Author: News Desk

United States: Apple has officially unveiled a much-anticipated augmented reality headset priced at $3,499, the Apple Vision Pro, in its first major hardware launch for almost a decade. “With Vision Pro, you’re no longer limited by a display. Your surroundings become an infinite canvas. Vision Pro blends digital content into the space around us. It will introduce us to spatial computing,” Apple’s chief executive, Tim Cook, stated. The headset allows users to interact with “apps and experiences”, as Apple vice president of human interface design Mr. Alan Dye said, in an augmented reality (AR) version of their own surroundings or…

United States: Former Vice President Mr. Mike Pence has officially declared his intention to run for the Republican nomination in the upcoming 2024 presidential race. With this announcement, Pence positions himself as a direct contender against his former boss, former President Mr. Donald Trump, who currently leads the Republican field. On 5th June 2023, Mr. Pence’s campaign filed a declaration of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission, and the 63-year-old is expected to kick off his campaign on 7th June 2023 in Iowa, an early nominating state. Mr. Pence, known for his staunch social conservatism and evangelical Christian beliefs, has…

Brazil: The administration of Brazilian President Mr. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has announced its plan to eliminate deforestation by 2030 as part of an international pledge to protect the environment. Mr. Lula and his Environment Minister Ms. Marina Silva unveiled the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Amazon, touting it as the latest step in their aggressive platform to combat climate change. “Brazil has resumed its leading role in tackling climate change after four years in which the environment was treated as an obstacle to the immediate profit of a privileged minority. But rich…

United States: Hundreds of women gathered in a sit-in outside the Colorado State Capitol on 5th June 2023, demanding that the state’s Democratic governor, Mr. Jared Polis, enact a total ban on guns. However, the governor’s office promptly responded, stating that such a ban would be unconstitutional. The protest, organized by Ms. Tina Strawn and Ms. Saira Rao, anti-racism activists and founders of Here 4 the Kids, aimed to challenge America’s gun rights culture, which they argue is rooted in white supremacy. The protest, which attracted an estimated 1,000 participants, including out-of-state protesters, received prior support from Hollywood actors such…

Honduras: Honduran President Ms. Xiomara Castro’s administration has revealed that she will travel to China later this week as the Latin American country seeks to establish stronger ties with Beijing. “At the invitation of President Mr. Xi Jinping, I will visit on a special mission with [Foreign Minister Mr. Enrique Reina] the People’s Republic of China between June 9 and 13. The refoundation of Honduras demands new political, scientific, technical, commercial, and cultural horizons,” Ms. Castro posted on Twitter. The trip signifies China’s growing influence in Central America, where countries such as Honduras have sought to balance relations with the…

India: India and the United States have concluded a roadmap for defence industry cooperation for the next few years, a move expected to bolster New Delhi’s defence manufacturing ambitions. Washington is working to deepen ties with the world’s largest arms importer and sees deeper military-to-military and technology ties with the South Asian country as a key counterweight to China’s dominance in the region. The roadmap was finalised at a meeting between visiting US Defense Secretary Mr. Lloyd Austin and Indian Defence Minister Mr. Rajnath Singh in New Delhi. The agreement comes weeks before Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi visits…

London, UK: At the annual conference of cancer specialists in Chicago, promising clinical trial data was unveiled, demonstrating that a daily pill can reduce the risk of death by 51 percent in patients with a specific type of lung cancer. The drug, osimertinib (marketed as Tagrisso), developed by pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca, significantly improved survival rates for patients with non-small cell lung cancer who had undergone surgical tumor removal. The clinical trial involved over 680 participants from more than 20 countries, all in the early stages of the disease. Half of the patients were administered osimertinib, while the other half received…

London, UK: Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, is set to take the witness stand at London’s High Court in a trial involving Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN). The trial focuses on allegations of unlawful information gathering, including phone hacking, by the publisher. Prince Harry, along with other high-profile individuals, has accused MGN of engaging in illegal activities at its newspaper titles and is seeking damages. This lawsuit is one of several legal actions initiated by the Prince against British newspaper groups since his withdrawal from royal duties in early 2020 and his relocation to the United States. The MGN trial…

Kenya: A new study by Oxfam suggests that wealthy nations are undermining efforts to protect poor and vulnerable countries from the impacts of the climate crisis. Instead of providing grants, rich countries are offering loans, diverting funds from other aid projects, or mislabeling cash. In 2020, only $11.5 billion of climate finance from rich countries was dedicated to helping poor nations adapt to extreme weather, despite the increasing occurrence of climate-related disasters. Oxfam’s international climate change policy lead, Ms. Nafkote Dabi, criticised this amount as inadequate considering the magnitude of the problem. The promised $100 billion a year in climate…

Saudi Arabia: The leading member of the OPEC+ alliance, Saudi Arabia, has declared its intention to decrease its oil exports by one million barrels per day (bpd). The move comes as the alliance faces dwindling oil prices and the looming threat of a supply glut. In an effort to stabilize crude oil costs, the kingdom revealed plans on 4th June 2023 to implement these production cuts starting in July 2023. This decision follows two previous attempts by OPEC+ members to boost prices through production cuts, which proved ineffective. The alliance, comprised of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)…