Author: Editorial Desk

Palestine: Two major hospitals in northern Gaza, Al Shifa and Al-Quds have closed to new patients. Staff members said that those already receiving treatment could die due to Israeli bombardment as well as a lack of fuel and medicine. Medical staff noted that due to Israeli blockades, hospitals in the northern part of the Palestinian enclave are scarcely able to provide care for people inside. Israel said that the hospitals needed to be evacuated because it was homing in on Hamas fighters in the area. Al-Shifa, the largest hospital in Gaza, and Al-Quds, another significant hospital announced that they were…

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia is hosting an extraordinary joint Islamic-Arab summit to discuss the worsening situation in Gaza. The decision comes after Saudi Arabia consulted with the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. According to the Kingdom’s foreign ministry, the joint meeting “will be held in response to the exceptional circumstances taking place in the Palestinian Gaza Strip as countries feel the need to unify efforts and come out with a unified collective position.” President Mr. Ebrahim Raisi is also anticipated to attend the conference in Riyadh, which will be the first visit by an Iranian president in eleven…

New York:  Taylor Swift, the multi-talented singer, has broken a Grammy record with nomination for her song ‘Anti-Hero.’ This is Swift’s seventh nomination for the Song of the Year category, making her the first songwriter to ever achieve this feat. She overtakes Sir Paul McCartney and Lionel Richie, who have six nominations. Swift is also nominated in the album and record of the year categories alongside Olivia Rodrigo, Miley Cyrus, and SZA. Lana Del Rey and Dua Lipa are among the other nominees for song of the year. SZA, Jon Batiste, and Billie Eilish have also received recognition in this…

Taipei: The Czech and Taiwanese governments have signed an agreement aimed at helping in the reconstruction of Ukraine. The absence of formal diplomatic ties between the two nations did not hinder the collaboration, with a senior Czech envoy praising Taiwan as a “great ally.” Following Russia’s invasion, Ukraine has gained widespread support in Taiwan, with many Taiwanese seeing parallels between Ukraine’s situation and the threat Taipei’s government says it faces from China, which claims the island as its own territory. Taiwan has joined the Western-led sanctions against Russia and contributed more than $100 million for humanitarian relief. Moscow calls its…

New York: The United Nations report has warned that the socioeconomic “shock” of the Israel-Gaza war will force hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into poverty. As the war passed the one-month mark, poverty had risen by 20 percent and gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 4.2 percent, according to the report by the UN Development Programme and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). As per the agencies, the economic damage is greater than that of the wars in Syria and Ukraine or any prior Israel-Palestine conflict. The UN predicts that if the war continues for a…

Tokyo: A new island off the coast of Japan has been created by underwater volcanic eruptions, and which situated 1,200km (745 miles) south of Tokyo. According to experts, the tiny island appeared following a sequence of eruptions that started in October close to Iwoto island, which is a part of the Ogasawara Island chain in the western Pacific. The new island is not the first one to be created by volcanic activity in the area. The Ogasawara Island series, commonly known as the Bonin Islands, is actually a volcanic arc made up of over thirty islands and islets, some of…

Washington: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the world’s first vaccine for chikungunya, a virus spread by infected mosquitoes. According to the FDA, the vaccine, developed by Europe’s Valneva which will be marketed under the name Ixchiq, has been licensed for people 18 and over who are at increased risk of exposure. The US FDA’s approval of Ixchiq is expected to speed up the vaccine’s implementation in countries where the virus is most prevalent. Chikungunya, which causes fever and severe joint pain, is most commonly encountered in Africa, Southeast Asia, and part of the Americas. “However, chikungunya…

Paris: Officials from Western and Arab nations, the United Nations, and nongovernmental organizations are gathering in Paris, with the aim of providing urgent aid to civilians amid Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip. French President Mr. Emmanuel Macron opened a Gaza aid conference with an appeal for Israel to protect civilians as it fights Hamas, saying “all lives have equal worth” and that fighting terrorism “can never be carried out without rules.” According to the French presidency, more than 50 countries are expected to attend, including a number of European nations, the US, and regional powers like Jordan, Egypt, and…

New York: One of Pablo Picasso’s masterpieces, ‘Woman with a Watch,’ has sold for $139.3 million at a Sotheby’s auction in New York, the second-highest price ever achieved for the artist. The 1932 painting depicts one of the Spanish artist’s companions and muses, the French painter Marie-Therese Walter. According to Sotheby’s, the painting was valued at over $120 million before it was put up for auction. The painting is part of Sotheby’s special sale this week of the collection of the wealthy New York patron of the arts Emily Fisher Landau, who died this year at the age of 102.…

Beijing: China has stated that climate talks with the United States have resulted in positive. This comes after the world’s two largest greenhouse gas emitters met ahead of the COP28 summit in Dubai. Beijing’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment pointed out that the two sides had “engaged in a comprehensive, in-depth exchange of views and achieved positive results on developing bilateral climate change cooperation and action”. The ministry also added that Beijing and Washington agreed to “jointly push for the success of the COP28 conference.” China, the largest emitter of greenhouse gases globally, has pledged to peak emissions of carbon…