Author: News Desk

Australia: Elena Rybakina, the Wimbledon winner, set her sights on eliminating Iga Swiatek as the world’s top player after the Pole was knocked from the Australian Open with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph. With her victory at Rod Laver Arena, Rybakina qualified for the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park for the first time. The player will compete against Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia to advance to the final four. Rybakina claimed there were still “many things to improve” on but that if she could maintain her current form she was a match for anyone. “If I perform like I did this week and…

Sweeden: Turkey denounced Sweden following protests in front of its embassy in Stockholm that included the burning of a Quran by far-right sympathisers and a separate rally by Kurdish activists. According to Ankara a visit by Sweden’s defence minister was postponed in order to assuage Turkey’s concerns about joining NATO. Sweden needs Turkey’s support as concerns in Europe increase in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in order to join the military alliance. Mr. Rasmus Paludan, the head of the Danish far-right political group Hard Line, burned the Quran. During the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Mr. Paludan’s announcement…

United States: The popular mobile game “Pokemon Go” was released seven years ago, and now its developers want to give their new basketball game the same “real-world” appeal. While “Pokemon Go” players were guided by their mobile devices to actual sites where they could find magical creatures to collect, “NBA All-World” players can challenge one another to games on the street. The chief of Niantic, the company that produces both games, Mr. John Hanke, stresses that, like Pokemon, gamers of the NBA game will only need a mobile phone and won’t need to purchase pricey VR headgear or goggles. The…

France: The French President Mr. Emmanuel Macron has announced that the country will increase its military spending by more than one-third in the coming years while unveiling plans to transform the French army to deal with the great “perils” of the 21st century. “The next seven-year budget would increase to $449 billion (€413 billion) from 2024 to 2030, up from $320 billion (€295 billion),” Mr. Macron stated. “As war is changing, France has and will have armies ready for the perils of the century. We need to be one war ahead.” Mr. Macron, added while speaking at the Mont-de-Marsan airbase…

Bolivia: Chinese battery giant CATL has been chosen to help develop Bolivia’s huge, but largely untapped, reserves of lithium after a lengthy bidding process involving firms from the United States and Russia. The deal, announced at an event in the country’s political capital, La Paz, would see the CBC consortium partner on direct lithium extraction from the country’s Uyuni and Oruro salt flats. Bolivian President Mr. Luis Arce stated that the CATL-led consortium was launching the “historic” industrialisation of lithium in Bolivia. “More than $1 billion (£807 million) will be invested in the project’s first phase,” the President remarked. Technical…

New Zealand: The New Zealand Labour MP Mr. Chris Hipkins is set to replace Ms. Jacinda Ardern as prime minister after becoming the only nominee for the party’s leadership. Mr. Hipkins, 44, is currently minister for police, education, and public service. “I think we’re an incredibly strong team. We’ve gone through this process with unity, and we’ll continue to do that. I’m feeling really fortunate to be working with such an amazing group of people who have a real commitment to the service of the people of New Zealand,” Mr. Hipkins commented after the party announced him as the sole…

Paris, France: More than a million people protested in French towns against President Mr. Emmanuel Macron’s proposals to raise the retirement age, while a wave of nationwide strikes shut down trains, blocked refineries, and reduced power generation. The nation’s top unions, buoyed by their success, called for a second day of strikes on 31st January 2023 in an effort to pressure Macron and his administration to abandon a pension reform proposal that would require the majority of people to work an additional two years until the age of 64. “Now, the government finds itself with its back to the wall. Everyone knows that…

United States: A US federal judge has ordered Mr. Donald Trump and one of his attorneys to jointly pay nearly $1 million in penalties for pursuing a frivolous lawsuit against Ms. Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee and other perceived enemies of the former president of engaging in conspiracy against him. Earlier in September 2022, the suit was dismissed and Trump was ordered to pay tens of thousands in November after one defendant sought sanctions. The latest order came after a group of the remaining defendants, including Ms. Clinton, filed a separate request for sanctions. The US district court judge…

Seoul, South Korea: One of the largest cryptocurrency lenders, Genesis, has declared bankruptcy in the US, making it the most recent victim of the crypto market crash. Genesis Global Capital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York. According to a court filing, the lenders’ assets and liabilities are each estimated to be between $1 billion and $10 billion. Parent group Genesis Global Holdco and lending unit Genesis Asia Pacific also filed for bankruptcy protection. “Genesis has taken strategic actions to achieve a global resolution to maximize value for all clients and stakeholders and strengthen its business for the…

Australia: A “giant cane toad” with an equal weight of newborn human babies has been found by Australian rangers in North Queensland. The “monster” specimen is six times bigger than the average toad and could break a world record. The Queensland Department of Environment and Science announced that a gigantic cane toad, which was named “Toadzilla,”  was discovered by rangers in Queensland’s Conway National Park and weighed in at 2.7kg (almost 6lbs), which could possibly be a new world record, “I reached down and grabbed the cane toad and couldn’t believe how big and heavy it was. We dubbed it…