World

SINGAPORE: Energy connectivity in Southeast Asia could benefit from a feasibility study conducted by Singapore and the United States. Amidst the US-Southeast Asia Clean Energy Roundtable in Singapore on Thursday, Tan See Leng, Singapore’s Second Minister of Trade and Industry, and US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm met (Jul 14). Friday, they issued a joint ministerial statement reiterating their commitment to …

US: The first photographs from the James Webb Space Telescope were made public by NASA on Tuesday. The images demonstrated the telescope’s enormous potential for uncovering the mysteries of the cosmos. The following are some of the things we’ve learned thus far. Advanced scientific devices, such as the Hubble Space Telescope, might occasionally fail to perform as expected. The Hubble …

SCOTLAND: Vincent van Gogh, a Dutch post-Impressionist artist, painted a self-portrait behind another of his works. The discovery was uncovered by conservators at the National Galleries of Scotland during an x-ray inspection of Van Gogh’s 1885 painting “Head of a Peasant Woman” for an upcoming show, the organization announced on Thursday. According to the x-rays, this was the case “bearded …

US: It was announced on Wednesday (July 13) that a former CIA software engineer has been found guilty of the largest theft of secret information in the agency’s history. During his retrial in New York City, Joshua Schulte claimed in closing arguments that the CIA and the FBI made him the scapegoat for WikiLeaks’ embarrassing 2017 leak of a cache …

US: US President Joe Biden arrived in Israel on Wednesday (July 13) to begin a trip to the Middle East, where he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to strengthen Israel’s ties to the area as they prepare to take on Iran. A visit to Saudi Arabia by Biden, who will be making his first regional trip since assuming …

SRI LANKA: He was known as “The Terminator” for his role in ending Sri Lanka’s long-running civil war, but he’s now a wanted man and the country’s economy is in ruins. From 2005 to 2015, Rajapaksa served as Sri Lanka’s defense secretary, one of four brothers who have dominated recent Sri Lankan politics. His tough-guy image was bolstered by reports …

UKRAINE: Ukrainian officials announced on Tuesday that they had launched a long-range rocket strike against Russian army and military equipment in southern Ukraine, which they claim they are intending to reclaim with hundreds of thousands of troops in a counter-offensive. The settlement of Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region was attacked by an airstrike that killed 52 people, according to …

US: COVID is making a resurgence. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday that the pandemic is “nowhere near ending,” and expressed alarm that the virus is running free. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed concern that the number of cases was increasing, putting further strain on already taxed health institutions and staff. According to a news conference, “new waves of the virus …

SOUTH AFRICA: Cricket Australia (CA) was unable to meet South Africa’s request to postpone the January one-day international series against Australia. This series had been set for Hobart (Jan. 12), Sydney (Jan. 14), and Perth in January, however Cricket South Africa requested that it be moved (Jan. 17). There are no other dates available, CA stated in a statement on …

UKRAINE: As a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki agreed to collaborate on Tuesday to combat rising food and energy costs and currency market volatility. Economic and financial stability could be adversely affected by the increased volatility in the exchange rate, they added. They agreed to collaborate “where appropriate” …