Author: News Desk

United States: United States President Mr. Joe Biden has finalised an agreement with House Speaker Mr. Kevin McCarthy to raise the debt ceiling over two years until January 1, 2025, saying the deal is ready to move to Congress for a vote. The Democratic president and Republican speaker spoke as negotiators rushed to draft and post the bill’s text to enable lawmakers to review compromises that are unlikely to be popular with progressive Democrats or hard-right Republicans. The two leaders hope they can secure sufficient votes before the June 5 deadline to avert a first-ever default by the federal government.…

China: A new report has stated that China’s justice system has faced scrutiny due to its lack of transparency, the increasing number of prosecutions, and protests against court rulings. According to data released by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) in March 2023, Chinese courts prosecuted 8.3 million individuals between 2017 and 2022, marking a 12 percent increase compared to the previous period. Additionally, there was an almost 20% rise in protests against court rulings during the same timeframe. Mr. Zhang Jun, the outgoing director of the SPP, highlighted that prosecutions for violent crimes decreased by 31.7 percent, while internet-based crimes…

Australia: In a developing scandal surrounding the disclosure of sensitive government tax plans, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Australia has instructed nine partners to step aside while an internal investigation takes place. The investigation aims to shed light on the leak of confidential information. Alongside the partners, the chairs of PwC’s governance board and risk committee have announced their resignation. PwC is implementing measures to separate its services to government agencies and intends to appoint independent directors to its governance board. The company also plans to release the findings of a previously announced review of its corporate culture. Australian police have initiated a…

Tukey: Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has extended his rule for two decades by emerging victorious in an unprecedented presidential runoff election against his opponent Mr. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. Turkey’s supreme election authority announced that Mr. Erdoğan had won 52.14 percent of the votes, while Kılıçdaroğlu received 47.86 percent. “Look at this scene. It’s magnificent. We have completed the second round of the presidential elections with the favour of our nation,” Mr. Erdogan commented on his victory. “Elections come and go, the flood goes away but the sand remains. The main thing is that our country does not deviate from its goals,…

Ukraine: Ukraine has managed to surpass England in the completion of onshore wind turbines, despite the latter’s government’s pledge to ease restrictions on wind farms. This revelation comes in the wake of Russia’s occupation of Ukraine, which began in February 2022. Since the invasion, England has only managed to install a meagre two onshore wind turbines, generating a mere 1 megawatt (MW) of electricity in the village of Keele in Staffordshire. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Tyligulska wind power plant, located just 60 miles away from the conflict’s frontline in the southern region of Mykolaiv, has commenced operations, producing enough clean electricity to…

United States: The Texas House of Representatives has made the decision to impeach Attorney General Mr. Ken Paxton, a prominent conservative figure and a close ally of former President Mr. Donald Trump. Mr. Paxton, who is accused by fellow Republicans of misusing his position, faced a historic impeachment process. After extensive debates and speeches from both supporters and opponents of impeachment, the House voted 121-23 in favour of impeachment. During the vote, two members were present but abstained, while three were absent. As a result of the impeachment, Mr. Paxton will be temporarily removed from his role as Attorney General…

United States: The White House and Republicans have reached a preliminary agreement to raise the US debt ceiling, preventing a potentially disastrous default. The deal still needs to be approved by a divided US Congress. President Mr. Joe Biden hailed the agreement as a “compromise,” emphasising the importance of finding common ground. House Speaker Mr. Kevin McCarthy highlighted the deal’s “historic reductions in spending,” underscoring its potential impact on fiscal responsibility. The urgency to strike a deal arose after the US Treasury issued a warning that the country would exhaust its funds to meet financial obligations by June 5 if…

Switzerland: In a research study, it has been discovered that recycled and reused food contact plastics serve as carriers for a multitude of hazardous toxins. These plastics accumulate and release dangerous substances such as styrene, benzene, bisphenol, heavy metals, formaldehyde, and phthalates. The study, which analyzed numerous scientific publications on plastic and recycled plastic, aimed to provide a comprehensive review of food contact chemicals in items like food packaging, utensils, plates, and more, shedding light on how these substances contaminate food. This research comes at a time when the global plastic waste crisis is under scrutiny, with the petrochemical industry,…

Ukraine: Ukraine’s Defense Ministry issues a stark warning that Russia intends to stage a simulated catastrophe at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, currently under Russian control. The alleged motive behind this plan is to disrupt Ukraine’s anticipated counteroffensive to reclaim its territories captured by Moscow. Europe’s largest nuclear power station, located in the region of Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine, has become a target of ongoing shelling. The area is currently under Russian occupation, and both sides involved in the conflict continue to accuse each other of initiating these hazardous attacks. With Ukraine’s anticipated counteroffensive drawing near, concerns have escalated over…

London, UK: Mr. Rishi Sunak, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, is urgently revamping the government’s strategy for regulating artificial intelligence (AI). Alarming concerns have surfaced, asserting that the AI industry possesses a dire threat to humanity’s existence, urging nations to adopt a transformative approach towards its development. Amidst industry figures’ warnings that the government’s AI white paper, released a mere two months ago, is already outdated, the Prime Minister and his team are actively exploring methods to enhance the UK’s regulation of state-of-the-art technology. With a sense of urgency, they seek to stay ahead by tightening their grip on…