Author: News Desk

United States: One of the best-known Cold War spies, Ms. Ana Montes, who was caught by the US, has been released from prison after more than 20 years in custody. The 65-year-old spent two decades spying for Cuba while working as an analyst at the US Defence Intelligence Agency. During her time as an analyst, Ms. Montes admitted revealing the identities of four American undercover agents to Cuban authorities and disclosed some secrets so sensitive they could not be described publicly. After her arrest in 2001, officials remarked that she was among “the most damaging spies” caught by the US.…

United States: Mr. Kevin McCarthy has been chosen as the new Speaker of the US House of Representatives following contentious arguments that nearly resulted in violent confrontations between Republicans. It took Mr. McCarthy 15 rounds of voting to gain the position despite his party having a majority in the parliament. The dramatic pressure campaign to get party rebel Mr. Matt Gaetz to vote for Mr. McCarthy took place live on the House floor before it happened. https://twitter.com/SpeakerMcCarthy/status/1611602522078154752?s=20&t=4KwWpZN7OcOsbhn0zmSf2w The House was finally allowed to swear in freshly elected legislators who had been waiting all week for the chamber to officially open and…

Australia: Despite two US Senators warning that the agreement might bring America’s industrial foundation to a “breaking point,” Australian Prime Minister Mr. Anthony Albanese has brushed down worries about the AUKUS nuclear power submarine program. In a letter that was leaked to the US website Breaking Defence Indo-Pacific on 21st December 2022, Democratic Senator Mr. Jack Reed and Republican Senator Mr. James Inhofe expressed their concern that the pact would endanger the country’s own fleet of submarines. The senators cautioned President Mr. Joe Biden not to export any submarines until Australia develops its own, claiming that the AUKUS deal had become a  “zero-sum…

United States: English singer-songwriter Morrissey responded after Miley Cyrus backed out of a guest spot on his upcoming album, disputing that the singer did so because of his political views, which he claimed are “most certainly not far right.” The former Smiths vocalist denounced “cancel vultures” in a lengthy statement and claimed there was an effort to “put out of circulation.” 63-year-old Morrissey revealed Cyrus had wanted to be taken off his next album Bonfire of Teenagers last month. The song I Am Veronica was supposed to have Cyrus’ backup vocals on it. Morrissey claimed that Cyrus’s choice was made…

Italy: The former Italy and Chelsea striker Mr. Gianluca Vialli has died aged 58 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Mr. Vialli began his career at Cremonese, his hometown club, before going on to star in Serie A for Sampdoria as well as at Juventus and joining Chelsea in 1996. The footballer scored 16 goals in 59 appearances for Italy and featured in the Azzurri’s 1986 and 1990 World Cup squads. In 1998, Mr. Vialli became player-manager of the Blues following the departure of Mr. Ruud Gullit, and that year he led the club to glory in the League…

China: The ruling Taliban has agreed to associate with a Chinese company to collect oil from the Amu Darya basin in northern Afghanistan as part of their efforts to support the South Asian nation’s increasingly impoverished and isolated economy. The Taliban have not entered into any significant international energy extraction contracts since taking control in Afghanistan in 2021 until their agreement with China’s Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co. According to a statement, the deal was signed in Kabul in the presence of Mr. Wang Yu, the Chinese ambassador to Afghanistan, and Mr. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the deputy…

Saudi Arabia: The international governing body of the association of football FIFA has appointed Saudi Arabia’s first female international referee less than a year after the conservative kingdom’s national women’s team made their debut. The Saudi Arabian Football Federation produced a list that included Anoud al-Asmari’s name on it. The new referee is the only woman among the eight Saudis who were named to the international panel by football’s top governing body. Al-Asmari’s international badge is the latest in a series of steps in football by the oil-rich Saudis, who have lured 37-year-old great Cristiano Ronaldo to the Saudi Pro League and…

Sudan: Interpol has announced that “the world’s most wanted” people smuggler, Mr. Kidane Zekarias Habtemariam has been arrested in Sudan in coordination with UAE authorities. Mr. Habtemariam has been accused of being a smuggling kingpin, running a camp in Libya where hundreds of East African migrants seeking passage to Europe were allegedly kidnapped, raped, and extorted. According to UAE interior ministry official Mr. Saeed Abdullah al-Suwaidi, the people smuggler, who was the subject of two Interpol red notices by Ethiopia and the Netherlands, was arrested on January 1 by Sudanese police in coordination with UAE authorities. “We have now shut…

United Kingdom: Hackers stole the email addresses of more than 200 million Twitter users and posted them on an online hacking forum on 5th January 2023, as per the report. Mr. Alon Gal, the co-founder of Israeli cybersecurity monitoring company Hudson Rock, stated on LinkedIn that the breach “will, unfortunately, lead to a lot of hacking, targeted phishing, and doxxing.” One of the biggest spills I’ve ever seen, the co-founder noted. Mr. Gal initially discussed the report on social media on December 24th. Since then, no comments or questions regarding the breach have been given by Twitter. What steps Twitter…

South Carolina: The supreme court of South Carolina has struck down the state’s “fetal heartbeat” law, which bans abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy. The court referred to the ban as an “unreasonable restriction that violates a woman’s constitutional right to privacy.” In the ruling, judge Mr. Kaye Hearn wrote that the “state constitutional right to privacy extends to a woman’s decision to have an abortion.” Mr. Hearn remarked that “while the state could set some limits on abortion, any regulation on privacy in regards to the procedure should give a woman sufficient time to determine she is…