Author: News Desk

Turkey: A United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) official has stated that the damage caused by the February 2023 devastating earthquakes in Turkey will exceed $100 billion. “It’s clear from the calculations being done to date that the damage figure presented by the government and supported by international partners would be in excess of $100 billion,” the UNDP official Ms. Louisa Vinton shared from Gaziantep, a Turkish city that suffered severe damage in the quakes. According to Ms. Vinton, the provisional damage figure covers only Turkey and is being used as a basis for a donor conference on March 16, 2023,…

Japan: The second attempt by Japan to launch its next-generation H3 rocket was unsuccessful after liftoff, putting the nation’s space and national security programmes in jeopardy. The medium-lift rocket’s second-stage engine failed to ignite just moments after takeoff, according to the Japanese space agency (JAXA), which said it gave the go-ahead for the rocket to self-destruct on 7th March 2023. The H3’s failure, which came three weeks after a launch that was scrubbed due to a different issue, was a setback for Japan’s space programme, presumably for its missile detection program, and a letdown for space enthusiasts who were hoping…

Sri Lanka: According to Sri Lanka’s president, the IMF will provide its final approval for the island nation’s $2.9 billion loan in the third or fourth week of this month. Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe informed the legislature that all funding needs had been satisfied thanks to China’s renewed support. The 22 million-person South Asian country is experiencing its biggest economic crisis since gaining independence from Britain in 1948. Last April, it stopped making payments on its $46 billion foreign debt, leading to months of nationwide food and fuel shortages. The IMF agreement was essential so that other creditors could start releasing money,…

North Korea: North Korea has declared that any move to intercept and shoot down its test missiles would be considered “a declaration of war.” According to a South Korean media report cited in Ms. Kim Yo Jong’s statement, the United States planned to shoot down Mr. Pyongyang’s intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) if the weapons were test-launched towards the Pacific Ocean. Ms. Kim Yo Jong is the powerful sister of North Korean leader Mr. Kim Jong Un. North Korean ballistic missiles, which are normally launched at steep angles to avoid neighbouring nations, have never been shot down by the US or…

Somalia: The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations stated in the context of the recently released food security survey findings that reversing the alarming trend requires transformative actions to sustainably improve food and water security, reduce people’s vulnerability to shocks and stresses, and improve their adaptation to climate change. While humanitarian assistance has prevented worse outcomes and staved off famine in parts of Somalia thus far, millions of rural Somali people continue to face unprecedented challenges to their food security. Somalia has been on the brink of famine in recent months due to the unprecedented drought triggered…

United Kingdm: A group of world-leading experts has warned that the next generation of advanced genetic therapies raises serious medical and ethical issues that must be addressed to ensure the game-changing technology benefits patients and society. Medicines based on powerful gene editing tools will begin to transform the treatment of blood disorders, conditions affecting the heart, eyes, and muscles, and potentially even neurodegenerative diseases before the end of the decade. However, the cost will put them out of the reach of many patients. According to researchers, trials of gene editing in embryos will probably follow, and while the procedure has…

United States: US Senator Mr. Mark Warner announced that the US would be submitting bipartisan legislation this week to allow the government to “ban or prohibit” foreign technology products like TikTok, which is owned by China. Mr. Warner stated that he and Senator Mr. John Thune will introduce the bill, continuing “I’ve got a broad Bipartisan bill that I’m launching with my friend John Thune will be the Republican lead where we’re going to say, in terms of foreign technology coming into America, we’ve got to have a systemic approach to make sure that we can ban or prohibit it when necessary.”…

Estonia: The Reform Party of Estonian Prime Minister Ms. Kaja Kallas, one of Europe’s most outspoken supporters of Ukraine, won the election for the European Parliament. With 99 percent of ballots counted, Kallas’ liberal group was at 31.6 percent, followed by the far-right eurosceptic EKRE party at 16.1 percent. The Centre Party, traditionally favoured by Estonia’s sizable ethnic-Russian minority, was at 14.7 percent. “This result, which is not final yet, will give us a strong mandate to put together a good government,” the 45-year-old Ms. Kallas shared while addressing her party colleagues and jubilant supporters at a hotel in the…

South Korea: The government of South Korea has unveiled a plan to settle a long-running issue on compensation for those who were made to work in Japanese mines and factories during World War II. In response to North Korea’s expanding nuclear and missile programs, South Korean President Mr. Yoon Suk-yeol announced a plan that was immediately received with outrage in South Korea but was praised as “historic” by the United States. A lawyer for numerous victims, Mr. Lim Jae-sung, claimed in a Facebook post that the agreement was “a complete victory for Japan, which has said it cannot pay a…

United Kingdom: A new law has been proposed in the United Kingdom to remove channel migrants, ban their future re-entry, and prevent them from applying for British citizenship. The proposed measures will be applied to anyone arriving on UK shores in a small boat. The Refugee Council criticised the plans and remarked that thousands of people will be left “permanently in limbo” as a result. The new legislation will require the home secretary to remove anyone arriving on a small boat to Rwanda or a “safe” third country “as soon as reasonably practicable” and ban them from returning permanently. The…