Author: News Desk

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…

United States: Facebook users and Instagram will soon have to pay to be verified on the social media platforms as Meta follows rival platform Twitter. The service will launch in Australia and New Zealand later this week, according to Mr. Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, who made the announcement in a Facebook post. According to the company, a monthly subscription would cost $11.9 on the web or $14.99 on iOS and Android (or $19.99 on the web or $24.99 on iOS and Android in Australia). According to Mr. Zuckerberg, the service will also provide “extra impersonation protection,” improved reach for verified…

South Korea: The South Korean military has accused North Korea of firing two ballistic missiles off its east coast, as Mr. Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of the North’s leader Mr. Kim Jong-un, warned the nuclear-armed state could turn the Pacific into a “firing range.” The launches came just two days after North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the sea off Japan’s west coast, prompting the United States to hold joint air exercises with South Korea and separately with Japan. Ms. Yo-jong warned against the increased presence of US strategic assets on the Korean peninsula after joint…