Author: News Desk

France: Ballon d’Or 2022 winner Karim Benzema has declared that he is retiring from international football, the day after France lost the World Cup final to Argentina. “I made the effort and the mistakes it took to be where I am today and I’m proud of it! I wrote my story and ours ends,” Benzema tweeted. https://twitter.com/Benzema/status/1604845466981654532?s=20&t=EOkLw8Uy0oVgNs5LxLMQTA Before France’s opening World Cup game, the 35-year-old Benzema, who had scored 37 goals for France in 97 appearances, was forced to withdraw from the team due to a left thigh injury. The Ballon d’Or-winning Real Madrid player, who missed out on being…

United Kingdom: Mr. Terry Hall, the lead singer of the Specials and a former member of Fun Boy Three, has died at the age of 63. “Terry was a wonderful husband and father and one of the kindest, funniest, and most genuine of souls. His music and his performances encapsulated the very essence of life, the joy, the pain, the humour, the fight for justice, but mostly the love,” the Specials shared. “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing, following a brief illness, of Terry, our beautiful friend, brother and one of the most brilliant singers, songwriters…

Australia: American tennis player, Venus Williams has been awarded a wild card entry to play at the Australian Open next month, after competing in the Grand Slam competition for the first time 25 years ago. Williams, 42, lost to her younger sister, Serena, in the 2017 title match after making it to the final twice in Australia. The player will compete in the season-opening major for the 22nd time. “I am very excited to be returning to Melbourne to compete at the Australian Open in January,” the seven-time major winner stated “I’ve been competing in the country for over 20…

China: According to a new study from Hongkong, about 1 million people in China may die from COVID-19 as the government rapidly abandons zero-COVID policy. The preventive strategy of the Chinese government, that is, strict lockdowns, centralised quarantines, mass testing, and rigorous contact tracing to control the spread of the virus, was abandoned earlier this month following an explosion of protests across the country against stringent restrictions that have upended businesses and daily life. Based on the projections by three professors at the University of Hong Kong, a nationwide reopening could result in up to 684 deaths per million people.…

South Africa: The President of South Africa, Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa, has once again become the leader of the governing African National Congress (ANC) by defeating his rival Mr. Zweli Mkhize by 579 votes. Mr. Ramaphosa was elected despite allegations of money laundering and a surge in support for Mr. Mkhize, who has also been accused of corruption. Both leaders denied the allegations. The victory enables the president to lead the ANC in the 2024 election. Mr. Ramaphosa is still at risk, as he is involved in an accusation and is being investigated by the police, the tax office, and the central…

Thailand: Thailand’s military sent ships, helicopters, and planes to search for the missing sailors after a navy ship sank in the Gulf of Thailand during a storm. According to the Royal Thai Navy, the HTMS Sukhothai was carrying 106 people when it went down late. The military reported that as of December 19th morning, 31 sailors remained in the water and 75 had already been rescued. At least three of the survivors had “severe injuries,” as per the report. The HTMS Sukhothai had taken on seawater after it was hit by strong waves, causing it to tilt to one side.…

Qatar: Lionel Messi has announced that he would not retire from international football after leading Argentina to its first World Cup victory in 36 years. Messi will turn 36, but he still feels he has a lot to give his nation next year. “I love football, it’s what I do. I enjoy being in the national team and want to continue by experiencing a few more games as a world champion. Obviously, I wanted to cap my career with this and I can’t ask for anything more,” Messi remarked. Messi, who scored two goals in the final, penned an emotional…

United States: Twitter’s owner Mr. Elon Musk has asked the users of the social media platform to vote on his future as its chief executive officer. Mr. Musk stated that he would abide by the poll’s results. The tech tycoon, who also owns Tesla and Space X, has faced a lot of criticisms since taking over Twitter. We recognize that many of our users are active on other social media platforms. However, we will no longer allow free promotion of certain social media platforms on Twitter. Twitter Support tweeted. The decision came as Twitter informed customers that the company would…

United Kingdom: A study of early images taken by the James Webb Space Telescope has revealed the previously obscured newborn stars. According to researchers, images, which are captured with the near-infrared camera from the space telescope, show signs of two dozen previously unseen stars about 7,500 light years away from Earth. The findings are published in the December issue of Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. “What Webb gives us is a snapshot in time to see just how much star formation is going on in what may be a more typical corner of the universe that we haven’t…

United Kingdom: According to the new study from Cancer Research UK, the overall cancer death rate has fallen by 16 percent since the organization was founded. Each year in the early 2000s, approximately 310 of every 100,000 people in the UK died from cancer. The number has now decreased to around 260. The data also shows bigger falls in death rates in some cancers, such as cervical cancer, with a 33 percent decrease. Lung cancer survival rates have also doubled from 10 percent in the mid-2000s to 20 percent across the country. Research UK remarked that the progress is partly…