Category: International

BRICS Bloc May Expand as 19 Nations Request Membership, Official Reveals

With only weeks until South Africa hosts the annual two-day summit of BRICS nations in June, one official revealed that many countries requested membership to join the bloc of emerging-market states. BRICS comprises five countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—with prominent emerging market economies. Anil Sooklal, South Africa’s ambassador to the organization, confirmed to…


Global Retailers Seek New Ways to Lure in Shoppers as Spending Slows

BARCELONA—Europe’s cost of living crisis has benefited discount retailers but mid-market names are being squeezed as shoppers watch their spending, executives and analysts at an industry conference said on Tuesday. Luxury is also continuing to perform well, with hopes that China’s reopening will give fresh impetus as a months-long post-pandemic splurge by Americans starts to…


WHO Dismisses Senior Official Over Sexual Misconduct Claims

The World Health Organization (WHO) has dismissed one of its senior doctors at its Geneva headquarters after multiple women accused him of “sexual misconduct,” officials have confirmed. “Dr. Temo Waqanivalu has been dismissed from WHO following findings of sexual misconduct against him and corresponding disciplinary process,” WHO spokeswoman Marcia Poole said in a statement to Agence France-Presse on…


Air Pollution May Impair Infant Cognitive Development: Study

New research by British scientists has found an association between poor air quality and impaired cognitive ability in children in India in their first two years of life. The findings suggests that poor air quality may have a negative impact on infants’ visual cognition during the first two years of their lives. The study, conducted…


Vivid Aurora Australis Light up Night Skies in Spectacular Display

New Zealand’s night sky lit up with streams of pink and green, treating viewers to a spectacle of the Aurora Australis. The lights, visible to the naked eye, were seen across the southern island, all the way up north to Wellington and Hawke’s Bay. Kiwis rushed to social media to share the sights, which was…


Time Is Ticking for Jim Chalmers to Make His Mark as Treasurer

Commentary Australia’s federal treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is a young man in a hurry. While his mentor was Treasurer Wayne Swan, for whom he worked between 2007 and 2013, he appears to have Paul Keating’s trajectory in mind—treasurer to the prime minister. But Keating’s rise was meteoric. Winning office in only March 1983, he had done…


Millions to Be Spent on Long COVID Study

Research into long COVID will get a significant boost from Australia, following the federal government’s announcement it will provide $50 million (US$33.5 million) from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) towards the study of the disease. This comes after a national inquiry into the condition called for the establishment of a nationally coordinated research program for…


New Purple Tomato Reaching Grocery Shelves This Year

A new tomato, genetically engineered to produce very high levels of the cancer-fighting antioxidant “anthocyanins”, which as a result have turned the usually red fruit into a deep purple, is set to be released in markets this year. Anthocyanins—also found in berries—are thought to offer protection against cardiovascular disease and age-related degenerative diseases as well….


Russia Claims to Have Foiled Ukrainian Drone Strike on Key Naval Base in Crimea

Russian defenses thwarted a waterborne drone attack on the Crimean Port of Sevastopol—home to Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet—top Russian officials have claimed. “Today … the Kyiv regime attempted to attack the Black Sea Fleet’s base in the city of Sevastopol with three unmanned speedboats,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in its daily briefing for April…


Australian Jockey Holland Dies After Fall

Australian jockey Dean Holland has died as a result of injuries sustained after falling during a race at the Donald Racecourse in Victoria on Monday, Racing Victoria said. “Holland was one of two riders dislodged from their horse in the opening race. He was immediately attended to by on-course paramedics, however, was unable to be…