Author: News Desk

GAZA: Israel has agreed to pause its military operations in Gaza to allow for a polio vaccination campaign targeting around 640,000 children, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The vaccination drive will begin on 1st September and will occur in three phases, with a three-day halt in fighting during each phase from 06:00 to 15:00 local time. The decision comes after Gaza reported its first polio case in 25 years, leaving a 10-month-old baby partially paralyzed. The WHO has stated that 1.26 million doses of the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) are already in Gaza, with an…

Tokyo: Japan’s strongest typhoon of the year also known as Typhoon 10 has made landfall in the country’s south-west, bringing heavy rain and winds of up to 252 km/h (157 mph), that can create havoc. Typhoon No 10, caused landfall on the island of Kyushu. The power company reported that around 254,610 houses were already without electricity. “Typhoon Shanshan is expected to approach southern Kyushu with extremely strong force,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi stated. “It is expected that violent winds, high waves and storm surges at levels that many people have never experienced before may occur”, Hayashi added. In…

Gaza: The UN Secretary-General has shared concerns on the latest developments in the occupied West Bank, including Israel’s launch of large-scale military operations in Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas governorates, and called for an immediate cessation of these operations. The military operations involving the use of airstrikes, resulted in casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure. António Guterres strongly condemned the loss of lives, including of children. Guterres calls on Israel to comply with its relevant obligations under international humanitarian law and to take measures to protect civilians and ensure their safety. Guterres urges security forces to exercise maximum restraint and use…

London: The UK government has canceled a £40 million helicopter contract under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s administration. The contract, set for renewal, was scrapped by Downing Street and the Ministry of Defence, signaling a departure from previous government practices. Sunak’s use of RAF jets and helicopters for domestic flights drew criticism, with a BBC investigation in 2023 revealing that he used these services more frequently than his three predecessors. The decision to cancel the contract comes ahead of a speech where Sunak will emphasize that it will not be “business as usual” when Parliament reconvenes next week. A Labour source…

Texas: The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has issued a 14 days-stay order to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on temporarily halting a new immigration programme from the Biden administration that officials say could protect hundreds of thousands of undocumented spouses of US citizens from deportation. The District Court’s administrative stay order does not affect any applications that were approved before the administrative stay order was issued. On August 19, DHS implemented Keeping Families Together, a process for certain noncitizen spouses and noncitizen stepchildren of U.S. citizens to request parole in place under existing statutory…

US: SpaceX has postponed its Polaris Dawn mission, a planned private human spaceflight mission, due to a ground-side helium leak on the Quick Disconnect umbilical, critical component in the ground support system. The mission will be delayed by at least a day because of a helium leak in ground equipment at Kennedy Space Centre, the company said, hours before the scheduled liftoff of its Crew Dragon capsule. Despite the technical issue, SpaceX confirmed that the Falcon and Dragon remain healthy and the crew continues to be ready for their multi-day mission to low-Earth orbit. SpaceX targets Wednesday, August 28 at…

Tonga: UN Secretary-General António Guterres has issued a global SOS – Save Our Seas – warning on rising sea levels not seen in the past 3,000 years, at a press conference following the Pacific Islands Forum in Tonga. Guterres noted that a worldwide catastrophe is putting this Pacific paradise in peril. He emphasized that rising sea levels are wreaking havoc on coastal cities and economies worldwide. The UN, in collaboration with the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), released reports on highlighting the worsening sea level rises, accelerated by a warming Earth and melting ice sheets and glaciers. Climate Change effects The…

Australia has passed the right to disconnect, coming into effect today, which will protect employees who refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact or attempted contact outside their working hours, unless their refusal is unreasonable. The Australian government led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pushed the ‘Right to Disconnect’ law into legislation. This includes contact, or attempted contact, from   their employer, or  another person, if the contact or attempted contact is work-related. The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) stated that, the new rights will empower workers to refuse unreasonable out-of-hours work contact, enabling greater work-life balance and reducing…

North Korea: Kim Jong Un, the supreme leader of North Korea of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, has witnessed a performance test of various drones organized by the Drone Institute of the Academy of Defence Sciences. Kim Jong Un was accompanied by Jo Yong Won, Ri Pyong Chol, Pak Jong Chon and other senior officials of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) Central Committee. The drones to be used within different striking ranges are to perform a mission to attack any enemy targets on the ground and in the sea. The drones of various types correctly identified and destroyed…

Berlin: Security measures have been significantly enhanced at NATO’s air defense center in Germany following intelligence reports suggesting a potential attack. NATO has announced that all non-essential personnel have been removed from the base, which is located at the Gelsenkirchen Air Base near the Netherlands border. Despite the increased security, NATO officials confirmed that the center’s operations remain unaffected. Details about the nature of the threat have not been disclosed. However, reports indicate that a suspicious individual spotted near the Gelsenkirchen Air Base has been detained for questioning. The heightened security measures come amid concerns that Russian forces might be…