Author: Editorial Desk

London, UK: The British government has published emergency legislation, which aims to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. The “Safety of Rwanda Bill” is designed to overcome a decision rendered on November 15 by the UK Supreme Court, which declared that the government’s proposed program of sending thousands of asylum seekers and migrants to the East African nation is unlawful. UK Prime Minister, Mr. Rishi Sunak’s position appeared to be undermined after Immigration Minister, Mr. Robert Jenrick, resigned due to “strong disagreements with the direction” of the government’s policy on immigration. The bill will instruct judges to ignore some sections of…

Switzerland: Representatives of international sports federations and national Olympic committees have asked the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals at the 2024 Games in Paris. The request was made in an IOC communique published after the Olympic Summit in Lausanne, Switzerland. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia and Belarus were sanctioned but not banned by the IOC. In March, it recommended that individual athletes compete as neutrals but it has not decided about Paris yet. However, several Olympic sports have eased restrictions over the past year, allowing them to…

United States: The United States has imposed visa bans on Israeli settlers who were involved in recent attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank. “Today, the State Department is implementing a new visa restriction policy targeting individuals believed to have been involved in undermining peace, security, or stability in the West Bank, including through committing acts of violence or taking other actions that unduly restrict civilians’ access to essential services and basic necessities,” US Secretary of State, Mr. Antony Blinken, said in a statement. The announcement follows several warnings from US President, Mr. Joe Biden, and other senior officials for…

Switzerland: The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged countries to increase their taxes on alcohol and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). The move aimed at addressing the global health crisis. The WHO recently revealed new data that underscores a widespread lack of taxes on unhealthy items. The findings show that most countries are not leveraging taxes to encourage healthier behaviours. The WHO stated that 2.6 million people a year die from drinking alcohol, while more than eight million die from having an unhealthy diet. “Implementing a tax on alcohol and SSBs will reduce these deaths,” it added. According to the WHO, although…

Australia: A new research has revealed that being overweight can impair the body’s antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, this does not affect the protection offered by COVID-19 vaccination. The research, published in the journal Clinical & Translational Immunology, was led by the University of Queensland. “We have previously shown that being overweight—not just being obese—increases the severity of SARS-CoV-2,” said Mr. Marcus Tong, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Queensland in Australia. Mr. Tong remarked that, “But this work shows that being overweight creates an impaired antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 infection but not to vaccination.” The research team…

New Zealand: Thousands of people have rallied in New Zealand to protest the new government’s policies towards Indigenous people. The protest action was called for by the political party Te Pati Maori and coincided with the opening of New Zealand’s 54th parliament. After six years of leadership by the Progressive Labour Party, a new right-of-centre government of the National Party, New Zealand First and ACT New Zealand was elected in October. The new National Party-led coalition has pledged to review positive discrimination policies, rename several departments from Maori language to English, and strip legislation of references to the principles of…

United States: Digital music service Spotify is cutting 17 percent of its workforce in its third round of layoffs this year. Spotify stated that in an effort to reduce costs, it will lay off about 1,500 employees, or 17 percent of its headcount. The music streaming giant had laid off 600 employees in January, followed by 200 in June. Mr. Daniel Ek, Spotify CEO, remarked that, “To align Spotify with our future goals and ensure we are right-sized for the challenges ahead, I have made the difficult decision.” “I recognize this will impact a number of individuals who have made…

Israel: Israel has faced growing pressure from the United States to avoid further harm to Palestinian civilians as it continues its fight against Hamas militants in Gaza. This comes after the Israeli military stepped up its attacks on Gaza following the breakdown of a temporary ceasefire. Fighting resumed on Friday following a week-long truce between Israel and Hamas despite more than 130 hostages remaining in captivity in the Gaza Strip. The Israel Défense Forces (IDF) said that it had hit more than 400 Hamas targets on the first day. According to the Gaza health ministry, at least 193 Palestinians killed…

United States: NASA’s Artemis 3 mission, which will land astronauts on the Moon, will not happen at least until 2027, according to the report. The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report that details the challenges NASA is having with the programs. As per the report, “NASA and its contractors made progress since our last report on the Artemis missions, but they are still facing challenges with developing the lunar lander and space suits. For example, some flight tests have been delayed, which could affect the timing of subsequent tests. And a significant amount of complex work remains. As a…

London, UK: The UK Ministry of Defense (MoD) has stated that the country will conduct unarmed surveillance flights over the Middle East to search for Hamas hostage locations. MoD officials commented that a range of unarmed aircraft, including intelligence-gathering Shadow R1s, will be utilized for the reconnaissance flights. According to reports, information on the potential whereabouts of captives will be shared with Israel. In a statement, the MoD pointed out that, “The safety of British nationals is our utmost priority. In support of the ongoing hostage rescue activity, the UK Ministry of Defense will conduct surveillance flights over the Eastern…