Author: News Desk

China: The Chinese government has asked the United Kingdom to stop its efforts to “enhance” ties with Taiwan. The statement comes after a high-level meeting and the signing of a new trade agreement between Taiwan and Britain in London. Beijing accused the UK of using trade cooperation “as an excuse” to enhance its ties with Taiwan. Recently, Taiwan’s representative to the UK, Mr. Kelly Hsieh, and his British counterpart based in Taipei, Mr. John Dennis, signed an enhanced trade partnership (ETP). The agreement paves the way for future collaborations on green energy, digital trade, and investment, among other trade-based issues.…

London, UK: A new study has found that blood tests can early detect Crohn’s disease. It is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes chronic inflammation of the GI tract. There is currently no cure for this disease, but early detection can prevent the development of severe bowel damage. Researchers from the Francis Crick Institute in the UK and Aalborg University in Denmark analysed over a ten-year period the results of some 20,000 IBD patients prior to diagnosis. They examined 17 different biomarkers in the body, including markers for inflammation and levels of minerals such as iron, searching for subtle…

United States: The Hollywood actors’ union has agreed on a tentative deal with major studios to end a months-long strike. The strike had stopped the production of hundreds of films and television shows. The Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) announced that its strike would end at midnight after negotiators reached a preliminary deal on a new contract. The union noted that the new three-year contract was valued at more than $1 billion and included increases in minimum salaries as well as a new “streaming participation”. According to the statement, the agreement would further allow members “to build sustainable careers.” The group’s…

United States: The United States has launched strikes against an alleged weapons storage facility in eastern Syria that it claims to be used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other Iran-backed groups. US Defence Secretary Mr. Lloyd Austin said in a statement that the “self-defence strike” was carried out by two of the air force’s F-15 fighters as a response to recent attacks on US forces. “The President has no higher priority than the safety of US personnel, and he directed today’s action to make clear that the United States will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests,”…

Africa: A new report has found that plastic waste is “spiralling out of control” across the African continent. According to the charity Tearfund, at current levels, enough plastic waste to cover a football pitch is openly dumped or burned in sub-Saharan Africa every minute. The Tearfund report is based on statistics from a database of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and is published in Global Policies Outlook. If the situation continues, the region will end up with 116 metric tonnes of plastic waste annually by 2060, six times more than the 18 metric tonnes of waste produced in…

Kenya: The United Nations (UN) warned that countries planning to expand the fossil fuel industry would push the world far beyond the Paris deal’s 1.5 ºC global warming limit. Most of the world’s fossil fuel producers have committed to achieving “net-zero” emissions by 2050. It aligns with the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to well below two degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels and ideally keeping it at a safer 1.5 degrees Celsius. The report comes ahead of the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which is scheduled to…

United States: Netflix has revealed that it will reopen the iconic Egyptian Theatre to mark its 101st anniversary of opening. The theatre will reopen with a screening of The Killer, followed by a question and answer section with its director David Fincher. The streaming giant is also planning to use the location as a venue for premieres and events. Netflix said that “the one-of-a-kind venue is now ready to return as a must-visit landmark for local film lovers and visitors from around the world.” The reopening on November 9, 2023, is the result of a three-year partnership with Netflix and…

United States: Two new studies have found that older adults who do not smoke tobacco but use marijuana are at higher risk of both heart attack and stroke when hospitalized. The studies presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Philadelphia noted that people who use marijuana daily are 34 percent more likely to develop heart failure. “Observational data are strongly pointing to the fact that cannabis use at any point in time, be it recreational or medicinal, may lead to the development of cardiovascular disease,” Dr. Robert Page II, chair of the volunteer writing group for the 2020…

United States: The White House has announced that US President Mr. Joe Biden does not support an Israeli military occupation of the Gaza Strip after the end of the Israel-Hamas war. “Mr. Biden believes a reoccupation by Israeli forces of Gaza is not the right thing to do,” the White House national security spokesperson Mr. John Kirby told reporters. The statement came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu commented that his country would take control of security in Gaza after the war. Mr. Kirby noted that “there needs to be a healthy set of conversations about what…

France: A new global survey has found that more than 85 percent of people are concerned about the impact of online disinformation. The survey, conducted in 16 countries, further noted that 87 percent believe that the spread of misinformation has already affected their country’s politics. According to Mr. Audrey Azoulay, Director General of the UN’s Culture Body, UNESCO, false information and hate speech spread online pose “major risks to social cohesion, peace, and stability.” “Regulation was urgently needed to protect access to information while at the same time protecting freedom of expression and human rights”, Ms. Azoulay commented while presenting…