Author: News Desk

China: China has banned some sales of Micron products after launching a probe into the American memory chip giant for cybersecurity risks in early April. The decision is widely seen as part of the tit-for-tat in the ongoing US-China economic competition, which has started to upend a deeply intertwined global tech supply chain. In 2022, the US added China’s state-backed memory chip maker Yangtze Memory Technologies Corporation to the entity list, barring US companies from supplying it without approval. The US has also restricted Nvidia from exporting H100, its state-of-the-art GPU for generative AI training, to China. The Cyberspace Administration…

United States: In a development highlighting geopolitical dynamics in the Pacific region, the United States is poised to sign a significant security pact with Papua New Guinea on 22nd May 2023. As concerns mount within the country over escalating militarisation, the agreement comes amidst a competitive atmosphere between the US and China for influence in the Pacific. The State Department has announced a forthcoming agreement that will allocate $45 million to enhance security cooperation between the United States and Papua New Guinea (PNG). The agreement encompasses various aspects, including the provision of protective equipment for the PNG defense force, assistance…

United States: In a historic moment for the Arab world, a private rocket successfully launched, carrying the inaugural Arab woman astronaut on a groundbreaking mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Ms. Rayyanah Barnawi, a Saudi breast cancer researcher, and Mr. Ali al-Qarni, a fighter pilot from the same country, embarked on a joint mission. The pair joined a historic space expedition, furthering Saudi Arabia’s presence in space exploration. Marking a significant milestone for Saudi Arabia, Ms. Barnawi and Mr. al-Qarni has become the first Saudi astronauts to embark on a space voyage in decades. Departing from the Kennedy Space…

New Zealand: New Zealand has unveiled its most significant initiative to date to reduce emissions by transitioning from coal to renewable electricity at its major steel plant. This move, considered equivalent to removing 300,000 cars from the road, involves a government investment of $140 million to cut coal usage by half at the Glenbrook steel plant and replace it with an electric-powered furnace for recycling scrap steel. The project’s total cost will be partially covered by the plant’s contribution of $160 million. The steel company currently accounts ftor 2 percen of New Zealand’s overall emissions due to coal-intensive processes used…

Greece: The Greek Prime Minister Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis has stated that his conservative party unleashed a “political earthquake” with a thumping win in the election but hinted that he would seek another election in order to secure an absolute majority that would allow the party to govern alone. With most votes counted, New Democracy party had 40.8 percent of the votes, a 20-point lead over the left-wing Syriza party of Mr. Alexis Tsipras, which had 20.1 percent. Despite holding a significant lead, Greece’s interior ministry projections indicated that New Democracy would fall six seats short of an outright majority in parliament,…

United Kingdom: A new study has suggested that fragments of bacteria, known as endotoxins, leaking from the gut into the body can damage fat cells and contribute to weight gain. These endotoxins are able to enter the bloodstream and directly impact the functioning of fat cells. The study, published in BMC Medicine, sheds light on how endotoxins may drive obesity and related conditions like type 2 diabetes. The researchers from Nottingham Trent University noted that weight loss interventions such as bariatric surgery can reverse the damage caused by gut-derived endotoxins, leading to significant improvements in health. In a healthy gut, endotoxins…

Japan: The Group of Seven has called for “constructive” ties with China, emphasising that their intention is not to impede China’s progress, even while taking aim at Beijing’s rights record and territorial claims. In their communiqué, the G7 leaders struck a balance between seeking cooperation in areas like climate change and pushing back against Beijing’s increasingly assertive posture, which has disrupted long-standing perceptions of global power dynamics. The leaders of the club of wealthy democracies noted that they did not wish to decouple from China but recognised that economic resilience required “de-risking and diversifying.” “Our policy approaches are not designed to…

Sudan: The United States and Saudi Arabia have announced that warring factions in Sudan have agreed to a seven-day ceasefire following talks in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah. The agreement comes as fighting that has killed hundreds and displaced more than a million enters its sixth week. The ceasefire agreement was signed late on May 20. According to the joint statement from the sponsors of the talks, the agreement will take effect at 9:45 PM local time on May 22. Numerous previous ceasefire agreements were violated. However, this agreement will be enforced by a US-Saudi and international-supported monitoring mechanism,…

Russia: Moscow has reportedly issued an arrest warrant for the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor. The prosecutor had previously prepared a warrant for the arrest of Russia’s President Mr. Vladimir Putin on war crimes charges, a move that caught global attention back in March 2023. Mr. Karim Khan, the prosecutor of the war crimes court based in The Hague, has been included in the wanted list by Russia’s Interior Ministry, according to reports from the state-owned TASS news agency. News reports indicate that a photograph of the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor, a citizen of the United Kingdom, was visible…

United States: NASA, the United States federal space agency, has chosen Blue Origin, led by Mr. Jeff Bezos, to develop a human landing system for the upcoming Artemis V mission to the Moon. This selection highlights NASA’s commitment to advancing lunar exploration under the Artemis program, expanding scientific knowledge, and preparing for future manned missions to Mars. Blue Origin’s spacecraft construction contract, valued at approximately $3.4 billion, paves the way for astronauts to journey to and from the lunar surface. Excitement abounds as NASA and Blue Origin join forces in their quest to unlock the mysteries of the Moon and…