Author: News Desk

Belgium: The EU counties’ climate ministers have approved the bloc’s negotiating position for this year’s UN COP28 climate summit to phase out CO2-emitting fossil fuels. During the November COP28 UN climate discussions, the EU will urge to eliminate the immediate subsidies for fossil fuels which do not serve to combat energy poverty or ensure a a fair transition. However, they won’t specify a deadline, disappointing NGOs who had hoped for one. “Council stresses that the transition to a climate-neutral economy will require a global phase-out of unabated fossil fuels and a peak in their consumption in this decade”, said a statement released…

India: The Supreme Court of India has rejected an appeal for legal recognition of same-sex marriages. The country’s top court noted that it is beyond its scope and should be decided by parliament, and it ruled that gay couples would be allowed to adopt children. The marriage ruling was widely analysed as a disappointment for the LGBTQ+ community in India, which had hoped for recognition of their marriage equality rights. In 2018, the Supreme Court scrapped a colonial-era law banning homosexuality in India. Chief Justice Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud pointed out that it was outside the court’s remit to decide the…

France: The world’s energy watchdog has urged ministers to “open their eyes” to the immediate need to develop new electricity grids to help countries hit climate goals. Mr. Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), has warned that the entire global electricity grid needs to be upgraded by 2040 to hit climate targets and ensure reliable power supplies. According to the IEA, global investment in energy needs to double to more than $600 billion a year by 2030 to hit national climate targets after “over a decade of stagnation at the global level.” Demand for electricity…

London, UK: Researchers have found that the AI chatbot ChatGPT might excel at adhering to treatment guidelines for depression compared to human doctors. The study mentioned that the technology has the potential to enhance decision-making in primary care. The researchers emphasized the necessity for further assessment to identify potential risks or ethical concerns that may arise from the practical use of this technology. In Israel, a team provided brief descriptions of hypothetical patients showing signs of depression to two versions of ChatGPT: 3.5 and 4. They had eight different characters, differing in gender, socioeconomic status, and the severity of depression.…

China: Russian President Mr. Vladimir Putin has landed in Beijing for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Mr. Xi invited his “dear friend” to attend China’s third Belt and Road Initiative forum, which will host leaders from 130 countries. The meeting is expected to focus on the Israel-Hamas war as well as Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. China is one of the first countries Mr. Putin has visited since the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against him in March for illegally deporting children from Ukraine. China is not one of the 123 countries that are…

United States: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has approved the addition of five sports, including cricket and flag football, to the 2028 Los Angeles Games. LA Games organizers also proposed lacrosse, squash, and baseball-softball for inclusion and received approval at an IOC meeting in Mumbai. According to the IOC rules, each host city can request the inclusion of several sports for their edition of the Games. The five sports had already received approval from the powerful IOC Executive Board, with the session confirming its recommendation. All five sports were voted in as a single package, with two “no” votes from…

United States: Artificial intelligence (AI) has independently discovered a supernova without human involvement. A group of scientists from around the world created a new AI tool called Bright Transient Survey Bot (BTSbot). They used over 1.4 million images from almost 16,000 sources to teach their machine-learning algorithm. According to Northwestern University, the new system automates the whole process of discovering exploding stars. This not only removes mistakes made by humans but also significantly speeds up the process, as per the statement. “Ultimately, removing humans from the loop provides more time for the research team to analyze their observations and develop…

United Kingdom: A news study has found that ultra-heavy SUVs are more harmful to the environment than conventional-engineered cars bought in 2013 since they have lower carbon emissions. The study by the climate campaign group Possible noted that there is a strong connection between income and owning a large SUV. Data on vehicle ownership in England showed that households belonging to the top 20 percent of income are 81 percent more likely to own a highly emitting car than vehicle owners in the other 80 percent. The top 20 percent income group covers three times the annual mileage of those…

Indonesia: Indonesia’s Constitutional Court has ruled the minimum age for presidential and vice presidential candidates. It is blocking the chance for President Mr. Joko Widodo’s eldest son to run for vice president next year. Chief Justice Mr. Anwar Usman, the president’s brother-in-law, led a panel of nine judges who rejected the petition to lower the minimum age to 35 years from 40. The judges stated that setting the age limit is the responsibility of lawmakers, and the petition lacked “reasoning according to law.” The president cannot run for the next presidential and parliamentary elections as he has already served the…

Ecuador: Mr. Daniel Noboa is set to become Ecuador’s youngest President with a margin of around five points over his opponent Ms. Luisa González. With 90 percent of votes counted, Ecuador’s electoral council stated that Mr. Noboa had 52.29 percent of the vote, against 47.71 percent for the leftist lawyer Ms. González. Ms. González, the hand-picked candidate of former President Mr. Rafael Correa, accepted her defeat and promised her support for the new President. “Today we have made history. Ecuadorian families chose the new Ecuador; they chose a country with security and employment,” Mr. Noboa said in a message on…