Author: News Desk

Berlin : The German government agreed Tuesday to provide 58 billion euros ($68 billion) to help rebuild regions hit by devastating floods last month. Chancellor Angela Merkel and the heads of Germany’s 16 states approved the state flood aid package, which still needs parliament’s endorsement, reports AP. More than 180 people died in Germany and hundreds more were injured in the July 14-15 floods, which also claimed lives in neighboring Belgium. Heavy rainfall turned small streams into raging torrents, sweeping away houses, bridges and cars. A United Nations science panel released a report this week predicting that such extreme weather events…

China : Michael Spavor has been detained since 2018, after being arrested with fellow Canadian ex-diplomat Michael Kovrig. The verdict will test a strained relationship between the Canadian and Chinese governments. It comes as an extradition battle involving Meng Wanzhou, a senior executive at Chinese tech giant Huawei, takes place in Canada. Critics have accused China of treating both Spavor and Kovrig as political bargaining chips, held as part of what is known as “hostage diplomacy”. In a statement published  the Dandong court said: “For the crime of spying and illegal provision of state secrets abroad [Spavor] has been sentenced…

US : Facebook said on Tuesday it had removed a network of accounts from Russia that it linked to a marketing firm which aimed to enlist influencers to push anti-vaccine content about the COVID-19 jabs. The social media company said it had banned accounts connected to Fazze, a subsidiary of UK-registered marketing firm AdNow, which primarily conducted its operations from Russia, for violating its policy against foreign interference. Facebook said the campaign used its platforms primarily to target audiences in India, Latin America and, to a smaller extent, the United States. The company’s investigators called the campaign a “disinformation laundromat,” creating…

Kabul : Taliban insurgents tightened their grip on captured Afghan territory on Tuesday as civilians hid in their homes, and a European Union official said the militants now control 65% of the country after a string of gains as foreign forces pull out. President Ashraf Ghani called on regional strongmen to support his government, while a UN official said advances made in human rights in the 20 years since the hardline Islamists were ousted from power were in danger of being erased. In the capital Kabul, Ghani’s aides said he was seeking help from regional militias he has squabbled with…

US :  The Senate on Tuesday passed a sweeping $550 billion infrastructure bill that would make a huge investment in the nation’s roads, public transit, water and broadband. The bill passed 69 to 30, with 19 Republicans joining all Democrats. The passage marks a victory for President Joe Biden, who made rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure the centerpiece of his campaign and who told the American people he could help usher in a new era of bipartisan cooperation. The bill passed the Senate after it was able to clear several procedural hurdles. The bill will go next to the House, where…

Cuomo is resigning but not taking responsibility for “everything he’s accused of. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo resignation is a move to protect his political legacy says Catherine Lucey, a White House reporter said “He’s resigning, but he’s not accepting the conclusions of the report. He’s not taking responsibility for everything he’s accused of. He really is… trying to frame this as a generational divide, that he was trying to be friendly, that he never thought he overstepped any lines. But the accusations and the claims by these women are serious, they’re consistent, they’re sweeping and there’s overwhelming amount of evidence…

US : Apple announced a series of new features targeted at child safety on its devices, which is not live so far, features of the app will be announced later this year. Apples intention of these features are universally accepted to be good ones. The protection of children, the limit of the spread of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). Head of Privacy at Apple shared details about the features,  the tactical and strategic issues etc. CSAM detection in iCloud Photos – A detection system called NeuralHash creates identifiers it can compare with IDs from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and other…

Bahrain : Advisor to His Majesty the King for Media Affairs, Nabil bin Yacoub Al Hamer received Saudi newspaper Al Jazeera office Director in Bahrain Journalist Jamal bin Muhammad Al Yaqout, who presented to him a copy of his new book “The Beauty of the Word is Jamal.” The advisor praised the contents of the book and the contributions of the writer in the journalistic and media fields that enriched the literary sector, and his good efforts in enhancing the distinguished relations with Saudi Arabia in all fields, wishing him further success. The writer expressed his appreciation to the advisor for his support and…

Sydney : Australia’s most populous state is reporting a new daily high of 356 coronavirus infections. The New South Wales government also reported four more COVID-19 deaths Tuesday. The death toll since the latest outbreak was detected in Sydney in mid-June is now 32. One of the latest deaths is a man in his 80s who was infected overseas, while the rest caught the virus locally. More than 80% of the state’s 8.2 million people are in lockdown, including the greater Sydney region. The Sydney lockdown began June 26, and hopes are fading that restrictions will be eased as planned…

Bahrain :  Secretary-General of the Shura Council, Chancellor Osama Ahmed Al-Asfoor, said that Bahrain always places its trust its youth competencies, who have always proven their ability to manage various challenges and push the innovation and modernisation process forward. He stressed that Bahraini youth should continue their efforts to acquire administrative expertise, and to integrate them with scientific and training experiences in order to promote national outcomes and initiatives, whether in the field of government work or the private sector, in a way that contributes to achieving the forecast national aspirations and managing the development process in the Kingdom. Al-Asfoor…