Author: Trainee Reporter

Armenia: Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of Armenia, has issued an ultimatum to Azerbaijan, warning that Armenia would be on the brink of war unless a settlement is reached on the return of four Azerbaijani villages. The villages were under Armenian control since the 1990s. They were of strategic importance as they lay on the main road connecting Yerevan with the Georgian border. Pashinyan underscored in a conference with residents of border areas the haste of resolving the dispute, revealing that failure to fix it could lead to armed conflict by the end of the week. There can be disastrous outcomes…

Hong Kong: The Legislative Council of Hong Kong has unanimously passed the Safeguarding National Security Law, which grants the government expanded powers to suppress dissent. The law includes new provisions on treason, espionage, sedition, state secrets, and external interference. The Chief Executive of Hong Kong, John Lee, stated that, “Today is a historic moment for Hong Kong.” He further added that the law would become effective in March, which would penalise five major crimes. This law grants the government more power to quash dissent. It is widely perceived as the latest step in a sweeping political crackdown that was triggered by…

United Kingdom: The government of the UK has announced funding for Artificial Intelligence (AI) businesses to deliver net zero with innovative technologies. This backing will enable British innovators working at the forefront of AI technologies to use their expertise in the field to help cut carbon emissions in important sectors, promote the use of renewable energy and increase efficiency in various sectors. Several projects were approved to support the green transition in the UK. These projects vary from enhancing weather forecasting to aid solar energy production, to developing AI-powered software to assist consumers and businesses in reducing energy costs. A…

United States: NVIDIA, the American multinational technology company, has announced Project GR00T, a general-purpose foundation model for humanoid robots. The firm also introduced Jetson Thor, a new computer for humanoid robots, along with upgrades to its Isaac robotics platform. Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, stated that, “Building foundation models for general humanoid robots is one of the most exciting problems to solve in AI today. The enabling technologies are coming together for leading roboticists around the world to take giant leaps towards artificial general robotics.” ‘GR00T’ is an acronym that stands for ‘Generalist Robot 00 Technology.’ Robots that are…

Sydney: Australia’s online safety regulator has issued legal notices to major social media firms such as Google, Meta, X, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Reddit. The regulator demanded that these companies report on the measures they are taking to protect Australian users from violent extremists and terrorists who may use their online platforms. In the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings, 51 people were killed, and in a murder spree at Buffalo in New York in 2022, 10 black Americans were murdered. Accessing violent and extremist content on social media was accused of radicalising the gunmen. Both gunmen also live-streamed parts of their attack…

Mana: Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, has arrived in the Philippines’s capital Manila amid rising regional tensions with China. According to a senior State Department official, Blinken’s visit aims to discuss trade and reinforce America’s ‘ironclad’ security commitments to the country. Recent months saw an escalation in tensions between Manila and Beijing over territorial claims in the South China Sea. US officials stated that the relationship between the two countries will undoubtedly be part of the discussions. This visit is also likely to be viewed as a move to strengthen American support for Philippine President, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who…

Washington: US President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order aimed at advancing women’s health studies. The order will bolster data collection, as well as supply more comfortable and adequate funding possibilities for biomedical research. Even though women make up half the population, they are underfunded and understudied when it comes to their health. The federal government did not mandate women’s inclusion in federally funded medical research until the 1990s. For most of medical history, a scientific study was almost completely male-oriented. Research often fails to properly track gender differences and represent women equally for certain illnesses. Biden’s executive…

United Kingdom: A new method of detecting and treating bowel cancer has been discovered by researchers in Glasgow, UK. Biopsies carry multiple health risks, such as infection, and are limited in what they can capture in the patient’s bowel. Scientists functioning with Cancer Research UK (CRUK) uncovered that positron emission tomography (PET) imaging permits the complete bowel to be reviewed and tumours to be analysed while still inside the body, rather than examining the tissue after it is removed. PET scans make a three-dimensional portrait of the inside of the body, and researchers assume that doing several scans during treatment…

United Kingdom: Dame Laura Kenny, the most decorated female Olympian, has announced her retirement from professional cycling. The cycling rock star announced her retirement through her Instagram post saying that it was ‘time to move on.’ Dame Laura said in her message that, “Thank you cycling for everything you’ve given me – including a husband and our growing family! Having people say I have inspired women and girls to get active and get on a bike means the world to me.” “Thanks to Team GB, British Cycling and all the partners who have supported my journey. A special thanks to every…

United Kingdom: A joint NATO Open Skies operational mission has been conducted for the first time over the United Kingdom since 2021. The Open Skies team, part of the Joint Arms Control Implementation Group (JACIG), works with partner countries’ surveillance aircraft equipped with authorised sensors to collect pictures of Treaty signatories, monitoring and photographing more than 200 kilometres of terrain in the past year. The Joint Arms Control Implementation Group was established in 1990 and is now under the control of the Directorate of Overseas Bases. Its primary role is to conduct arms control inspection and observation duties in 23…