US: Senate passes debt ceiling bill, averts first-ever default
Washington: The US Senate on Friday passed the debt limit bill.
World
Canada: Toronto officially proclaims June as Indigenous Peoples Month
Toronto/IBNS: June as Indigenous Peoples Month was officially proclaimed Thursday by Toronto's Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie (Scarborough-Rouge Park) who announced programming for the Na-Me-Res Pow Wow, Indigenous Arts Festival and other related City of Toronto events, a news release said.
Ex-Brazilian president Collor sentenced to over 8 yrs in prison
Mexico City/UNI: The Supreme Federal Court of Brazil has sentenced Former President and Senator Fernando Affonso Collor de Mello to eight years and ten months in prison for passive corruption and money laundering in 2010-2014, local media reported on Wednesday.
Canada: 17 children, 1 adult injured in walkway collapse
Ottawa/UNI: Eighteen people, 17 of them children, were injured after falling off an elevated walkway in central Canada, local media reported.
Russia: 2 wounded in shelling of Belgorod
Moscow/UNI: Two people were injured in Ukrainian shelling of the Shebekino town in Russia's Belgorod region overnight, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
US: Former Vice President Mike Pence to announce presidential campaign
Washington/UNI: Former US Vice President Mike Pence is expected to announce his 2024 presidential campaign as early as June 7, NBC News said on Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Sudan extends airspace closure to June 15
Khartoum/UNI: Sudan's Civil Aviation Authority on Wednesday extended the closure of the country's airspace to June 15 amid continued armed conflict between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
Russia temporarily bans export of cartridges
Moscow/UNI: Russia has imposed a temporary ban on the export of firearms cartridges and cartridge cases, the cabinet said.
Gunmen kill 6 people in southern Nigeria
Lagos/UNI: At least six people were killed by unidentified gunmen who attacked two communities in southern Nigeria, according to the police.
Anti-corruption drive: China fined more than 1 lakh people
Beijing: China has fined more than 1,11,000 people under corruption charges in the first quarter of 2023 after they received nearly 776,000 petitions and reports, media reports said.
Canada: Alberta UCP's Danielle Smith survives a tight vote, wins a renewed majority in provincial election
Alberta/IBNS: Alberta’s United Conservative Party (UCP) leader Danielle Smith was elected for a second term in Monday’s election despite losing seats in a tight battle against the New Democrats.
Defence of mosque: Thousands of ethnic minority Muslims defy Chinese authorities
A large number of ethnic minority Muslims surrounded a mosque in southwestern China recently as they tried to stop the attempt by authorities to remove its dome and minarets, media reports said.
Belarus: ‘Unprecedented level of repression’ must end, say UN rights experts
A large group of UN-appointed independent human rights experts on Tuesday called on the Belarusian authorities to immediately release all those being held on “spurious charges”, simply for exercising their fundamental rights to peaceful assembly, association and expression, to be released without delay.
Racism which scars societies, must be stamped out, forum for people of African descent hears
New York: Racism is a global problem, and every country must take a stance against it, General Assembly President Csaba Kőrösi said on Monday, addressing the latest meeting of a UN platform to improve the safety and quality of life of people of African descent worldwide.
Fresh diplomatic gains must match action on the ground in Syria to end war
New York: Action on the ground must match diplomacy’s steadily advancing gains towards ending the 12-year-old war in Syria, where violence is once again, killing a growing numbers of civilians, the top UN official in the country said on Tuesday.
IAEA chief outlines five principles to avert nuclear ‘catastrophe’ in Ukraine
New York: The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Tuesday urged the UN Security Council to unambiguously support five principles aimed at preventing a nuclear accident amid the war in Ukraine, now in its 15th month.
UN humanitarians complete first food distribution in Khartoum as hunger, threats to children, intensify
New York: For the first time since fighting broke out in Sudan on 15 April, humanitarians have been able to reach desperate families trapped in the conflict’s epicentre, Khartoum, with food assistance, the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday.
New Yorkers gather to witness Manhattanhenge
New York: People in New York gathered to witness the grand Manhattanhenge spectacle in the city on Tuesday.
Nuclear Tests: Free Balochistan Movement demonstrates against Pakistan in UK, European cities
London: The Free Balochistan Movement members demonstrated on May 28 in Germany, the UK and the Netherlands to mark ‘Aashrokh’ – the day of mourning in Balochistan, media reports said.
Pakistan: Sugar, flour prices spike in Balochistan
Pakistan's Balochistan region is witnessing a spike in the price of sugar and flour, media reports said on Wednesday.
Four Bangladeshi nationals die as fire breaks out in Abu Dhabi factory
Abu Dhabi: At least Bangladeshi citizens died as a fire broke out at a sofa manufacturing factory in Abu Dhabi city of the UAE.
Food insecurity improves in Sri Lanka but prevails within specific regions
Food security in Sri Lanka is improving across all provinces, according to the Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM) report jointly carried out in February/March 2023 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).
North Korea says its spy space satellite crashed into sea
North Korea has claimed an accident occurred when it planned to send up its first space satellite which crashed into the sea.
British PM announces crackdown on illicit vapes targeting children, closes loophole on free samples
London/IBNS: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced a crackdown on the illicit sale of vapes to children, expressing shock at reports of lead-containing vapes reaching schoolchildren.
Canada’s New Democratic Party calls on govt to waive deporting Indian students who arrived on fake admission letters
Ottawa/IBNS: The Canadian government has reportedly been requested by the New Democratic Party (NDP) not to deport 150 Punjabi students, who, according to the Canadian Border Security Agency (CBSA), arrived on fake college admission letters.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk explores business expansion in China during meeting with Foreign Minister
Beijing/China: Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, recently met with China's Foreign Minister, Qin Gang, during his visit to Beijing on Tuesday.
China Coast Guard vessels electronically proclaim presence around Senkakus: Report
Tokyo: The Japanese Coast Guard has said the China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels have been navigating in Japan’s territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands in Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, since March, while operating automatic identification system (AIS) equipment to announce their presence, according to media reports.
Canada: Halifax wildfire damages about 200 homes, structures
Nova Scotia/IBNS: Out of control wildfire in northwest Halifax has damaged hundreds of homes, with thousands of residences under a mandatory evacuation order, officials said.
Hindu Punchayat’s protest over toddler’s abduction in Pakistan
Sukkur: The Hindu Panchayat of Kandhkot-Kashmore district recently demonstrated against the disappearance of a three-year-old boy in Jacobabad and Ghotki districts.
Nuclear Tests in Balochistan: Baloch activists protest against Pakistan in Germany
Gottingen: Baloch political activists in Germany recently demonstrated against Pakistan to mark the 23rd anniversary of the nuclear test conducted on Baloch land in the Chaghi region.