Author: News Desk

Papua New Guinea: The United States Defence Secretary has stated that Washington was not seeking a permanent base in Papua New Guinea (PNG) while announcing the deployment of a US Coast Guard ship to the Pacific nation. Mr. Lloyd Austin made the comments during a trip to Port Moresby, PNG’s capital. Mr. Austin’s visit makes him the first Pentagon boss to visit the nation and coincides with the US’s efforts to strengthen its military presence in the area, driven by intense competition with China. In May, PNG and the US entered into a defence cooperation agreement that establishes a framework…

North Korea: The leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Mr. Kim Jong Un, has shown off the country’s latest weapons to the Russian Defence Minister, Mr. Sergei Shoigu. This was Mr. Shoigu’s first meeting with a foreign dignitary since the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Kim and Mr. Shoigu have discussed “matters of mutual concern” that link to defence and regional security and viewed an exhibition of weapons, including ballistic missiles. The weapons on display included the Hwasong intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). It is believed to be the country’s first ICBM to use solid propellants, which makes it quicker…

United States: According to a new study, a vital system of ocean currents could collapse in decades, causing catastrophic sea-level rise and extreme weather across the earth. The study was published in the journal Nature. The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), of which the Gulf Stream is a part, is a major element of the global thermohaline circulation in the oceans. It is the zonally integrated component of surface and deep currents in the Atlantic Ocean. The ocean currents transport heat northward across the North Atlantic, where the water cools, becomes saltier, and sinks deep into the ocean before spreading…

United States: United States President Mr. Joe Biden has ordered his administration to share evidence of alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine with the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC). Mr. Dick Durbin, the Democratic chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Mr. Lindsey Graham, the Republican ranking member of the panel, lauded the decision by President Mr. Joe Biden’s administration. “After pressing the administration for months, we are pleased that the administration is finally supporting the ICC’s investigation,” Mr. Durbin and Mr. Graham said in a statement. “We will continue to work in the Senate to ensure those responsible for…

Greece: The European Union watchdog Ms. Emily O’Reilly has announced a probe into the bloc’s border patrol agency, Frontex, due to its actions during a deadly shipwreck off Greece. “The investigation is aimed at clarifying Frontex’s role in search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea following the drowning of hundreds of people off the coast of Greece on June 14,” Ombudsman Ms. O’Reilly noted in a statement. The independent probe by the European Ombudsman will into suspected cases of poor administration by EU bodies. It adds to two investigations Greece says it has started, including a criminal one into…

United States: US artificial intelligence leaders, including OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, and Anthropic, are launching a Forum. It aims to focus on “frontier AI models” that exceed the capabilities present in the most advanced existing models, minimise AI risks, and support industry standards. The models are highly capable of taking AI to the next level and could have dangerous capabilities that pose severe risks to public safety. The companies are committed to exchanging best practices among themselves, lawmakers, and researchers. Generative AI models, like ChatGPT, project large amounts of data at high speed to share responses in the form of texts,…

Cambodia: Mr. Hun Sen, a Cambodian politician and former military commander who has been the prime minister of the country for 38 years, has said he will resign and hand over the power to his son next month. This announcement came after Mr. Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party again won all seats in a recent election. Mr. Hun Manet, the eldest son of Mr. Sen, will reportedly be the next Cambodian Prime Minister. Mr. Manet was the commander of the Royal Cambodian Army. The commander also won a seat representing the capital, Phnom Penh, in the election. The Cambodian politician stated…

United States: A new study has stated that children with allergic conditions, such as eczema and hay fever, may be prone to developing other allergic conditions in the future. The study, published in the journal Paediatrics, analysed the electronic medical records of nearly 220,000 children in the US who were screened between 1999 and 2020. The results provide evidence for a recognised trend called the allergic march, a natural progression of allergy-related diseases from infancy through childhood, at the largest scale yet. “If a child is diagnosed with one form of allergy, their likelihood of developing a second form is…

London, UK: A new study suggests that doing planks and wall squats is the best way to reduce blood pressure. The study was conducted by researchers from Canterbury Christ Church and Leicester universities. The researchers have compared the efficacy of different forms of exercise in reducing blood pressure. The study involved 16,000 people, and they found that all exercises, including those involving muscle engagement without significant movement, such as wall sits and planks, lowered high blood pressure. Wall squats and planking resulted in greater reductions in blood pressure compared to aerobic exercises. These isometric exercises are specifically designed to enhance…

Tonga: Mr. Antony Blinken, the United States secretary of state, has promised to support Pacific nations and reiterated a warning regarding the risks posed by “predatory” Chinese investments as he dedicated a new embassy in the island nation of Tonga. Mr. Blinken’s visit to Nuku’alofa makes him the first US Secretary of State to pay an official visit to Tonga and comes as part of US efforts to counter China’s growing influence in the region. “We are a Pacific nation. We very much see the future in the Indo-Pacific region,” Mr. Blinken commented while pledging support for projects important to…