Author: Trainee Reporter

La Paz: Bolivia is on course to elect a non-left wing president for the first time in almost two decades, according to official preliminary results from  presidential election. Senator Rodrigo Paz Pereira of the Christian Democratic Party emerged as the surprise frontrunner, edging out former interim president Jorge Quiroga into second place. Neither candidate secured the majority required for an outright win, pushing the contest to a run-off in October. Paz Pereira, who campaigned under the slogan ‘capitalism for all, not just a few’, focused on redistributing funds from the central government to the regions, tackling corruption, offering accessible credit…

Canberra: Australia’s Federal Court has imposed a A$90 million (£43 million; $59 million) fine on Qantas Airways for unlawfully sacking more than 1,800 ground staff at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The landmark ruling marks the largest penalty ever imposed on an employer in Australian history. Justice Michael Lee said the penalty should serve as ‘real deterrence’ for other corporations, noting Qantas’ ‘unrelenting and aggressive’ legal strategy to avoid paying compensation despite acknowledging the harm caused. Qantas confirmed it would pay the fine and admitted accountability for its actions. Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson remarked that, “We sincerely apologise…

Islamabad: The death toll from relentless monsoon rains and flash floods across northern Pakistan has surged to at least 321 within the past 48 hours, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) confirmed. According to officials, the hardest-hit region is Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where 307 people have lost their lives. Nine fatalities were reported in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, while five more were confirmed in Gilgit-Baltistan. At least 21 others have been injured. The NDMA said most victims died when flash floods swept through villages or as houses collapsed under the heavy rains. The Pakistan Meteorological Department has issued a fresh alert, warning of…

Denmark: At least one person has died and 27 others have been injured after a passenger train collided with a slurry tanker and derailed in southern Denmark, officials confirmed. The crash occurred between the towns of Tinglev and Kliplev in southern Jutland, near the German border. Police said the victim was a 60-year-old woman. Of the injured, five remain in serious condition, with two in critical care at the hospital. Authorities said 106 people were on board the train at the time of the accident, including a group of school pupils from Sønderborg, the train’s intended destination. None of the…

California: Shares in Intel have risen more than 7 percent after reports that the Trump administration is in talks to acquire a stake in the chipmaker. Bloomberg said the move would back Intel’s plans to build a major manufacturing hub in Ohio, though the size of the potential investment remains unclear. White House spokesman Kush Desai called any talk of such a deal ‘speculation unless officially announced by the administration.’ Intel declined to comment, but a spokesperson stressed the company’s commitment to supporting President Trump’s push to strengthen US technology and manufacturing leadership. The report follows a recent meeting between…

United States: Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have used artificial intelligence to design two potential antibiotics capable of killing drug-resistant gonorrhoea and MRSA. The breakthrough, revealed in Cell, could mark the start of a ‘second golden age’ in antibiotic discovery. The AI-designed compounds, built atom-by-atom, successfully killed the superbugs in lab experiments and animal tests. However, they remain years away from clinical use, instructing further refinement and extensive human trials. Antibiotic resistance is a growing global crisis, with over a million deaths annually linked to infections that no longer respond to treatment. Overuse of existing drugs has…

Seoul: South Korea’s Supreme Court has dismissed a US composer’s plagiarism claim against the makers of the global children’s hit Baby Shark, bringing an end to a six-year legal battle. The court upheld rulings siding with Pinkfong, the South Korean company behind the viral tune with the iconic ‘doo doo doo doo doo doo’ refrain, streamed billions of times worldwide. Jonathan Wright, known professionally as Johnny Only, recorded a version of Baby Shark in 2011 based on a traditional children’s folk song. Pinkfong released its version in 2016, which went on to become a cultural phenomenon. Wright argued that he…

Ottawa: Air Canada will start suspending flights after the union representing its flight attendants issued a 72-hour strike notice, raising the prospect of major travel disruptions during the peak summer season. The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents 10,000 flight attendants, delivered the notice after months of stalled contract negotiations. The union says the airline has failed to address core issues, including fair wages and unpaid work for hours spent boarding and waiting at airports. In response, Air Canada issued its 72-hour lockout notice and rejected a union counterproposal it described as seeking ‘exorbitant increases.’ The airline says…

Washington, D.C.: The Trump administration has released a significantly altered version of the US State Department’s annual global human rights report, drawing sharp criticism from rights advocates and former officials. Once considered the most comprehensive government-led assessment of human rights abuses worldwide, the 2025 edition has been heavily reduced in scope, with entire sections on government corruption, persecution of LGBTQ+ individuals, and gender-based crimes removed. Officials said the changes were intended to remove redundancies and increase readability, but critics argue the edits represent a deliberate softening of language toward key allies and a narrowing of focus on certain issues. The…

United States: Artificial intelligence start-up Perplexity has made an unexpected $34.5 billion (£25.6 billion) takeover offer for Google’s Chrome browser, in a move it claims would benefit the public by shifting the platform to an independent operator focused on user safety. In a letter to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Perplexity said it would preserve Chrome’s default search setting for Google while allowing users to adjust preferences, and would continue support for Chromium, the open-source platform that powers Chrome and other browsers like Microsoft Edge and Opera. The proposal comes despite no indication that Google plans to sell Chrome, which boasts…