Author: News Desk

Japan: Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has won key local elections in the first big electoral test for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The electoral win was considered significant to the LDP after damaging revelations emerged about the party’s ties to the Unification Church. LDP candidates triumphed in governor elections in prefectures from Hokkaido in the country’s north to Oita in the south-west. The elections further witnessed Nippon Ishin no Kai (the Japan Innovation Party) extend its influence outside its home turf of Osaka as the rightwing populists tried to establish themselves as a national political force. The LDP has…

Ukraine: Ukrainian President Mr. Volodymyr Zelenskyy has condemned Russian air strikes that were held during the Orthodox Church’s observance of Palm Sunday, including an attack that killed a 50-year-old man and his 11-year-old daughter. “This is how the terrorist state marks Palm Sunday. This is how Russia places itself in even greater isolation from the world,” the Ukrainian President stated in his nightly video address. According to the Ukrainian emergency services, the man and his daughter were killed after Russian forces struck a residential building in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia. A woman who seemed like the wife and mother…

India: A latest census report released by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has found that the country’s tiger population reached 3,167 in 2022. According to the new census data, from 2006 to 2018, the tiger numbers almost doubled to 2,967 and are now above 3,000 in the nation that is home to 70 percent of the world’s tigers. “This is a success not only for India but for the entire world. India is a country where protecting nature is part of our culture,” Mr. Modi stated at a meeting in Mysuru, in the southern state of Karnataka, where he released…

United States: A new report from the US government has stated that the temperature of the world’s ocean surface has hit an all-time high since satellite records began, leading to marine heatwaves around the globe. According to the climate scientists, preliminary data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) showed the average temperature at the ocean’s surface has been at 21.1 C since the start of April, beating the previous high of 21 C set in 2016. “The current trajectory looks like it’s headed off the charts, smashing previous records,” Prof. Matthew England, a climate scientist at the University…

China: China has launched military drills around Taiwan, which it called a “stern warning” to the self-ruled island’s government after a meeting between the country’s president and the US House speaker. The move has led to condemnation from Taipei and calls for restraint from Washington, which said it was “monitoring Beijing’s actions closely.” “China will send planes, ships, and personnel into the maritime areas and airspace of the Taiwan Strait, off the northern and southern coasts of the island, and to the island’s east,” Mr. Shi Yin, a People’s Liberation Army spokesperson, stated. Taiwan’s President Ms. Tsai Ing-wen denounced the…

United States: A recent study published in the journal Nature reveals that artificial intelligence (AI) has surpassed the diagnostic accuracy of echocardiogram assessments conducted by sonographers in evaluating cardiac function. The findings demonstrate the potential for AI to enhance medical imaging and diagnosis, providing a significant breakthrough in the field of cardiology. The study shows that AI has demonstrated superior diagnostic accuracy in assessing cardiac function, surpassing assessments made by sonographers using transthoracic echocardiograms. The study examined 3,495 echocardiogram studies, comparing the initial assessments made by AI with those made by sonographers. The results indicated that AI was more precise…

North Korea: According to reports from state media, North Korea has carried out a new test of an underwater attack drone capable of carrying nuclear weapons. This latest development has raised serious concerns among the global community, as it demonstrates North Korea’s increasing military prowess and potential threat to regional security. After revealing its new underwater drone system named Haeil-1, meaning “tsunami” in Korea, designed for clandestine attacks in enemy waters, North Korea has reportedly tested another similar system known as Haeil-2. The recent test was conducted over a week after the Haeil-1 disclosure, and the drone is believed to…

Texas, US: A federal judge in Texas, who was appointed by former US President Mr. Donald Trump, has issued an order to suspend the longstanding approval of Mifepristone, a commonly used abortion medication. Later a judge selected by Mr. Obama in Washington state issued a conflicting decision, directing that the medication’s availability be maintained in 17 states. The pill has been approved for more than two decades and is utilized in the majority of abortion procedures. The conflicting court rulings increase the probability of the matter being escalated to the United States Supreme Court. Judge Mr. Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo,…

Singapore: A new study on the effect of PFAS on female fertility has found that women with higher levels of so-called “forever chemicals” in their blood have a 40 percent lower chance of becoming pregnant within a year of trying to conceive. PFAS are a group of chemicals that are water- and oil-resistant and are used in a vast array of products, from non-stick cookware and food containers to clothing and furnishings. They are often called forever chemicals because they are very slow to break down in the environment and are now widely found in water and soil. They have…

United States: The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has called on China to be more transparent in sharing information regarding the origin of the COVID-19 virus. Speaking at a recent media briefing, Dr. Tedros emphasized that all possible scenarios would be considered until China provides the necessary data to investigate the matter thoroughly. Dr. Tedros, stated that the organization had requested China’s collaboration to aid in investigating the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Without full access to the information that China has, you cannot say this or that,” remarked Dr. Tedros Adhanom, in response…