Author: News Desk

France: The French Foreign Ministry has announced that plans to evacuate the country’s citizens are underway in the West African state of Niger. The statement comes days after Niger’s President Mr. Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown by members of his presidential guard. “Considering the situation in Niamey, the violence against our embassy, and the fact that the air space is shut and our citizens cannot leave by their own means, France is preparing the evacuation of its citizens and other European citizens who want to leave the country. The evacuation will start today,” the Ministry said in a statement. The ousting…

United Kingdom: A new study has found that half of all children suffered a setback to their emotional and social development during the initial year of the pandemic. Younger siblings were more likely to have been negatively affected compared to their older brothers and sisters. According to the research conducted in the United Kingdom, children from all economic backgrounds in England were affected, though those aged four to seven were significantly more likely to have suffered a deterioration in their skills than 12- to 15-year-olds. The report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) revealed that children whose parents’ employment…

United States: The Twitter headquarters’ recently installed large flashing X sign on its roof was taken down after neighbours complaints. Over the weekend, the building inspectors launched an investigation in response to 24 complaints from concerned individuals regarding the structure atop Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco. The complaints raised significant concerns about the sign’s structural safety and its powerful illumination effects. Officials reported that they were denied access to the roof to inspect the sign, as it appeared that the necessary permits and planning approvals had not been obtained for its installation. This lack of proper documentation raised further questions…

Myanmar: Myanmar has officially postponed the election, which was decided to take place on August 2023. This decision comes after the military extended the state of emergency, which was imposed following the 2021 coup. The military has noted violence as the reason for the election delay in a statement on state television. “In order to have an election that is free and fair and also to be able to vote without any fear, necessary security arrangements are still needed, and so the period for the state of emergency has been extended,” the military stated. The announcement made by the military…

Qatar: Taliban leaders have held a meeting with United States officials in Qatar for the first time since the group regained control of Afghanistan two years ago. A spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that the two sides discussed confidence-building measures during the talks, including the lifting of sanctions and travel bans as well as the return of Afghan central bank assets held abroad. “The delegations also discussed combating narcotics and human rights issues,” Mr. Abdul Qahar Balkhi stated. According to a statement from the US State Department, its officials informed the Taliban that Washington was open…

United States: The American rapper Cardi B was hit by an object from the crowd during a concert when an audience member threw their drink at the rapper. The rapper reacted by throwing her microphone at the crowd. Although the rapper no longer had a microphone, her voice was still heard on speakers during the performance, suggesting she had been lip-syncing, as per the statement. The concert was in Las Vegas, and fans took videos, which went viral on social media. The video shows security staff surrounding the assailant and retrieving the rapper’s microphone. This incident adds to the growing…

Russia: The head of the Wagner mercenary group Mr. Yevgeny Prigozhin has stated that the group will continue its activities in Africa and Belarus and that it is not currently recruiting new fighters. “The group was deciding on its next objectives,” Mr. Prigozhin said in an audio message. Wagner fighters have played a key role during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In June 2023, several thousand of them took part in a short-lived mutiny against Russia’s military leadership. In his audio message, Mr. Prigozhin noted that most Wagner fighters are currently on leave because “before that, there was a long period…

Denmark: Denmark’s Foreign Minister, Mr. Lars Lokke Rasmussen, has said that the Danish government will try to find legal standards that will enable authorities to prevent the burning of copies of the Quran in front of other countries’ embassies in Denmark. “The burnings are deeply offensive and reckless acts committed by few individuals. These few individuals do not represent the values the Danish society is built on,” Mr. Rasmussen stated. “The Danish government will therefore explore the possibility of intervening in special situations where, for instance, other countries, cultures, and religions are being insulted, and where this could have significant…

Australia: The Australian Space Agency has stated that a mysterious object that washed ashore on an Australian beach has been identified as debris from an Indian rocket. The barnacle-encrusted device, which is about the size of a small car, was found in mid-July at Green Head, a town about 250 kilometers north of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. Several people have speculated online that the object might have a military origin or even be linked to the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370. The agency stated that it had concluded the object was “most likely debris from an expended…

Ukraine: The top officials in Kyiv have said that Saudi Arabia will host a Ukrainian-organised peace summit in August 2024 to discuss a negotiation over the Russian war. Mr. Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Mr. Andriy Yermak, stated that officials from several countries would take part in the Saudi Arabian summit but did not say when or in which city the meeting would be held. Mr. Yermak observed discussions will take place on the Ukrainian Peace Formula, which “contains 10 fundamental points, the implementation of which will not only ensure peace for Ukraine, but also create mechanisms to counter future…