Author: News Desk

Washington: In US, people spend more years living with diseases than individuals in most other countries, according to a new study by the American Medical Association. The findings reveal that Americans experience an average of 12.4 years burdened by illness, driven primarily by mental health disorders, substance-use issues, and musculoskeletal conditions. The study highlights a pronounced disparity between genders, with women in the United States enduring a 2.6-year longer healthspan-lifespan gap- representing years spent in poor health when compared to men. Women’s gap increased to 13.7 years, 32 percent higher than the global average for females. Overall, the healthspan-lifespan gap in…

Sydney: The Australian government introduced a “news bargaining incentive,” requiring digital platforms to either pay a charge or negotiate directly with publishers for news. The charge is designed to encourage platforms to pay publishers directly rather than the government, with the offsetting mechanism encouraging fair compensation. The measure responds to the announcement made in March by Meta, Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, that it would stop funding Australian news through deals with publishers. The new model mandates digital platforms with over $250m in Australian revenue, such as Meta, ByteDance (TikTok), and Google, to either pay a fixed charge or establish direct…

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: The 2034 men’s football World Cup will be held in Saudi Arabia, while Spain, Portugal, and Morocco will jointly host the 2030 tournament, FIFA has confirmed. The 2034 World Cup will coincide with the 100th anniversary of the first FIFA World Cup, held in 1930. Coinciding with that, 3 matches in the 2030 tournament will also be held in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. The hosts for both tournaments, and of the 2030 centenary celebrations, were confirmed via two separate votes. This announcement comes after a vote by the FIFA General Assembly. FIFA President Gianni Infantino confirmed that…

Damascus, Syria: Mohammed al-Bashir has been named interim Prime Minister by Syrian rebels following the ousting of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. The announcement signifies a major turning point in Syria’s ongoing transition after more than a decade of conflict. Life in Damascus is beginning to show signs of recovery, with businesses reopening and a cautious return to normalcy. Al-Bashir, a veteran leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)-led Syrian Salvation Government, will oversee governance until March 1, 2025. Al-Bashir’s appointment comes in the wake of Assad’s reported escape to Moscow amid the rebels’ swift takeover of the capital. Drawing on his…

Gulf of Aden: The United States military successfully repelled a Houthi attack on three US-flagged commercial vessels in the Gulf of Aden. The attack, which involved multiple cruise missiles and uncrewed aerial systems (drones), was launched from Yemen. The US Navy responded swiftly, with two destroyers, the USS Stockdale and the USS O’Kane, intercepting the barrage. In addition, a US Navy helicopter and French Air Force aircraft helped shoot down four drones and a missile, preventing any casualties or damage to the vessels. The vessels, which were owned and operated by the US, were en route to Djibouti when they…

Beverly Hills: The 2025 Golden Globes nominations have been unveiled, with Netflix’s Spanish-language musical thriller Emilia Perez and A24’s post-World War Two Epic The Brutalist topping the list. Emilia Perez scored 10 nominations, while The Brutalist garnered seven, placing them as strong contenders for the coveted Best Film Drama award. Both films will face stiff competition in the best film drama category, going up against an eclectic mix of nominees: the papal election drama Conclave, Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, the highly anticipated Dune: Part Two, the historical Nickel Boys, and September 5, a gripping recount of journalists during…

San Francisco: OpenAI has officially launched Sora, its highly anticipated text-to-video generator, now accessible to users in the United States and several international markets. Initially introduced in February for select artists, filmmakers, and safety testers, Sora allows users to create AI-generated video clips from written prompts. For instance, one prompt produced a video of woolly mammoths walking through a desert. The company describes Sora as a tool to inspire creativity and expand the possibilities of video storytelling. However, the rollout has not been without challenges. OpenAI wrote in a blog post that, “We hope this early version of Sora will…

United States: Google has introduced its latest quantum computing chip, “Willow,” which promises groundbreaking capabilities. The chip reportedly solves a problem in five minutes that would take the world’s fastest supercomputers an unfathomable 10 septillion years to complete. Leap in Quantum Computing Quantum computing leverages the peculiar principles of particle physics to solve problems exponentially faster than classical computers. “Willow,” described by Google as the most advanced quantum processor to date, incorporates breakthroughs in error correction—a key challenge in quantum computing for decades. Hartmut Neven, the head of Google’s Quantum AI lab, said the chip represents a significant step toward…

Reno, Nevada: A U.S. probate commissioner has denied Rupert Murdoch’s attempt to amend his family trust to ensure control of his global media empire passes solely to his eldest son, Lachlan Murdoch. Nevada Commissioner Edmund Gorman ruled that Murdoch and Lachlan acted in “bad faith” in their efforts, describing the plan as a “carefully crafted charade” to secure Lachlan’s executive roles regardless of the impact on other beneficiaries. The trust, formed in 1999 during Murdoch’s divorce from his second wife, Anna, currently divides control of the family’s 40% voting stakes in Fox Corp and News Corp equally among Murdoch’s four…

Washington: US President-elect Donald Trump has reiterated his commitment to the promises that shaped his campaign, including mass deportations, new tariffs, and a reshaped foreign policy in his first television interview since re-election. Trump addressed a range of controversial issues, starting with immigration. Trump reaffirmed his stance on deporting individuals who have entered the United States without authorisation, stressing that the US must adhere to its laws. “I think you have to do it, and it’s a very tough thing to do, but you have rules, regulations, laws. They came in illegally,” Trump said. Trump also reasserted the plan to…