Browsing: News

Suella Braverman, Britain’s interior minister, said the government’s plan to stop almost all migrants from claiming asylum was legal despite warnings that it would violate international law. According to Reuters, lawyers and charities said the plans would violate the UN convention on refugees, introduced after many countries turned away Jewish refugees during World War II. Under successive prime ministers, the Conservative government has put forward a series of immigration policies to stop people from arriving by small boats on the English coast. Asylum seekers who reach Britain in small boats will be detained without bail before being deported to their…

A Missouri state law declaring several federal gun laws invalid is unconstitutional, giving the Department of Justice a victory. A law signed by Republican Governor Mike Parson in 2021 declared that certain federal gun laws violated the constitution’s Second Amendment, Reuters reports. A federal judge in Jefferson City, Missouri, ruled that the state’s Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA) violates the Supremacy Clause, which holds that federal laws take precedence over state laws. The judge sided with Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration, calling the law’s practical effects “counterintuitive to its stated purpose.” “I am committed to defending Missourians’ fundamental rights to…

U.S. State Department on Friday announced $6 billion in funding commitments for ocean protection and climate change fighting. U.S. climate envoy John Kerry announced the amount at an oceans conference in Panama on Thursday and it encompasses 77 commitments, the Department of State said. State Department data shows that some $3 billion was committed to climate resilience and climate research as part of the Inflation Reduction Act last year. A total of $665 million will be spent on sustainable fisheries, while $200 million will be dedicated to marine pollution, Reuters reported. Thirty of the 77 commitments concern climate change, amounting…

MENA Newswire: the Big Circle Line (Bolshaya Koltsevaya), designed to expand and modernize the subway system, mainly to relieve traffic congestion on the Circle Line (Koltsevaya Line) and reduce traffic jams in Moscow, finally became fully operational. The Big Circle Line is 70 kilometers long, with 31 stations and three electric depots. The longest circular subway line was built in record time. The first section was opened in 2018, followed by several in 2021, including the longest metro section in Moscow’s history, 21 km long with 10 stations. Unique design and engineering solutions allowed the seamless integration of the subway circle…

Local fishermen discovered the remains of a man who went missing earlier this month in southern Argentina inside a shark. Because a distinct tattoo on Diego Barra’s body was visible, his family was able to identify his remains, according to law enforcement. Barria was last seen on February 18 riding his all-terrain vehicle near the coast in southern Chubut province. An extensive search for Barria began on February 20 after his damaged ATV was recovered, but he was not found. Two local fishermen contacted the coast guard on Sunday morning to report catching three school sharks near where Barria’s ATV…

Anwar Sadat’s diplomatic passport was sold for $47,500 at a Texas auction house on Wednesday, causing anger and confusion. Anwar Sadat’s family has called for an investigation into the sale of his passport at a US auction house, arguing that it is part of the nation’s history. Dallas, Texas-based Heritage Auctions sold Sadat’s diplomatic passport for $47,500 on February 22. As a member of parliament and the grandson of the late president, Kamai Sadat told Ahram that selling his grandfather’s passport would be an insult to the Egyptian people who love the late president. The passport’s journey to the auction…

Grand Old Party (GOP) Presidential candidate Nikki Haley has said that if voted to power, she will cut every cent in foreign aid for countries that hate the US. This includes China, Pakistan and other adversaries as “a strong America doesn’t pay off the bad guys”. “I will cut every cent in foreign aid for countries that hate us. A strong America doesn’t pay off the bad guys. A proud America doesn’t waste our people’s hard-earned money. And the only leaders who deserve our trust are those who stand up to our enemies and stand beside our friends,” Ms Haley,…

Government data showed Wednesday that South Korea’s external debt increased by $32.1 billion from a year earlier. According to the Bank of Korea (BOK) and the finance ministry, Korea’s external liabilities reached $664.5 billion by the end of 2022, up from $632.4 billion in the previous year. There was an increase of $2 billion in short-term debt maturing in a year, with long-term debt increasing by $30 billion over the period to reach $497.8 billion. The ratio of short-term debt to foreign reserves moved up 3.8 percentage points on-year to reach 39.4% at end-2022. A higher ratio means weaker debt-serving…

Actress and activist Jane Fonda is calling for a treaty to protect marine creatures hunted for food like sharks, swordfish, octopus, and tuna, saying they feel joy and sadness when they lose their offspring and are “our brethren in the ocean.” On the day that talks resumed at the United Nations, in a news conference at the headquarters to help forge an elusive treaty aimed at safeguarding marine biodiversity, the 85-year-old Oscar winner said “these marine creatures play with us and they feel emotions, and how dare we be so lacking in humility that we will have to kill them…

The South Korean defense ministry said Tuesday it is seeking to release an overarching national defense strategy next month to chart a mid- and long-term direction for the country’s security policy. Similar to the United States’ National Defense Strategy, the document will replace the existing National Defense Policy. In it, the ministry outlines a 15-year policy direction that will be published every five years. “The ministry is aiming to publish the national defense strategy in early March,” the ministry said in a press release. “It is an overarching document of the defense ministry designed to put forward a clear mid-…