Author: News Desk

Ukraine: The historic centre of Odesa, a port city on the Black Sea in Ukraine, has been added to the list of World Heritage sites by the United Nations Cultural Agency in recognition of “the outstanding universal value of the site and the duty of all humanity to protect it” as the city is in danger of being destroyed. The decision was approved by the 21 member nations of UNESCO’s world heritage committee with six votes in favour, one against, and 14 abstentions. The vote was continuously postponed by Russia, which regularly bombed Odesa and invaded Ukraine in February of…

United States: Facebook parent Meta has announced that the company is reinstating former President Mr. Donald Trump’s personal account after a two-year suspension. “The suspension will end in the coming weeks,”  the social media giant stated. In a statement, Mr. Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, remarked that “the public should be able to hear what their politicians are saying.” “The firm had taken action following Mr. Trump’s praise for people engaged in violence at the Capitol,” the statement remarked. “The suspension was an extraordinary decision taken in extraordinary circumstances,” Mr. Clegg added, while pointing out that a review…

Lausanne, Switzerland: The International Olympic Committee has approved the participation of competitors from Belarus and Russia in the 2024 Paris Games. Following consultations with members, international federations, and National Olympic Committees, the IOC executive board declared in a statement that “no athlete should be prevented from competing just because of their passport.” As long as they fully uphold the Olympic Charter and haven’t actively backed the war in Ukraine, any Russian or Belarusian athlete would be eligible to compete in the Paris Games as “neutral athletes, as is already happening in professional leagues and some professional sports.” The Olympic Council…

California, US: The most popular American pop singer Justin Bieber has sold his music publishing and recording catalogue shares to the Blackstone-backed Hipgnosis Songs Capital for $ 200 million marking the industry’s latest blockbuster rights deal. The 28-year-old singer joins a who’s who of artists who have recently made money off of their catalogues because of the sale, which has been rumoured for weeks. Now Hipgnosis will get compensated each time a song that contains a part of their music is played in public. https://youtu.be/fRh_vgS2dFE The company, a $1 billion venture between the financial giant Blackstone and the British Hipgnosis Song…

United Kingdom: A new study by scientists has found that ants can detect the scent of cancer in urine. According to the findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, the insects could be used as a cost-effective way to identify cancers in patients. Study author Professor Patrizia d’Ettorre, of Sorbonne Paris Nord University, remarked that “ants can be used as bio-detectors to discriminate healthy individuals from tumour-bearing ones. They are easy to train, learn fast, are very efficient, and are not expensive to keep.” The researchers exposed 70 ants belonging to the species known…

North Korea: North Korea has reportedly ordered a five-day lockdown in the capital due to “respiratory disease” in what appears to be the first citywide restrictions since the government declared victory over COVID-19 in August 2022. Residents of Pyongyang have been ordered to stay in their homes from January 25th to 29th 2023 and must submit to multiple temperature checks each day, as per the report. The report stated that while the notice made no mention of COVID, it did list the common cold as one of the illnesses that were currently circulating in the capital. The extent of any…

United States: Mr. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has informed the US jury that he could have taken Tesla private using funds from existing shareholders such as Oracle Corp. co-founder Mr. Larry Ellison, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, or his own fortune. “Funding was absolutely not an issue. It was quite the opposite,” the Tesla CEO stated. Mr. Musk, however, acknowledged he did not have binding agreements with investors, leaving it to the jury to decide if he misled shareholders. A jury of nine will decide whether the CEO artificially inflated the company’s share price by touting the buyout’s prospects.…

United States: Nuclear-powered rockets that may transport astronauts to Mars in an instant have been proposed for testing by NASA. The agency said it has teamed up with the US government’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) to showcase a nuclear thermal rocket engine in space as early as 2027. The project aims to create an innovative propulsion system for space travel that is very different from the chemical systems that have been used since the commencement of the modern era of rocketry approximately a century ago. As part of its Moon to Mars mission, NASA plans to set foot…

New Zealand: Mr. Chris Hipkins has been sworn in as the 41st Prime Minister of New Zealand by the country’s governor general during a ceremony in the capital, Wellington. “This is the biggest privilege and responsibility of my life. I’m energised and excited by the challenges ahead,” Mr. Hipkins shared after taking the oath of office. The New Zealand Governor-General Ms. Cindy Kiro officiated the brief swearing in ceremony in front of his friends and colleagues. Ms. Carmel Sepuloni was also sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister, making it the first time a person with Pacific Island heritage took on…

Australia: Carp are being swept out to sea by waters from last year’s floods in Australia’s southeast, but the salinity of the water is killing the invasive species, and now dead fish are showing up on South Australian beaches. Pictures from Middleton, Port Elliot, and Goolwa depict groups of young carp strewn across the coastlines of these well-known summer vacation destinations. It is typical for carp to spawn at this time of year, according to the state’s Department of Primary Industries and Regions’ lead biosecurity officer for weeds and pests, but the strong flows are flushing them out of the freshwater…