Author: KAVIA M R

Ukraine: Ukrainian President, Mr. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has cancelled a major briefing with US lawmakers due to a standoff over future US funding for the country. The virtual appearances in the Senate and House on Tuesday were cancelled at the last moment. It happened after a senior Ukrainian official issued a warning that if more US military aid is not authorised, they risk losing the war with Russia. The leader of the Senate, Mr. Chuck Schumer, did not explain Mr. Zelenskyy’s absence. Without giving more information, the top Democrat in the chamber claimed that the president of Ukraine was preoccupied with…

United States: A new study has revealed that ChatGPT’s responses to almost 75 percent of drug-related questions were either incomplete or incorrect, and in some cases, they provided inaccurate responses that could put patients in danger. The study was presented at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Midyear Clinical Meeting on December 3–7 in Anaheim, California. The artificial intelligence programme also produced fake citations to support some responses when asked to cite references. “Healthcare professionals and patients should be cautious about using ChatGPT as an authoritative source for medication-related information,” Ms. Sara Grossman, PharmD, Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Long Island…

Tanzania: An official in northern Tanzania has reported that flooding has caused landslides that have resulted in at least 47 deaths and 85 injuries, with warnings that the number could rise. Katesh, which is located about 300 kilometers (186 miles) north of the capital Dodoma, experienced heavy rain on Saturday, according to district commissioner Janeth Mayanja. “Up to this (Sunday) evening, the death toll reached 47 and 85 injured,” Ms. Queen Sendiga, regional commissioner in the Manyara area of northern Tanzania, told local media. Both cautioned that there would probably be more deaths. Many of the area’s roads were obstructed…

South Korea: South Korea has launched its first spy satellite shortly after North Korea announced it had successfully launched its reconnaissance satellite. World’s top billionaire Mr. Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket was used to launch the South Korean spy satellite. According to South Korea’s defence ministry, the country’s satellite, which was launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on a SpaceX rocket bearing the “KOREA” insignia, entered orbit a few minutes after launch and was able to establish contact with ground control at 11:37 AM. The satellite is expected to improve Seoul’s surveillance capacity over nuclear-armed North Korea, which has…

Dubai, UAE: The UK Prime Minister, Mr. Rishi Sunak, has stated that King Charles will give a “call to arms” in his Cop28 climate summit opening statement. “We’ve got our head of state there, delivering a call to arms in the opening statement, which speaks volumes about the respect that he’s got on this issue around the world,” Mr. Sunak said. “We’ve got the head of government there with me, and we’ve got our chief diplomat there and the foreign secretary. There are very few countries that will be able to say what I’ve just said,” the Prime Minister added.…

United Kingdom: Metro Bank, a retail and commercial bank operating in the UK, is planning to cut 20 percent of its workforce to save it from collapse. The bank said that the measures are part of a strategy to save around $63 million a year. It comes following the struggling challenger lender’s announcement of a $37 million cost-cutting plan last month. Ever since its launch, Metro Bank has made an effort to set itself apart from more established lenders by remaining open for longer. However, it also disclosed that it would reduce its hours of operation. It has about 4,000…

North Korea: Mr. Kim Jong Un allegedly received satellite images of the Pentagon and White House, according to Pyongyang’s official media as North Korea’s ambassador made a rare appearance at the UN Security Council to defend his nation’s launch of a spy satellite. North Korea launched the satellite last week, in violation of Security Council resolutions, according to South Korea, Japan, and other Western nations, as per the statement. North Korea’s ambassador to the UN, Mr. Kim Song, decried other nations’ lack of satellite restrictions at the Security Council. “No other nation in the world is in the security environment…

United Kingdom: A new study has found a link between nanoplastics in the brain and a higher risk for Parkinson’s disease. Tiny plastic particles have now been connected to alterations in brain proteins linked to specific forms of dementia, including Parkinson’s disease. Plastics have a concerning impact on our environment and may even harm our health. Researchers from Duke University in the United States led a team that studied the interaction between the protein alpha-synuclein and nanoplastics derived from polystyrene. Parkinson’s patients’ brains have previously been shown to accumulate aberrant forms of this protein. “Parkinson’s disease has been called the…

Australia: The Albanese government will extend the “Investment Scheme”, to boost the new clean power generation and storage capacity. The Australian Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Mr. Chris Bowen, has announced it at the Energy and Climate Change Ministerial Council meeting in Perth. The federal government acknowledged that it is needed to meet its objective of Australia running on 82 percent renewable energy by 2030. The scheme involves the government underwriting new investments in renewable generation and storage through “contract for differences” that shares the risks between investors and taxpayers. The government will underwrite 32 gigawatts of new electricity,…

United States: NASA has recently received messages from a distance of nearly 16 million kilometres, equal to 10 million miles. That’s the first time optical communications have been sent over a distance this great, roughly 40 times farther than the Moon is from Earth. The test is part of NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment, and the successful establishment of the communications link is known as ‘first light.’ The Hale Telescope at Caltech’s Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California, reportedly received the near-infrared laser. It was encoded with test data from nearly 10 million miles away, approximately 40…