Author: News Desk

Washington, US: The World Bank warned on 10th January 2023 that weaker growth in all three of the world’s largest economies including the United States, Europe, and China will bring the global economy “perilously close” to a recession this year. The World Bank, which provides loans to less developed nations for development initiatives, stated in an annual report that it has nearly halved its earlier expectation for global growth this year from 3 percent to just 1.7 percent. If that prediction came true, it would rank behind only the severe recessions brought on by the 2008 global financial crisis and…

Germany: A study published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences found that the world’s oceans recorded the highest temperature in 2022, demonstrating the inevitable impacts of human-caused emissions on the planet’s climate. The study found that more than 90 percent of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gas emissions is absorbed in the oceans. The records, starting in 1958, show an inexorable rise in ocean temperature, with an acceleration in warming after 1990. Sea surface temperatures can influence the world’s weather on a large scale. Hotter oceans will contribute to supercharging extreme weather, leading to more intense hurricanes and…

United States: California is facing torrential rainfall as a slew of storms left much of the state in chaos. Power outages collapsed roads, landslides, and dangerous flooding were all throughout much of the state. Southern California has been hit particularly hard the last 24 to 48 hours with more than a foot of rainfall. “Nearly all of California has seen much above average rainfall totals over the past several weeks, with totals 400-600 percent above average values,” as per the report. In a matter of days, California went from being in a severe drought to being in an extreme flood,…

United States: Austin Butler, a young “Elvis” star, and Michelle Yeoh, a veteran actor, won the top prizes for movies at the Golden Globes ceremony as Hollywood celebrated a program that had been banned from television due to diversity and ethics issues. Butler, 31, who played rock music great Elvis Presley in the film, won the award for best actor. “I’m in this room with all my heroes, I can’t believe I’m here,” Butler noted. “Brad, I love you. When I was 12 years old, Quentin, I printed out the Pulp Fiction script when I was 12 years old,” the…

United States: Republican representatives in the US House have voted to launch an investigation into what they term as Democratic President Mr. Joe Biden’s “weaponization” of the federal government. The Republicans voted to create a panel to probe Biden administration investigations, including “ongoing criminal investigations” at the Justice Department such as those involving the former president, Mr. Donald Trump. The party-line vote aimed at setting up a “Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.” The body is set to launch an inquiry into Democrat Mr. Joe Biden’s administration, which Republicans accuse of “weaponizing the FBI against Mr. Trump.”…

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…