Morning brief: Zelensky's roaring speech in US Congress, FTX founder's US extradition and more

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky became an ever-present figure on television screens worldwide as he addressed the US Congress on December 22, unfurling the Ukrainian battle flag in the endand evoking the analogy of ongoing war in Ukrainewith second world war's 'Christmas of 1944'.The Bahamas ordered Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, to be extradited to the United States on Wednesday, where he will face charges of fraud in a New York court. Meanwhile, former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is once again embroiled in controversy and this time it's over an alleged "sex call".

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Zelensky in US Congress: Ukraine is 'alive and kicking', will 'never surrender' to Putin

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Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky became an ever-present figure on television screens worldwide as he addressed the US Congress on December 22, unfurling the Ukrainian battle flag in the endand evoking the analogy of ongoing war in Ukrainewith second world war's 'Christmas of 1944'. In a speech that lasted about 25 minutes, Zelensky's passionate pleas for the US and larger global support for Ukraine during the ongoing war were often mixed with doses of humour. "Ukraine is alive and kicking," Zelensky told the US Congress, receiving thunderous applause in return.

Sam Bankman-Fried flies to US after consenting to extradition, top FTX aides plead guilty

The Bahamas ordered Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, to be extradited to the United States on Wednesday, where he will face charges of fraud in a New York court. At the time of filing this report, Bankman-Fried is reportedly aboard a plane flying from the Bahamas to the United States. He departed the Bahamas late Wednesday, according to local television Eyewitness News.

Bankman-Fried is due to appear in a Manhattan court as soon as Thursday morning, Financial Times reported.

Mars InSight lander officially retires, ending a four-year mission

Mars InSight lander, the first robotic probe aimed at studying the deep interior of a distant world, has been retired four years after it touched down on the surface of the red planet, NASA announced on Wednesday. Just a few days back, the space agency had said that the dust on Mars is choking the rover's power system and it is likely to bid adieu soon.

Imran Khan lands in hot soup once again, leaked audio of a vulgar call invites hate; PTI claims it's fake

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is once again embroiled in controversy and this time it's over an alleged "sex call".

As per reports, an alleged recording of the leader with an unknown woman has come to light inwhich he can be heard engaging in a sexually explicit, lewd conversation.

In what the new Twitter owner Elon Musk said was 'one of the many product improvements' for financial Twitter, users will now be able to see the latest pricing information while searching with a cashtag.

Just like a hashtag (#) query on Twitter's search bar gives a user an index of that hashtag's latest and most prominent uses on the platform, a cashtag query refers to the query on the search bar consisting of any prominent stock or cryptocurrency starting with '$' symbol. A cashtag query then leads to the latest pricing information of major stocks, ETFs and cryptocurrencies.

Chinese singer Jane Zhang intentionally infects herself with coronavirus, faces backlash online

Would you want to deliberately get infected with the coronavirus? Turns out Chinese singer and songwriter Jane Zhang did just that. The popular singer is now facing backlash on social media after she revealed that she had deliberately infected herself with the coronavirus. The revelation was made amid a massive surge in Coronavirus cases in China, driven by the BF.7 Omicron variant.