Author: News Desk

California, US: Microblogging site, Twitter has informed its staff that the company’s office buildings will be temporarily closed immediately. The employees had received a message that the offices will reopen on November 21st. The reason for the move is unknown. The statement comes as there are rumors that several employees are leaving after the new owner, Mr. Elon Musk, asks them to commit to “long hours at high intensity” or quit. The message to the employers states that, “Please comply with company policy by refraining from discussing confidential company information on social media, with the press, or elsewhere.” Mr. Musk…

Doha, Qatar: The former English professional footballer Mr. David Beckham is now taking more criticism for his role as an ambassador for Qatar after his declaration that the World Cup would serve as a platform for development, diversity, and tolerance. Mr. Beckham, who is reported to be receiving $178 million from the Qataris, offered his upbeat assessment in a video message played to guests at the Supreme Committee’s “Generation Amazing” youth festival in Doha, where he also told those gathered that “today is your day to dream”. In the run-up to this World Cup, concerns over workers’ and LGBTQ+ rights…

United States: The public sale for the American singer, Taylor Swift’s US tour was postponed by ticketing company Ticketmaster due to extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and limited remaining ticket inventory. Swift’s first tour in five years, the Eras Tour, was scheduled to go on sale to the general public on November 18th. But Ticketmaster tweeted that due to “extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand”, the sale has been cancelled. The decision has been made after the presale for the tour caused the website to crash, leaving many fans angry…

Ukraine: Australian mining tycoon Mr. Andrew Forrest has pledged $744 million toward a multibillion-dollar fund to aid with Ukraine’s rebuilding. Through the Tattarang Group, Mr. Andrew and Ms. Nicola Forrest will contribute to a minimum $25 billion Ukraine Green Growth Initiative. Tattarang anticipates that the fund will increase to at least $100 billion with assistance from other international investors, with the money going into essential infrastructure projects like energy and communications. The group noted in a release that, the goal was to “achieve the rapid reconstruction of Ukraine post-hostilities.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shared that, the investment would aid in…

NASA, Washington D.C: The most interesting picture ever taken by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope depicts the cosmic commotion brought on by a very young star. A dark, hourglass-shaped cloud of gas and dust surrounds the protostar that the image is centered on, hiding it from view in its neck. A protoplanetary disc, or black band running along the middle of the neck, is a collection of dense gas and dust roughly the size of our solar system and may one day give rise to a planet. A news release stated that the protostar’s light extends over and below this…

New Zealand: The number of smokers in New Zealand has decreased to a record low as the nation advances with ambitious intentions to eradicate smoking in a generation. Recent data revealed that the percentage of daily smokers has decreased to 8 percent, the lowest level ever recorded and a decrease from 9.4 percent in 2017. Dr. Ayesha Verrall, Associate Minister of Health, remarked that, the “government’s plan to reduce smoking is working.” The number of people smoking fell by 56,000 over the past year, despite the pressures and stress of the pandemic, and smoking rates are now half of what…

Hong Kong, China: The British government has ordered a Chinese-owned business to reverse its acquisition of the country’s largest chipmaker, citing national security concerns. The UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy, Mr. Grant Shapps, instructed Nexperia, a Dutch affiliate of Shanghai-listed semiconductor manufacturer Wingtech, to sell “at least 86 percent” of its ownership in Newport Wafer Fab more than a year after taking complete control of the site. In a statement, Mr. Shapps expressed his concern that the corporation would begin developing more sophisticated so-called “compound” semiconductors at the Newport location and about “the potential for…

Washington, US: Republicans have won the 218 members required for a majority in the lower house of Congress a week after the midterm elections. The party’s razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives is sufficient to block President Joe Biden’s agenda for the following two years. However, Democrats will continue to have dominance over the Senate when the new Congress meets in January. The Associated Press reported that the Republican party obtained the 218 seats necessary to take control of the parliament more than a week after election day even though several seats were still uncalled. Republicans had to gain…

Tokyo, Japan: In October, Japan recorded its 15th consecutive month of a trade imbalance as both imports and exports reached all-time highs in response to rising energy and food prices along with a falling yen. According to the Finance Ministry, the deficit for the month of October was $15 billion, the highest after similar data collection began in 1979. The significant gap occurred despite exports growing well last month, rising 25.3 percent to $64 billion over the same month the previous year. Vehicles, medical supplies, and electrical apparatus were among the export-boosting goods. Compared to the last year, imports increased…

Melbourne, Australia: Isaac Humphries, a professional basketball player from Australia, has come out as gay, making him the only openly gay player in a top-tier basketball league. Humphries hopes other professional athletes will gain courage from his decision. Humphries, who represented Kentucky from 2015 to 2017, is one of the few men to come out in public as gay while competing in one of the best basketball leagues in the world. NBA veteran Jason Collins was the first in 2013. Humphries admitted to his colleagues that he had gone through “extremely dark times” and kept his sexuality a secret from…