Author: News Desk

Ukraine: The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has met with the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to discuss the safety at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station. According to Mr. Zelenskiyy, the facility’s safety could not be guaranteed while it was occupied by Russian forces, as part of what he described as Moscow’s “radiation blackmail.” The President met IAEA Director-General Mr. Rafael Grossi in the city of Zaporizhzhia, which is located in Ukrainian-held territory about 50 kilometres (30 miles) northeast of the nuclear plant. Mr. Zelenskyy told the IAEA Director-General that staff at the Zaporizhzhia plant were under constant pressure from…

Moscow: A proposal from Moscow that demanded an impartial investigation into the disruption of the Nord Stream petrol pipelines from Russia to Germany last year was rejected by the UN Security Council. The Baltic Sea explosions in September 2022 were attributed to Russia by Western nations, but the Kremlin has accused the West of sabotage. The resolution got three votes, with China and Brazil backing Russia and the other 12 members abstaining. The resolution called for the creation of a commission to “conduct comprehensive, transparent and impartial international investigation of all aspects of the act of sabotage on the Nord…

United States: The United States President Mr. Joe Biden has signed an executive order that restricts the government’s use of commercial spyware technology used to target political dissent around the globe. The move comes more than a year after the US administration imposed sanctions on the Israeli spyware manufacturer NSO Group, which has been at the forefront of global discussions of spyware abuse. Its Pegasus software has been accused of allowing the surveillance of hundreds of political figures, journalists, and human rights advocates. “Misuse of these powerful surveillance tools has not been limited to authoritarian regimes,” the White House remarked…

Germany: EU ministers are anticipated to approve a draught regulation on vehicle emissions standards after a weekend agreement with Germany that put an end to a costly spat over an important aspect of Europe’s green initiative. The European Union’s mandate that all new cars sold starting in 2035 must-have zero emissions “will be voted unchanged, including by Germany,” as per Mr. Pascal Canfin, a French moderate MEP who serves as chair of the European Parliament’s environment committee. The compromise reached between Berlin and Brussels over the weekend will permit some combustion engines if they utilise so-called climate-neutral e-fuels. Diplomats are…

Taiwan: The Taiwan President Ms. Tsai Ing-wen has welcomed a large Czech delegation to the island after once-loyal ally Honduras switched allegiance to Beijing. Although the number of countries that retain formal diplomatic ties with Chinese-claimed Taiwan has reduced to just 13 after the move by Honduras, US allies like the Czech Republic have been offering support for the democratic island. The roughly 150-person Czech delegation that arrived in Taipei was led by the speaker of the lower chamber of the Czech parliament, Ms. Marketa Pekarova Adamova. After meeting Ms. Pekarova Adamova at the presidential office, Ms. Tsai noted she…

Thailand: According to the Pollution Control Department, the region’s PM2.5 values for the previous 24 hours ranged from 37 to 550 microgrammes per cubic metre of air. In comparison to most nations, the safe level established by the government is 50. In the north of Thailand, pollution levels are significantly worse. According to a live ranking released by the Swiss air quality business IQAir, Chiang Mai has the worst air pollution in the entire world. Last month, one doctor issued a social media warning against tourists visiting the city due to the haze, which has made it difficult to see…

United States: Twitter claims in a legal lawsuit that parts of its source code have been leaked online. Following its unauthorised posting online earlier this month, Twitter ordered GitHub, an online software development platform, to take down the code, according to a legal document filed in the US state of California. According to a document filed with the US District Court of the Northern District of California, GitHub complied with Twitter’s request to remove the code after the social media platform on March 24 issued a subpoena to identify a user known as “FreeSpeechEnthusiast”. The postings violate the platform’s intellectual…

Italy: A new report has stated that the long-feared “population bomb” may not go off and has estimated that human numbers will peak lower and sooner than previously forecast. The study, commissioned by the Club of Rome, suggested that the world population will reach a high of 8.8 billion before the middle of the century and then decline rapidly. The peak might be reached earlier if countries adopt the required progressive steps to raise average incomes and education levels. According to the report, once the demographic bulge is overcome, pressure on nature and the climate should start to ease, along…

United States: The United States Vice President Ms. Kamala Harris has stated that the country will increase investment in Africa and help in economic growth as she begins a week-long tour of the continent to counter the influence of rivals Russia and China. In recent years, China and Russia have invested heavily in Africa, including in infrastructure and resource development and through the deployment of troops from the private military contractor Wagner Group in several countries. “On this trip, I intend to do work that is focused on increasing investments here on the continent and facilitating economic growth and opportunity,”…

United States: Former US President Donald Trump has held the first rally of his 2024 presidential campaign in Waco, Texas. During the rally, Mr. Trump railed against prosecutors investigating him and accused them of employing “dark and conspiratorial language” to fire up his base ahead of next year’s Republican primary elections. The former President opened the rally by playing a song, “Justice for All,” that features a choir of men imprisoned for their role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the United States Capitol singing the national anthem and a recording of Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. During his…