Author: News Desk

Washington: The US Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against TikTok and its parent company ByteDance by accusing them of failing to safeguard children’s privacy on the social media platform. The legal action represents a significant move in the Biden administration’s ongoing scrutiny of the popular app. The lawsuit alleges that TikTok breached the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which mandates that services aimed at children must obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from users under the age of 13. With approximately 170 million users in the US, TikTok has been at the centre of regulatory and political…

Lagos: Nigerian troops and police have tightened security measures in Lagos and the capital, Abuja, as nationwide protests over the increasing cost of living. Nigeria, the most populated country in Africa is struggling with soaring inflation and a sharply devalued Nigerian Naira currency after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic reforms were introduced a year ago. The protest movement, tagged #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria, has gained momentum through online campaigns among the Nigerians grappling with food inflation at 40 percent and tripled fuel prices since the implementation of Tinubu’s reforms. On August 1st, clashes erupted as police deployed tear gas to disperse protesters in…

Washington: In a landmark development, the US and Russia have executed their largest prisoner exchange in decades in a significant moment for President Joe Biden’s foreign policy legacy. The prisoner swap, which includes the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and ex-Marine Paul Whelan, could enhance Biden’s standing on the global stage and potentially encourage Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential bid. Diplomatic Achievement The exchange represents a notable diplomatic relation against the backdrop of strained US-Russia relations caused by the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. Despite the complexity of the deal and the ongoing tensions…

Washington: The United States has reached plea agreements with three men held at Guantanamo Bay including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the September 11, 2001, attacks. The Pentagon has not disclosed the full details of the agreements, but reports suggest that the men will plead guilty in exchange for life sentences instead of facing the death penalty. The three men-Mohammed, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi were scheduled to stand trial in a military court at the high-security facility, but their cases have been in legal delays for many years. The plea deals are seen as a crucial…

London: The Bank of England (BoE) is expected to consider a reduction in interest rates following a year of maintaining rates at a 16-year high of 5.25 percent. Despite this potential shift, market predictions and economist opinions remain divided on whether the British central bank will proceed with the cut. The decision is expected to be closely contested within the BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), with a projected 5-4 majority in favour. Financial markets have priced in a 66 percent chance of a quarter-point cut, with expectations of an additional cut by the end of the year. Jack Meaning, Chief…

United States: US Vice President Kamala Harris has closed the gap with former President Donald Trump in the race for the White House, with new polling showing the Democratic and Republican candidates now in a dead heat. According to several surveys released on Tuesday, since emerging as the de facto Democratic contender in the wake of President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 presidential contest, Harris has reduced the gap with Trump both nationally and in crucial battleground states. A Bloomberg News/Morning Consult survey of registered voters shows that Harris leads Trump in four crucial battleground states and the former…

Wayanad: Nearly 1,000 people have been rescued following severe landslides in Indian state of Kerala’s Wayanad district. The disaster, triggered by heavy rains, has claimed at least 165 lives, with more than 150 individuals still missing. The landslides struck early morning on July 30th, causing hillsides to collapse and unleash torrents of mud, water, and boulders across tea and cardamom estates, as well as small settlements. The catastrophic event is the worst the state of Kerala has faced since the deadly floods of 2018. State officials confirmed the devastation emphasising the significant loss of life and the ongoing search for…

Australia: In a groundbreaking initiative, Australia is set to offer a pioneering treatment programme aimed at building immunity against peanut allergies in infants. The world-first kind of programme will be administered under the supervision of select paediatric hospitals across the country. The new treatment involves gradually increasing the doses of peanut powder to the eligible babies over a period of at least two years. This approach aims to reduce sensitivity and potentially decrease the severity of peanut allergies. While clinical trials of oral immunotherapy have demonstrated promise, this is the first time it is being implemented as a national model…

United States: The global outage that affected Microsoft products, such as the email service Outlook and the video game Minecraft, has been fixed, according to a statement from the computer behemoth. The company added that initial findings indicate that a cyberattack and inadequate defences against it were the root cause of the outage. The incident, which lasted for about ten hours and led thousands of users to report problems with Microsoft services, was already apologized for by the firm. It occurred less than two weeks after a critical worldwide outage caused by a faulty software upgrade by cybersecurity company CrowdStrike…

London: Peter Hendy, the newly appointed United Kingdom Minister of State for Rail, is scheduled to meet with Network Rail to discuss the future of the long-awaited overhaul of Ely Junction in Cambridgeshire. The crucial railway junction, which has been in the planning stages for several years, is a major area where five railway lines converge, including those serving Norfolk and Suffolk. The upgrade was first announced by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in October. However, uncertainties regarding funding and project timelines have persisted. The Department for Transport has acknowledged the significant benefits that the scheme could offer to both…