded under oath that some Fox hosts nonetheless "endorsed" the baseless claims, Dominion told the court in a filing.
Under questioning from a Dominion lawyer, Murdoch testified that he thought everything about the election was on the "up-and-up" and doubted the rigging claims from the very beginning, according to Dominion's filing.
Asked if he could have intervened to stop Giuliani from continuing to spread falsehoods on air, Murdoch responded, "I could have. But I didn't," the filing said
