Other News

‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ tops Oscar noms with 11

Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Tuesday 1/24/2023 by Andrew MARSZAL Surreal sci-fi “Everything Everywhere All At Once” topped the Oscar nominations Tuesday with 11, as Hollywood formally kicked off the race to the all-important Academy Awards. It was followed by German anti-war movie “All Quiet on the Western Front” and Irish black comedy “The Banshees of Inisherin,” which each received nine nominations from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. As expected, […]

One killed, two injured in Nepal quake

Earthquake of Magnitude:5.8, Occurred on 24-01-2023, 14:28:31 IST, Lat: 29.41 & Long: 81.68, Depth: 10 Km ,Location: Nepal for more information Download the BhooKamp App https://t.co/gSZOFnURgY@ndmaindia @Indiametdept @Dr_Mishra1966 @Ravi_MoES @OfficeOfDrJS @PMOIndia pic.twitter.com/y1Ak7VbvFB — National Center for Seismology (@NCS_Earthquake) January 24, 2023 Kathmandu, Nepal | AFP | Tuesday 1/24/2023  One person was killed and two were injured after an earthquake struck western Nepal on Tuesday, a local official told AFP, with authorities still searching for damage. […]

Climate change increases human trafficking risks: UN

Vienna, Austria | AFP | Tuesday 1/24/2023  Evidence is emerging that climate-related disasters are becoming a cause of human trafficking as criminal gangs exploit a growing number of uprooted people, the UN said Tuesday. The continuing war in Ukraine is also another risk factor for increased human trafficking, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in a report. “Climate change is increasing vulnerability to trafficking,” the UNODC report said. “While a systematic […]

Power returns to Pakistan a day after massive outage

Islamabad, Pakistan | AFP | Tuesday 1/24/2023 by Nasir Jaffry and Kaneez Fatima in Lahore The national power grid was restored in Pakistan, the energy minister said on Tuesday, a day after a nationwide breakdown left most of the country’s 220 million people without electricity and caused tens of millions of dollars in industry losses. The outage started around 7:30 am (0230 GMT) on Monday, a failure linked to a cost-cutting measure as Pakistan grapples […]

Start training Ukrainians to use Leopard tanks, Germany says

Berlin, Germany | AFP | Tuesday 1/24/2023   by Femke COLBORNE Germany said Tuesday that allies could start training Ukrainian forces to use the Leopard battle tanks desperately sought by Kyiv to repel Russian troops, provoking a defiant response from the Kremlin. Berlin stopped short of granting permission for the tanks to be sent to Ukraine, but underscored that the pending decision was imminent. Poland sought to push Germany to speed up its decision, with Warsaw […]

Several top Ukraine officials quit amid corruption claims

Kyiv, Ukraine | AFP | Tuesday 1/24/2023   by Daria ANDRIIEVSKA Several senior Ukrainian officials announced their resignations Tuesday as the defence ministry was shaken by accusations of food procurement fraud, in the country’s largest corruption scandal since the start of Russia’s invasion. Ukraine has a history of endemic corruption, including among the political elite, but efforts to stamp out graft have been overshadowed by Moscow’s full-scale war that began in February. Kyiv’s Western allies, which […]

Cable sabotage cuts all traffic from busy Paris station

Paris, France | AFP | Tuesday 1/24/2023 One of the busiest train stations in Paris suffered a total traffic shutdown on Tuesday after vandals triggered a major signal malfunction by setting cables on fire. All traffic from Gare de l’Est, which serves routes to Germany, eastern France and is a key local train commuter hub, was cut for the entire day, operator SNCF said. A fire broke out at a signals point at around 3:00 […]

Thai police seize 1.1 tonnes of crystal meth in under a week

Bangkok, Thailand | AFP | Tuesday 1/24/2023   Thai police seized 1.1 tonnes of crystal methamphetamine in less than a week, officers said Tuesday, as the kingdom cracks down on smuggling that has surged since the country’s borders reopened. The haul comes after a spike in clashes between police and smugglers in the kingdom’s remote northern hinterlands, long a hub for the trade in illegal narcotics. Following a tip-off, police arrested 10 Thai nationals in a […]

Earth’s inner core may have started spinning other way: study

by Daniel Lawler Agence France Presse Paris, France (AFP) — Far below our feet, a giant may have started moving against us. Earth’s inner core, a hot iron ball the size of Pluto, has stopped spinning in the same direction as the rest of the planet and might even be rotating the other way, research suggested on Monday. Roughly 5,000 kilometres (3,100 miles) below the surface we live on, this “planet within the planet” can […]

Korda says could barely hold racquet in painful Australian Open exit

Melbourne, Australia | AFP | Tuesday 1/24/2023  Sebastian Korda said he could barely hold the racquet before retiring in the Australian Open quarter-finals Tuesday, but despite the disappointment is confident of “really big things” ahead. The 22-year-old American hurt himself in the second set against Russia’s Karen Khachanov and called it quits when trailing 7-6 (7/5), 6-3, 3-0. He said he first felt the injury while playing the Adelaide International this month, where he made […]

IMF approves $105 mn in emergency aid to Haiti

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday approved emergency aid of $105 million for Haiti, which has long been mired in a humanitarian crisis that has been exacerbated by recent global inflation. The funds should enable the Caribbean country to “support those most affected by food price rises through feeding programs and cash and in-kind transfers to vulnerable households” said Antoinette Sayeh, the IMF deputy managing director, in a statement. The […]

‘Top Gun’ among blockbuster sequels targeting Oscar noms

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) – The Oscar nominations for a year in which the big-screen box office finally bounced back from the pandemic will be unveiled Tuesday, with Academy voters expected to reward blockbusters such as “Top Gun: Maverick” for helping to save movie theaters. Tom Cruise’s long-awaited sequel to his huge 1986 hit is the most likely crowd-pleaser to make the cut for best picture — Hollywood’s most coveted prize — but other popular […]