WORLD
2022 Beijing Olympics: Russian President Putin will attend opening ceremony
Russian President Vladimir Putin has assured Chinese President Xi Jinping that he will attend the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and has also said that he is looking forward to meeting the Chinese President, BBC reported. He made these remarks during a video conference held between the two leaders.
Apple removes controversial child abuse detection tool from webpage
Announced in August, the CSAM feature intended to protect children from predators who use communication tools to recruit and exploit them, and limit the spread of Child Sexual Abuse Material. It was part of the features including scanning users' iCloud Photos libraries for Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), Communication Safety to warn children and their parents when receiving or sending sexually explicit photos and expanded CSAM guidance in Siri and Search.
Floyd's murderer Chauvin pleads guilty to charges in federal civil case
The federal charges accused Chauvin of depriving Floyd's right to be free from "unreasonable seizure, which includes the right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer." "Guilty, your honor," Chauvin, dressed in orange short-sleeve prison shirt, said in the court to confirm his pleas. He pleaded not guilty to those charges in September.
US Congress passes roughly $770bn defense spending bill for FY2022
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) cleared the House last week and now goes to President Joe Biden's desk to be signed into law, Xinhua news agency reported. "For the past six years, Congress worked on a bipartisan basis to pass an annual defense authorization act without fail. ... With so many priorities to balance, I thank my colleagues for working hard over these last few months, both in committee and off the floor, to get NDAA done," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York.
Extreme weather threat predicted for US following deadly tornadoes
Record December heat surging northward to Canada is fueling severe weather across the central US, creating hurricane-force winds, potentially strong overnight tornadoes and an extreme fire threat.
"Another historical weather day is forecast on Wednesday with two never before seen outlooks issued," the National Weather Service (NWS) tweeted. "The Central US has never seen a December storm like this," tweeted Meteorologist Bill Karins. "Multi-hazard, life-threatening weather on Wednesday."
Iran demands 'verifiable guarantees' for possible nuke deal
"Iran is determined to make every effort to restore the JCPOA. To that end, our proposals put forward in Vienna are in full conformity with the JCPOA and Resolution 2231," Takht-Ravanchi said in a statement, the Xinhua news agency reported. Iran has demonstrated its political will, seriousness and constructive engagement with its interlocutors to arrive at a good agreement as soon as possible, he said.
Russia says NATO military aid to Ukraine only heightens tension
"NATO countries are increasing the supply of weapons to Ukraine, training its military personnel, and are not doing this with the mythical aim of maintaining stability and security, but to simply add fuel to the fire," the Ministry's Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said. During her weekly briefing, she expressed concern that these actions could drive Ukraine into a large-scale civil war.
After Tesla, SpaceX workers come forward to speak on sexual harassment
This comes on the heels of six more women filing separate lawsuits against Musk's electric car company Tesla, in the US, for rampant sexually harassment at the workplace. Two other women had filed sexual harassment lawsuit in the US - two within a month's time. One former employee Ashley Kosak, who left SpaceX in November, wrote of her experiences at the rocket company in an essay that was published in Lioness.
In Indonesia, Biden patches up tattered relations and promises better security to counter China
Under the stewardship of Joe Biden, who took over as the President in January, Washington has spent an entire year trying to wriggle back into a global vacuum created by previous president Donald Trump's inward-looking policies. US officials have traversed the globe reassuring governments that it can be depended upon against an aggressive China.
Omicron spreading at unprecedented rate: WHO
WHO Director General Tedros A. Ghebreyesus said that a total of 77 countries have reported Omicron cases so far but the reality is that this variant is probably yet to be detected in some countries. "Omicron is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant. I need to be very clear: vaccines alone will not get any country out of this crisis. It's not vaccines instead of masks, distancing, ventilation or hand hygiene. Do it all. Do it consistently. Do it well", said Ghebreyesus.
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