Washington is demanding that the app’s Chinese owners sell their stake, company representatives have said Washington has urged TikTok’s Chinese owners to divest their stakes in the popular video app or face a potential US-wide ban, representatives of ByteDance – the company behind the platform – told various media outlets …
Read More »Daily Archives: March 16, 2023
Iraq is the second most polluted country in the world
Iraq ranked second in the most polluted country in the world in a Swiss study that included more than 30,000 air quality monitoring stations in more than seven thousand locations in 131 countries. The Swiss company IQAir stated that the city of Chad recorded the highest pollution rate in the …
Read More »Momentum toward peace in Yemen spurred by Iran-Saudi rapprochement: UN
UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg says momentum to end the conflict in Yemen has been renewed by a deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran to resume ties. During a briefing at the Security Council on Wednesday, Grundberg urged the warring parties to “seize the opportunity” to …
Read More »UN marks first anti-Islamophobia Day to ‘stamp out anti-Muslim hatred’
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday affirmed that the International Day to Combat Islamophobia, observed for the first time this year, is “a call for action to stamp out anti-Muslim hatred”. “Discrimination diminishes us all. We must stand up against it,” he said in a Twitter post. “Today & every day, …
Read More »After drone incident, Russia vows to retaliate against ‘all US provocations’
Hot on the heels of the crashing of a US spy drone near the Russian territory in the Black Sea, Russia warns the United States that it will retaliate “proportionately” to all future American provocations. “Flights of American strategic unmanned aerial vehicles off the coast of Crimea are provocative in …
Read More »US holding joint drills with Canada, Japan, South Korea, India
The United States has launched anti-submarine drills with Canada, India, Japan, and South Korea, according to the US Navy. The drill, dubbed Sea Dragon 23, started on Wednesday and will culminate in more than 270 hours of in-flight training, the US 7th Fleet said in a news release. Exercises range …
Read More »North Korea test-fires long-range missile: South
North Korea has test-launched a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) toward the East Sea, the South Korean military says. According to Press TV, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement on Thursday that it had detected the launch from the Sunan area in Pyongyang at 7:10 …
Read More »Blinken talks GERD dam and urges Tigray peace on Ethiopia visit
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on an Africa visit also met representatives from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed with officials in Ethiopia a dispute with downstream Egypt over Ethiopia’s completion of Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam. Egypt and Sudan have been in talks …
Read More »Relations with US in ‘lamentable state,’ says Russia, after drone incident
The diplomatic relations between Russia and the United States have plunged into a “lamentable state” amid a row between the two countries over a drone incident, Moscow says. The Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday the bilateral relations were in dire straits after the US accused Russia of …
Read More »Magnitude 7.1 earthquake hits Kermadec Islands in New Zealand
An earthquake of 7.1 magnitudes struck the Kermadec Islands region in New Zealand on Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said. New Zealand’s Kermadec Islands region has been hit by an earthquake of 7.1 magnitudes on Thursday, prompting Tsunami warnings. The US Geological Survey (USGS) said that the quake was …
Read More »PM Al-Sudani attends the Mandaeans’ celebrations of the Creation day
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani joined the festivities of the Sabaean Mandaeans’ celebration of Creation Day on Thursday. The event was attended by the leader of the Sabaean Mandaean community in Iraq and the world, Rishma Sattar Jabbar Halou, Mandaean lawmaker Osama al-Badri, and a slew of community leaders and …
Read More »Brazilian researchers find ‘terrifying’ plastic rocks on remote island
The geology of Brazil’s volcanic Trindade Island has fascinated scientists for years, but the discovery of rocks made from plastic debris in this remote turtle refuge is sparking alarm. Melted plastic has become intertwined with rocks on the island, located 1,140 km (708 miles) from the southeastern state of Espirito …
Read More »Da Vinci was the son of Caucasus slave – expert
A newly-discovered document has shed new light on the origins of the Renaissance icon Leonardo da Vinci, the master painter of the Mona Lisa and celebrated artist of the Renaissance movement, was the son of an Italian father and a slave mother who was trafficked to Italy from the Caucasus, …
Read More »Situation in Bakhmut ‘difficult’ as Kyiv shows no signs of retreating: Official
The situation for Russian forces trying to capture the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut is “difficult,” because there are no signs Kyiv is ready to order a withdrawal of its troops, the Russian-installed leader of Ukraine’s Donetsk region said on Thursday. Russian forces – led by the private Wagner militia – …
Read More »North Korea test-fires long-range missile: South
North Korea has test-launched a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) toward the East Sea, the South Korean military says. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement on Thursday that it had detected the launch from the Sunan area in Pyongyang at 7:10 a.m. local time. The …
Read More »Oil regains a bit of ground as Credit Suisse secures lifeline
Oil prices clawed back some ground on Thursday after sliding to 15-month lows in the previous session as markets calmed somewhat after Credit Suisse was thrown a financial lifeline by Swiss regulators. But battered by fears of a deepening crisis for banks worldwide, market sentiment remained fragile with both benchmarks …
Read More »IAEA: 2.5 tons of Uranium are Missing from Libyan Site
About 2.5 tons of natural uranium have disappeared in Libya, announced the UN nuclear agency, AFP reported. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, told the organization’s member states that inspectors on Tuesday found that 10 barrels containing uranium ore concentrate “were not available as previously announced” …
Read More »Mad at Biden’s snub, Netanyahu bars ministers from visiting US: Report
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly instructed his cabinet ministers to avoid traveling to the United States and meeting American officials unless he receives an invite to meet with US President Joe Biden at the White House. “As long as I don’t visit there, nobody does,” an unnamed source …
Read More »US warns Russia to operate military aircraft with caution
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has warned Moscow to operate its military aircraft with caution after Washington accused one of Russia’s jets of allegedly downing an American military drone in international airspace. Austin vowed on Wednesday that US aircraft will fly “wherever international law allows” after Russia’s ambassador to the …
Read More »France delays EU effort to supply shells to Ukraine – Telegraph
Paris favors the wellbeing of its own industries to supporting Kyiv, a European diplomat told the paper. France is slowing down EU plans to help Ukraine replenish its dwindling stocks of shells amid its conflict with Russia, European sources told The Telegraph. Paris is looking to secure guarantees that a …
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