Author: Editorial Desk

United States: US Secretary of State, Mr. Antony Blinken, will visit the Middle East this week to discuss multiple issues in the region. Mr. Blinken will travel to Belgium, North Macedonia, Israel, the West Bank, and the UAE, the US State Department said in a statement. This is Blinken’s third trip to Israel following Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel on October 7. In Israel and the West Bank, Mr. Blinken will discuss Israel’s right to defend itself consistent with international humanitarian law, as well as continued efforts to secure the release of all hostages and protect civilian life…

London, United Kingdom: UK public health officials have confirmed the first human case of the swine flu strain, influenza A(H1N2)v. This is similar to flu viruses circulating in pigs in the UK. The case was detected as part of a routine flu screening test at a GP surgery in North Yorkshire. As per the statements, the person infected had a mild illness but is now fully recovered. The person is not known to have worked with pigs and investigation will focus on the origin of the infection and its risk to human health. Ms. Meera Chand, Incident Director at the…

New Zealand: New Zealand’s new government will scrap the country’s world-leading law that banned smoking for future generations. The reversal is expected to help the government pay for the tax cuts. The legislation, introduced by the previous government led by Ms. Jacinda Ardern, would have banned cigarette sales next year to anyone born after 2008. In New Zealand, smoking is a preventable cause of death. Hence the goal of the policy was to stop the practice among the young generation. A few lawmakers, including the new Prime Minister, Mr. Chris Luxon, contended that banning tobacco would create a black market.…

New Zealand: Mr. Christopher Luxon was sworn in as New Zealand’s Prime Minister. During the ceremony, the new PM stated that his top priority was to improve the economy. Mr. Luxon leads a conservative coalition after his National Party reached an agreement with two smaller parties following a general election last month. Although Mr. Luxon was certain to become Prime Minister because of his party’s impressive results, it took six weeks of intense negotiations to reach a deal on a shared policy platform with coalition partners who ran on opposing platforms on issues like taxation, racial relations, and economic management.…

London, United Kingdom: Irish writer, Mr. Paul Lynch, has won the prestigious Booker Prize for his fifth novel ‘Prophet Song,’ which comes with an award of $63,000. The 46-year-old, Mr. Lynch’s novel presents a dystopian vision of Ireland in the grips of totalitarianism. The Irish author spent four years writing the book and was brought to the thought by the long years of the civil war in Syria and the “West’s indifference.” After being honoured with the award, Mr. Lynch stated that, “It is with immense pleasure that I bring the Booker home to Ireland. I was trying to see…

Ukraine: Ukraine Officials have stated that Russia launched the largest drone attack against the country’s capital of Kyiv since the start of its invasion. As per the statements, at least 75 drones were launched towards Kyiv. The air raid warning lasted for six hours. Ukrainian President, Mr. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, called the capital attack an act of “wilful terror.” Air Force chief, Mr. Mykola Oleschuk, lauded the effectiveness of “mobile fire” units, which are essentially quick pick-up trucks with a machine gun or flak cannon installed on its flatbed. According to Mr. Oleschuk, these destroyed about 40 percent of the drones.…

Jakarta, Indonesia: Indonesian President, Mr. Joko Widodo, has suspended Mr. Firli Bahuri, the chief of the country’s anti-graft agency, following an accusation of extortion. The decision came after police this week named Mr. Bahuri as a suspect accused of extorting money from former Agriculture Minister, Mr. Syahrul Yasin Limpo, who was detained in a corruption case last month. Mr. Ari Dwipayana, the co-ordinator of the President’s special staff, stated that, “President, Mr. Widodo has signed a presidential decree on the suspension of Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chief, Mr. Bahuri.” Mr. Dwipayana stated that Mr. Widodo’s letter, signed on the last…

Israel: The first group of hostages has been released by Israel and Hamas, following the approval of the four-day ceasefire between the two parties. The Palestinian armed group Hamas released 24 hostages held captive in Gaza and Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners. Mr. Majed al-Ansari, a spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry in Qatar, stated that the released hostages include 13 Israelis, 10 Thai nationals, and one Filipino citizen. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Israel and the occupied territories remarked that it transported the group of captives from Gaza to the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. “We…

Scotland: A new study by the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research has found that female charity workers who supported vulnerable women both during and after the pandemic experienced severe psychological distress. Researchers conducted 135 interviews with women across the UK who worked for community-based third sector organisations. These women provided services, support, and advocacy to women and girls who were facing homelessness, domestic abuse, poverty, or other forms of disadvantage. The findings showed women working in these kinds of services experienced trauma, exhaustion, depression, and anxiety related to the nature of the work. These effects were compounded by…

Turkey: Turkey’s Health Minister, Mr. Fahrettin Koca, has stated that the country plans to evacuate some wounded or sick Gazan children and young people. The decision came as part of Turkey’s third round of evacuation. So far, Turkey has transported 150 people from Gaza, mostly cancer patients and their companions. This week, it has also evacuated over a hundred Turks, Turkish Cypriots, and their families. Mr. Koca stated that the third phase of evacuations, which consisted of a group of 50 people, had been delayed because of issues obtaining authorization for their release. According to the Minister, these concerns had…