Author: News Desk

Poland: The Polish Sports and Tourism Minister Mr. Kamil Bortniczuk has stated that “up to 40 countries could boycott the next Olympic Games, making the whole event pointless.” Mr. Bortniczuk’s comments came after Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia jointly rejected an International Olympic Committee (IOC) plan to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete in 2024. Ukraine has threatened to boycott the Paris Olympics if that occurs. However, the IOC remarked that any boycott would only “punish athletes.” Mr. Bortniczuk remarked that he believed it would be possible to build a coalition of 40 countries, including Great Britain, the United States,…

Portugal: Guinness World Records has officially named a 30-year-old Portuguese dog as the world’s oldest dog, breaking a record that had stood for a century. Bobi is a purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo, a breed with a 12- to 14-year lifespan on average. Australia’s Bluey, who passed away in 1939 at the age of 29 years and 5 months, was the previous oldest dog ever. Bobi was 30 years and 226 days old as of 1st February 2023 and is said to be in good health for his age. According to Guinness World Records, his ripe old age has been confirmed…

Russia: The Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that “history was repeating itself,” citing Germany’s decision to send tanks to Ukraine. In a speech to mark the 80th anniversary of the conclusion of the Battle of Stalingrad, the Russian President compared Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to the fight against Nazi Germany. “It’s unbelievable but true. We are again being threatened by German Leopard tanks,” Mr. Putin stated in the speech. Germany is one of the countries helping Ukraine defend its territory from Russia. “Those who hope to defeat Russia on the battlefield do not understand, it seems, that a modern…

United States: ChatGPT, a well-known artificial intelligence chatbot, has amassed 100 million users, just two months after its launch. According to an analysis by data firm Similarweb, it received 590 million visits from 100 million unique visitors in January 2023. The rate of growth, as per analysts at the investment firm UBS, was unheard of for a consumer app. According to data from app analysis firm Sensor Tower Compared to Instagram, TikTok took more than two years to achieve 100 million users following its global launch. In response to text prompts, ChatGPT can produce articles, essays, jokes, poetry, and job…

Brazil: A Brazilian senator has claimed that a close ally of former President Jair Bolsonaro persuaded him to join a conspiracy aimed at overturning the far-right leader’s electoral loss in 2022. Senator Mr. Marcos do Val stated that he was invited to a meeting on December 9 with the then president by a fellow member of Congress, Mr. Daniel Silveira, to discuss a plan to “save Brazil.” At the meeting, Mr. Silveira allegedly asked Mr. Do Val to try to persuade the country’s highest electoral authority, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, to make compromising comments in a taped telephone…

Saudi Arabia: The 2023 Women’s World Cup co-hosts New Zealand and Australia stated that they “urgently” want clarification from FIFA on rumours that Saudi Arabia’s tourism board will sponsor the event. Visit Saudi is in line to be one of the sponsors of the 32-team football competition starting on July 20 in New Zealand and Australia. Despite the Gulf kingdom’s dismal history with women’s rights, the sponsorship agreement appears to be moving forward. Football Australia and New Zealand Football officials claimed they were unaware of the proposed agreement and that they “have jointly written to FIFA to urgently clarify the…

United States: The United States has announced the re-opening of the country’s embassy in the Solomon Islands, 30 years after it was closed. The US Secretary of State Mr. Antony Blinken stated that the embassy opened its doors in Honiara on January 27, less than a year after Washington announced the plan. “The opening of the embassy symbolises a renewal of our relationship and underlines the strength of our commitment to our bilateral relations, the people of the Solomon Islands, and our partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region,” Mr. Blinken remarked in the statement. The US closed its embassy in Honiara…

Philippines: The US and the Philippines struck a deal that will provide US soldiers access to four more bases in the country of Southeast Asia in an effort to offset China’s military advancement. US Defense Secretary Mr. Lloyd Austin’s visit led to the decision to increase cooperation in “strategic areas of the country.” It occurs while the nations work to mend relations that have deteriorated recently. Mr. Rodrigo Duterte, the former president of the Philippines, favoured China above the nation’s old colonial master, but Mr. Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s new administration is eager to change that. Beijing’s escalating aggression toward Taiwan…

Australia: The Reserve Bank of Australia has announced that the country’s new $5 banknote will feature a new design that honours “the culture and history of the First Australians” instead of Britain’s King Charles III. According to RBA, the decision to replace the portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II with the new design was made after consulting with the Australian government. Australia’s opposition leader, Mr. Peter Dutton, criticised the government’s decision by stating that “the Prime Minister, Mr. Anthony Albanese, would “have been central” to not placing King Charles on the note and should “own” the decision.” “I think…

New Delhi, India: The troubled Indian conglomerate Adani Group has cancelled a highly anticipated share offer amid an intensifying crisis brought on by fraud allegations that have destroyed more than $90 billion in value from the power-to-ports enterprise and increased the likelihood of forced asset sales. As banks analyse their exposure, the continuous selling has also raised concerns about ‘how Adani’, which manages Australia’s contentious Carmichael coalmine and rail project in Queensland, would fulfil its loan obligations. The Indian business sought to allay concerns by concluding a $2.5 billion share sale intended, in part, to pay off debt, one week…