Author: News Desk

Philippines: Rescuers in the Philippines are scaling an active volcano to retrieve the wreckage of a tiny plane that crashed over the weekend with four people on board in a “very risky operation.” The Cessna 340 carrying the four people, including two Australians, vanished on Saturday morning after taking off for Manila from Bicol International Airport in the central province of Albay, some distance from Mount Mayon. On board, a reconnaissance aircraft civil aviation inspectors were able to determine that the wreckage of a plane found close to the volcano’s crater was the missing Cessna. If there are any survivors…

Myanmar: The European Union has imposed asset freezes and travel bans on 16 individuals and entities in Myanmar, including the energy minister, businessmen, and high-ranking officers, over “grave” violations of human rights inside the country. The sanctions list also includes Yangon politicians and administrators accused of being involved in the executions of four pro-democracy activists in July 2022, as well as oversaw massacres, air raids, and the use of civilians as human shields during military operations in Myanmar’s northern Kachin state. “Those responsible for the coup, as well as the perpetrators of violence and gross human rights violations, should be…

South Korea: A court in South Korea has recognised the legal status of a gay partner for the first time, ruling that same-sex couples are entitled to the same spousal coverage under the national health insurance service as heterosexual couples. An earlier decision by a lower court in January 2022 dismissed a gay couple’s case after one spouse was informed that he had to make the Seoul High Court overturn separate health insurance payments. A dependant is excused from paying health insurance premiums under South Korean legislation provided their spouse satisfies specific employment requirements. Because the lower court did not…

United States: The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) voiced “deep concern and dismay” over Israel’s settlement activity in a weaker statement that replaced a draught resolution that would have clearly criticised Israeli policy. The UNSC presidential statement, which was unanimously endorsed on Monday by the council’s 15 members, including the United States, also emphasised the “obligation of the Palestinian Authority (PA) to renounce and confront terror.” The symbolic action followed an earlier this month decision by the Israeli government to authorise thousands of settlement units in the occupied West Bank and retroactively legalise settlement outposts that had been erected illegally. “We…

Israel: The Israeli Prime Minister Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu has accused protesters of “trampling democracy,” pledging that his far-right coalition will move ahead with controversial legislation to restrict the power of the judiciary. The legislative changes would probably help the Prime Minister avoid prosecution in his ongoing corruption trial, in which he denies all charges. In a meeting with parliamentary members of his conservative Likud party, Mr. Netanyahu condemned the movement’s leadership for “threatening us with civil war and blood in the streets.” Despite the mass protests, the Prime Minister observed that his government will first plow on the votes slated…

China: Beijing has denied the claims of the United States that China was considering arming Russia in its war against Ukraine, as it called for “peace-loving” nations to act to end the conflict. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mr. Wang Wenbin, commented that the US is in no position to make demands after the country’s top diplomat Mr. Antony Blinken warned Beijing against providing weapons to Russia in the war against Ukraine. “China will never accept the US pointing fingers at Sino-Russian relations or even coercing us. It is the United States and not China, that is endlessly shipping weapons to…

Ukraine: US President Mr. Joe Biden paid a surprise visit to Kyiv and pledged increased arms delivery and unwavering support for Ukraine prior to the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of the nation. Mr. Biden met Ukrainian President Mr. Volodymyr Zelensky during the US president’s first visit to the nation since Russian troops invaded on 24th February 2022, as air raid sirens wailed around the capital. Military police in uniform from Ukraine lined the street outside. While a military salute sounded and the two presidents stared at each other in silence for a little while, Mr. Biden and Zelensky crossed the…

Brazil:  Torrential rain caused flooding and landslides that resulted in at least 36 fatalities and hundreds of displaced people on the southeast coast of Brazil. In the state of Sao Paulo, footage from the town of Sao Sebastiao was broadcast on television and shared on social media. It showed entire neighbourhoods submerged in water, the wreckage of houses on hillsides being carried away by mud, flooded roads, and automobiles being hit by falling trees. The town, which is 200 kilometres (124 miles) north of Sao Paulo and where many residents of the capital spend the long weekend before the Christian…

China: A new report published by the XDI Cross Dependency Initiative has stated that China is home to more than three-quarters of the regions most at risk from climate change, with some of the world’s most important manufacturing centres threatened by extreme weather. According to the report, China’s eastern Jiangsu province ranks as the world’s most climate-vulnerable region, followed by Shandong, Hebei, and Henan. In total, China is home to 16 of the world’s 20 most at-risk regions. “We’re already feeling the significant impacts of weather events around the world, and they will only increase. Finally, we just want to…

United States: The US Secretary of State Mr. Antony Blinken has visited Hatay, one of the provinces worst affected by the February 6 earthquake in southern Turkey and northern Syria, and offered a further $100 million in aid to help the region. The visit came after Turkey ended rescue efforts in all provinces except the two hardest hit by the earthquake that killed tens of thousands of people. The disaster agency’s chief Mr. Yunus Sezer recently commented that “in many of our provinces, search and rescue efforts have been completed. They continue in Kahramanmaras and Hatay provinces.” Earlier, US President…