Author: News Desk

Kazakhstan: American astronaut Donald Roy Pettit (Don Pettit), NASA’s oldest active astronaut, has returned to Earth on his 70th birthday after completing a 220-day mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Pettit arrived alongside Russian crewmates Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner aboard the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft, which made a parachute-assisted landing in Kazakhstan’s steppe at 06:20 local time (01:20 GMT) on Sunday, 20th of April. According to NASA, the trio orbited the Earth 3,520 times during the mission. This marks Pettit’s fourth spaceflight and brings his total time spent in space to 590 days. While Pettit is now the oldest…

Tunis: A court in Tunisia has sentenced 40 senior politicians, lawyers, and business figures, many in absentia to long prison terms on charges of conspiracy against state security and belonging to a terrorist group. The trial has drawn international concern, with human rights groups describing it as an attempt to suppress political dissent. Among those sentenced are key leaders of the National Salvation Front, the country’s main opposition coalition, including Professor Issam Chebbi and Jawhar Ben Mbarek, who received 18-year sentences. Businessman and activist Kamel Eltaief was handed the harshest penalty, 66 years in prison. Many defendants had fled Tunisia…

Washington DC: US President Donald Trump’s White House has launched a new COVID-19 website, as part of a broader effort to revisit the pandemic’s handling. The website blames the origin of the coronavirus on a laboratory leak in China and delivers pointed criticism at Democratic former President Joe Biden, former top US health official Dr. Anthony Fauci, and the World Health Organization (WHO). The site also expresses opposition to key public health policies implemented during the pandemic, denouncing measures such as social distancing, mask mandates, and lockdowns. Trump, who took office in January, initiated a 12-month process to withdraw the…

Kyiv, Ukraine:  Ukraine’s government has signed a Memorandum of Intent with the United States, outlining potential minerals deal that could pave the way for deeper economic cooperation and post-war reconstruction support. The announcement was made by Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, who described the agreement as a precursor to an Economic Partnership Agreement. The proposed deal would include the creation of an investment fund aimed at rebuilding Ukraine’s infrastructure and economy. Svyrydenko shared the news with a post on X, accompanied by photos showing her and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signing the document separately. Svyrydenko wrote that, “We are…

Weymouth, UK: SeaCURE, a groundbreaking pilot project to capture carbon from seawater, has begun operating on England’s south coast. Funded by the UK government, the initiative is part of broader efforts to explore innovative technologies to combat climate change. While reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the priority for scientists, many agree that capturing some of the gases already released is crucial. SeaCURE aims to test the efficiency of removing carbon from seawater, where concentrations are much higher than in the atmosphere. How this works? Located in Weymouth, the facility pulls seawater into the project through a pipe that extends under…

Hong Kong: In response to what it calls ‘unreasonable and bullying’ tariff measures by Washington, Hong Kong Post has suspended its sea mail services for goods bound for the United States and announced plans to halt air mail containing goods starting April 27, 2025. In an official statement, Hong Kong Post warned senders to prepare for ‘exorbitant and unreasonable fees’ when mailing goods to the US and firmly stated that it ‘definitely’ will not collect any such tariffs on behalf of the United States. The suspension affects only parcels containing goods, while regular postal items such as documents, remain unaffected.…

Geneva: WHO Member States have made history in Geneva by reaching consensus on a proposed draft Pandemic Accord, marking a major milestone in global health diplomacy. The agreement, which follows over three years of negotiations and 13 formal rounds of discussion, sets the stage for a coordinated international response to future pandemics. The finalized draft will now be presented for consideration at the World Health Assembly in May, the WHO confirmed. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised the milestone as proof that multilateralism remains effective, stating that countries have shown they can work together to find consensus. Tedros said…

Washington DC: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the witness stand in a landmark antitrust trial at a federal court in Washington DC, defending his company against claims it unfairly dominates the social media market. The case, brought by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2020 during the end of the Trump administration, accuses Meta of monopolistic behavior through its acquisitions of Instagram in 2012 for $1 billion and WhatsApp in 2014 for $19 billion. The FTC argues that Meta made these purchases not to innovate but to neutralize competition, highlighting internal communications in which Zuckerberg admitted concern about how…

Van Horn, Texas: Pop superstar Katy Perry and five other women returned safely to Earth following a successful suborbital spaceflight aboard Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin New Shepard rocket. The mission marked a notable moment for private space travel, featuring an all-female crew that included high-profile figures from entertainment, science, and activism. Joining Perry were Lauren Sánchez, Bezos’s fiancée; Gayle King, CBS presenter; Aisha Bowe, a former NASA rocket scientist; Amanda Nguyen, a civil rights activist; and film producer Kerianne Flynn. The rocket launched from West Texas on 14th April, 2025, at approximately 08:30 local time, and the flight lasted around…

London: In an unprecedented move, an emergency bill aimed at securing the future of British Steel’s Scunthorpe blast furnaces has officially become law. Passed in just one day, the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill grants UK ministers sweeping powers to ensure the plant remains operational. The legislation was rushed through both the House of Commons and the House of Lords during a special sitting, the first such recall from recess in over four decades. It was swiftly granted royal assent by King Charles. The new law empowers the government to intervene directly in the steel industry, allowing ministers to take…