Author: News Desk

United States: The stock market value of Meta Platforms and Amazon increased by a combined $280 billion following the tech giants’ stellar quarterly results. Meanwhile, Apple’s value dropped by $70 billion. Following the announcement of its first-ever dividend by Facebook’s owner, Meta’s stock shot up 14 percent to a record high of $451, increasing the company’s total value by $148 billion to $1.16 trillion. The data is released following a year that saw a rise in digital advertising, cost reductions, and job losses during what CEO Mark Zuckerberg dubbed the “year of efficiency.” “This was a pivotal year for our…

United States: A federal court in California determined that Israel’s military campaign in Gaza “plausibly” constitutes genocide; however, the court rejected a case that sought to halt US military assistance to Israel because it was not within its purview. The US district court for the northern district of California declared, “There are rare cases in which the preferred outcome is inaccessible to the court. This is one of those cases. The court is bound by precedent and the division of our coordinate branches of government to abstain from exercising jurisdiction in this matter.” The judge in the case, Jeffrey White,…

United Kingdom: The UK is seeing its lowest rate of cancer survival in 50 years, according to a report. Experts attribute this to the negative effects of austerity on the country’s health. Almost half of patients (49.8 percent) now have cancer and survive for ten years or longer, according to the report. However, after 2010, the rate of improvement in prognosis slowed significantly and increased by an average of 0.6 percent annually between 2011 and 2018. In previous decades, the 10-year survival rate increased by 1.5 percent to 2.7 percent. Data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the…

United States: The US military has launched fresh attacks on ten drones and a ground control centre in Yemen that are owned by the Houthi rebels, who are allied with Iran. The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement that it had targeted 10 Houthi one-way UAVs and a “Houthi UAV ground control station” on Thursday because they “presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US Navy ships in the region.” “This action will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US Navy vessels and merchant vessels,” it added. The…

United States: Adidas has stated that it intends to sell the remaining inventory of Yeezy sneakers from its now-dissolved collaboration with Kanye West for at least some cost. In 2022, the fashion designer and rapper Ye severed his relationship with the company due to a string of antisemitic remarks he had made on social media. But Yeezy sneakers are still in high demand in the resale market, so the demand hasn’t decreased. Currency fluctuations have cost the company $1.08 billion. According to a statement from Adidas, the German sportswear juggernaut’s finances were hurt last year by ending the Yeezy line…

Myanmar: Min Aung Hlaing, the chief of staff of the Myanmar army, has vowed to “crush” any opposition to military rule as the emergency situation continues to deteriorate. The leader of the February 1, 2021, coup, Min Aung Hlaing, declared on state television that the military would do “whatever it takes to return the state to stability” in the face of unprecedented advances by an alliance of ethnic armed groups and anti-coup forces. Just before the previous term’s expiration at midnight on Wednesday, the National Defense and Security Council declared it would extend the emergency rule for an additional six…

Japan: The Moon lander from Japan has started up again after being offline for a week because of a problem with the power supply. After fixing the glitch, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency reported that it had made contact with the lander again on Sunday night. According to the agency, a change in lighting conditions caused it to receive sunlight again, causing its solar cells to function. Because the solar cells were pointing away from the sun when it landed on January 20, it was unable to produce any electricity. Japan became just the fifth nation after the US, the…

China: The Evergrande Group, China’s largest real estate company, has been ordered to liquidate, which is expected to further erode confidence in the second-biggest economy in the world. The decision was made on Monday by a Hong Kong court after the business was unable to persuade the judge that it had a feasible plan to restructure approximately $300 billion in debt. “It would be a situation where the court says enough is enough,” Judge Linda Chan said. I consider that it is appropriate for the court to make a winding up order against the company, and I so order,” Judge…

North Korea: According to South Korean military officials, North Korea has conducted a series of weapon tests that have prompted condemnation from Japan, South Korea, and the United States. Most recently, North Korea launched multiple cruise missiles off its east coast. The missile launches come after North Korea tested the “Pulhwasal-3-31” strategic cruise missile on Wednesday. Pyongyang has claimed the missile is capable of carrying a nuclear weapon. In a statement released on Sunday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) of South Korea reported that it had seen multiple missiles over the seas close to the North Korean port of…

United States: The head of the UN has pledged to punish “any UN employee involved in acts of terror” in response to claims that certain employees of the refugee agency took part in the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7. However, after nine nations cut off funding to the UN Refugee Agency for Palestinians (UNRWA), Antonio Guterres pleaded with governments to keep up their support. “Any UN employee involved in acts of terror will be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution,” Guterres said in a statement. “The Secretariat is ready to cooperate with a competent authority able to prosecute…