Author: News Desk

Greece: Greece’s former ruler Mr. Constantine II, the last king of the country who spent decades in exile, has died at age 82. Mr. Constantine, a cousin of British monarch King Charles III, died “of a stroke.” Recently, the former king was admitted to an hospital in Athens with breathing problems. Mr. Constantine was born on June 2, 1940, in Athens to Princess Frederica of Hanover and Prince Paul, the younger brother of King George II. The older sister of the exiled king, Ms. Sophia, is the wife of former King Juan Carlos I of Spain. Mr. Constantine was also…

Pakistan: Donors at an international conference in Geneva have pledged to give more than $9 billion to help it rebuild following last year’s devastating floods in Pakistan. The country seeks international assistance to cover around half of a total $16.3 billion recovery bill. Prime Minister Mr. Shehbaz Sharif and United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Mr. Antonio Guterres kicked off the one-day conference, attended by officials from nearly 40 other countries as well as private donors and international financial institutions. The unprecedented floods caused by melting glaciers and record monsoon rains last year affected more than 33 million Pakistanis, killing more than 1,700…

Portugal: Roberto Martinez, a former coach of Belgium, has joined the Portugal team as their new coach. The Spaniard promised to meet with star player Cristiano Ronaldo to discuss his future with the club. The 49-year-old Martinez replaced Fernando Santos, who resigned from his position after Portugal’s shocking World Cup quarterfinal defeat to Morocco. “I appreciate the enthusiasm and ambition with which he received the invitation,” Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) President Fernando Gomes remarked. Following Belgium’s exit from the World Cup group stage, Martinez announced his resignation as coach. The coach also commented that he had already made up his…

Australia: Australian universities have been forced to return to pen and paper exams amid fears that students are using emerging artificial intelligence software to write essays. Major institutions have adopted new rules that consider the use of AI as cheating, with some students already caught using the software. Academics in the country have cited concerns over ChatGPT, a chatbot launched in November by OpenAI that generates text on any subject in response to a prompt or query, and similar technology’s ability to evade anti-plagiarism software while providing quick and credible academic writing. The Group of Eight universities, which are the…

Antarctica: A recent report from United Nations revealed that the earth’s protective ozone hole over Antarctica is healing and it will be completely fixed in about 43 years. The scientific assessment conducted every four years found recovery in progress more than 35 years after every country in the world pledged to stop producing chemicals that deplete the ozone layer in the Earth’s atmosphere. “In the upper stratosphere and in the ozone hole, we see things getting better,” Mr. Paul Newman, co-chairman of the scientific assessment, remarked. The report given on 9th January 2023 at the American Meteorological Society convention in…

Canada: The Canadian government has announced that it has finalised an agreement with the United States and weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin to purchase 88 F-35 fighter jets in order to upgrade the country’s ageing fleet. Defence Minister Ms. Anita Anand stated that the $14.2 billion ($19 billion Canadian) deal marked the largest investment in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 30 years. “As our world grows darker with Russia’s illegal and unjustifiable invasion of Ukraine and China’s increasingly assertive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific, this project has taken on heightened significance, especially given the importance of interoperability with our allies,” Ms. Anand…

United Kingdom: Britain’s attempt to become the first European nation to launch satellites into space has ended in failure. The “horizontal launch” mission had left from the coastal town of Newquay in southwest England, with Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket carried under the wing of a modified Boeing 747 called “Cosmic Girl” and later released over the Atlantic Ocean. According to the reports, the rocket ignited and appeared to be ascending correctly. But the company later confirmed that the rocket had suffered an anomaly. “We appear to have an anomaly that has prevented us from reaching orbit. We are evaluating the…

Australia: “One-in-100-year” floods have slammed a region of western Australia, forcing military aircraft to evacuate inhabitants from flooded communities. Former tropical cyclone Ellie, which in a matter of days dumped rain in some regions equivalent to an entire year’s worth, was the cause of the disaster in Western Australia’s Kimberley region last week. Military aircraft helped airlift supplies and transport residents to safety in remote towns like Fitzroy Crossing, which has about 1,000 residents. The country’s Prime Minister promised to restore homes and reconstruct infrastructure as he toured isolated areas impacted by the floods. Authorities have described it as a…

Israel: The minister of national security of Israel Mr. Itamar Ben-Gvir has instructed police to remove Palestinian flags from public spaces, calling the Palestinian national symbol an act of “terrorism.” Even though Israeli law does not outlaw Palestinian flags, police and soldiers have the right to remove them in cases where they deem there is a threat to public order. The directive from Mr. Ben-Gvir, who leads the ultranationalist Jewish Power party in Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu’s new far-right government, is widely regarded as a hardline and uncompromising attitude towards Palestinian expressions of identity and free speech, as well as pro-Palestinian…

China: A top official stated that the third-most populated province in China currently has nearly 90 percent of its residents infected with COVID-19 as the nation confronts an unprecedented rise in cases. Director of the central Henan province’s health commission Mr. Kan Quancheng announced at a press conference that “as of January 6, 2023, the province’s COVID infection rate is 89.0 percent.” The data shows that out of Henan’s 99.4 million people, 88.5 million may now be sick. Fever clinic visits peaked on 19th December, as per Mr. Kan, “after which it showed a continuous downward trend.” China is now…