Author: News Desk

Russia: The International Criminal Court (ICC) has expressed concern over “threats” from Russia after the issuance of a war crimes arrest warrant for President Mr. Vladimir Putin. Following a threat by former Russian President Mr. Dmitry Medvedev to launch hypersonic missiles against the war crimes court in the Hague, the ICC expressed its concern on 22nd March 2023. It also came after Russia’s top investigative body filed a criminal complaint against the judges who authorised Putin’s arrest order as well as ICC Prosecutor Mr. Karim Khan. The presidency of the ICC’s Assembly of States Parties stated that it “regrets these…

United States: The United States Secretary of State Mr. Antony Blinken has dismissed the deepening ties between China and Russia as a “marriage of convenience.” Mr. Blinken made the comments after Chinese President Mr. Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin were filmed saying warm goodbyes at the end of two days of closely watched meetings in Moscow. “In part as a result of having this very different worldview than we do, they have a marriage of convenience. I am not sure if it’s conviction,” Mr. Blinken told the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The Secretary of State commented…

Columbia: A new report from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has found that violence between armed groups in Colombia leads to widespread displacement and insecurity among civilians. In its annual report on the country’s humanitarian situation, the ICRC noted that even though violence between the Colombian military and armed groups has decreased, more than 180,000 civilians were displaced in 2022 as non-state organisations fought for territories and resources. According to the ICRC report, about 39,000 people were confined to their villages for days or weeks at a time due to the threat of violence. Medical missions were…

London, UK: Former Real Madrid and Arsenal midfielder Mesut Özil has announced his retirement from professional football. Özil, previously regarded as one of the top players in the world at his position, won four FA Cups with Arsenal between 2014 and 2020 in addition to the La Liga title with Real Madrid in 2012. Moreover, he played for Germany in 2010, 2014, and 2018 World Cups and scored 23 goals in 92 games. “I’ve had the privilege to be a professional football player for almost 17 years now and I feel incredible thankful for the opportunity. But in recent weeks…

Canada: A new study by the researchers at a Canadian university has resulted in a breakthrough that they hope will dramatically shorten the lifespan of the thousands of toxic “forever chemicals” that persist in clothing, household items, and the environment. Through the study published in the journal  Chemosphere, scientists at the University of British Columbia announced that they had developed a new silica-based material with the ability to absorb a wider range of harmful chemicals and new tools to break them apart. “This is very exciting because we can target these difficult-to-break chemical bonds and break them for good,” researcher…

Ukraine: Mr. Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, has issued a warning that if the United Kingdom gives Ukraine depleted uranium-tipped armour-piercing tank ammunition, Russia will be “forced to react.” Mr. Putin reacted to reports that Challenger 2 battle tanks and ammunition containing depleted uranium were being transferred to Ukraine as part of a military aid package, according to the UK’s state secretary for defence, Ms. Annabel Goldie. “The United Kingdom… announced not only the supply of tanks to Ukraine but also shells with depleted uranium. If this happens, Russia will be forced to react,” Mr. Putin told reporters after…

United states: A new study has found that cases of a dangerous fungus tripled in the United States over just three years, and more than half of the states have now reported it. According to the study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the COVID-19 pandemic likely drove part of the increase. “Hospital workers were strained by coronavirus patients, and that likely shifted their focus away from disinfecting some other kinds of germs, the researchers at the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), who conducted the study, remarked. The fungus Candida auris is a form of yeast that is…

China: TikTok CEO Mr. Shou Zi Chew will assure senators that the Chinese-owned video app will never share user data with Beijing due to the rising push in the US to outright ban the platform. Mr. Chew will appear before the Energy and Commerce Committee of the US House of Representatives on 23rd March 2023. There, he is likely to face questions over allegations that the Chinese Communist Party might manipulate the app. Last week, the business confirmed rumours that the White House had ordered TikTok to sever relations with its Chinese owners or risk being banned. “TikTok has never…

Uganda: Uganda’s Parliament has passed a controversial anti-LGBTQ+ bill that would make homosexual acts punishable by death, invoking strong opposition from rights campaigners. About 389 legislators voted in favour of the anti-homosexuality bill, which imposes capital and life imprisonment sentences for gay sex and “recruitment, promotion, and funding” of same-sex “activities”. The bill presented by Ms. Robina Rwakoojo, the chairperson for legal and parliamentary affairs, stated that “a person who commits the offence of aggravated homosexuality is liable, on conviction, to suffer death.” Only two MPs from the ruling party, Mr. Fox Odoi-Oywelowo and Mr. Paul Kwizera Bucyana, opposed the…

London, UK: In a report’s foreword, United Nations Secretary-General Mr. Antonio Guterres warned that the world is “blindly travelling a dangerous path” as “unsustainable water use, pollution, and unchecked global warming are draining humanity’s lifeblood.” The report was released hours before the first significant UN meeting on water resources in nearly 50 years. The UN warned in the report released hours before a major summit on the issue was scheduled to start on 22nd March 2023  that water, the “lifeblood” of humanity, is increasingly in danger owing to “vampiric overconsumption and overdevelopment.” The UN Water Conference, which is being co-hosted…