Author: Trainee Reporter

California: Stocks of the US tech giant, Meta, have dropped in after-hours trading, despite the company reporting more promising-than-foreseen profits. The owner of Facebook and Instagram announced that it anticipates higher expenditures this year due to serious investments in artificial intelligence (AI). The organisation’s shares fell by more than 15 percent after it declared that it would be spending billions of dollars more than it previously signified in 2024. Meta is updating its ad-buying products with AI mechanisms to upgrade profit expansion. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is incorporating more AI features into its social media platforms, such as chat assistants. The company revised its spending anticipations, stating…

China: Unannounced inspections on security equipment manufacturer Nuctech by European officials have sparked grave concern in China. EU competition regulators inspected the offices of Chinese security equipment manufacturers in the Netherlands and Poland. The raids were carried out in connection with a probe into unfair state subsidies. The Chinese government conveyed extreme apprehension about the sudden inspections. In response, China’s mission to the EU bemoaned the move and reproached Brussels for not presenting its considerations to the company or Chinese management directly. According to the mission statement, the Chinese side acknowledges that the EU’s unannounced assessments interrupt appropriate challenges in the market, endanger the favourable circumstances of the business and monetary…

Moscow: Russia has detained the Deputy Defence Minister, Timur Ivanov, on accusations of organised corruption. This is the most high-profile lawsuit since the beginning of Russia’s conflict with Ukraine. According to an announcement from Russia’s Investigative Committee, the military official was charged for allegedly receiving bribes ‘on a particularly large scale.’ Ivanov, the 48-year-old deputy defence minister, was detained for two months following a detention order. He is accused of participating in a criminal intrigue connected to the administration of agreements that benefited him personally, leading to a luxurious lifestyle. Ivanov supervised army structure and restoration and was charged with accepting bribes. If condemned, he would encounter a maximum sentence of 15 years in…

Sydney: Police in Australia have arrested seven teenagers in a series of counter-terrorism operations across Sydney. Authorities suspect that those youngsters might be planning aggression as they are considered to share a ‘religiously motivated violent extremist ideology.’ The aggressions are connected to the stabbing of an Assyrian bishop which was expressed as a ‘terrorist act’ by the police. The suspects are reportedly “juveniles” aged between 15 and 17 years old. Several teenagers were blamed by probing officials for being part of the same group as the 16-year-old boy who is accused of committing a terror offence. The attack ensued during a live-streamed speech where Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was stabbed,…

Buenos Aires: An anti-government protest across Argentina has brought hundreds of thousands of demonstrations against the education budget cut. Students, university professors, trade unions, and opposition political parties came together in solidarity to rally against the effects of President Javier Milei’s extreme asceticism and actions on public universities. The march was one of the most extensive in a series of protests that the country witnessed ever since the far-right president came to power in December. In Buenos Aires and several other cities, an unprecedented number of people gathered to protest against budget cuts that threatened the existence of universities. The University of Buenos Aires (UBA)…

London: The UK government is urging the country’s largest businesses to hire ex-offenders as part of a national campaign to help reduce reoffending rates and boost the economy. KPMG UK, a professional services firm, became the first white-collar business to employ ex-offenders as part of a government partnership. They prosperously employed the first cohort of prison leavers in various roles, such as technology development. They are now collaborating with the Ministry of Justice to encourage other large businesses to do the same. Additionally, KPMG UK is working on a pilot programme to support and retrain prisoners while they are still in jail. Expanding the job market in the UK not only boosts the…

Washington: The US Senate has given its consent to a $95 billion (£76 billion) foreign aid package that provides military assistance to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. President Joe Biden is foreseen to inscribe the ruling into law. The Senate recently supported the bill that was previously passed by the US House of Representatives. The package includes $61 billion in military support for Ukraine, which the Pentagon says can be produced for the war-torn country ‘within days.’ It was enacted with bipartisan authorisation by a vote of 79-18. President Biden praised the passage of the ruling in a statement, noting that it is a crucial rule that will drive…

Germany: Jian G, an aide to a far-right Member of the European Parliament, was recently arrested by German police on suspicion of spying for China. Prosecutors keep claiming that Jian G maintained constantly delivering information on the functions of the European Parliament to China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS). The detention raised concerns about the safety of democracy in Europe ahead of the EU elections in June and also generated outrage in Beijing. German authorities did not disclose the identity of the politician whose aide was arrested. However, reports indicate that the individual was Maximilian Krah’s associate. Krah is the most prominent candidate for the far-right Alternative…

Switzerland: Chris Philp, the Minister for Crime, Policing, and Fire, has represented the UK at the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in 2024. The CND is the UN’s main decision-making body for international cooperation on drugs, and the UK is a fellow for a long time. The commission’s mandate is to oversee the implementation of world drug control pacts and hold annual gatherings. This year’s CND took place in March and signified the halfway point in a ten-year approach, founded by the 2019 Ministerial Declaration, to address the global drug situation. The panel conducted a crucial review of communal advancement and tackled…

Geneva: The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has reported that Asia faced the highest number of weather, climate, and water disasters in 2023. The United Nations weather agency noted that floods and storms caused the most reported casualties and economic losses. Additionally, the impact of heat waves became more severe. The ‘State of the Climate in Asia 2023’ report revealed that the rate of major climate transition indicators such as surface temperature, glacier pullout, and sea level upgrade is accelerating. This is expected to deliver significant impacts on societies, economies, and ecosystems in the region. Sea-surface temperatures in the northwest Pacific Ocean will reach record-high levels in the last…