Author: Press Room

For millions of Americans, the Covid-19 emergency, that disorienting stretch of lockdowns, mandates, free-floating anxiety and exhaustion came to a muted end sometime during the past couple of years, brought about by vaccines and antiviral drugs.The expiration of the federal public health emergency on Thursday was a barely noticed formality.But signs remain everywhere of a changed country: in the many thousands of families quietly grieving a loss, in the struggles of those suffering from long Covid and in the continued reliance by many Americans on one of the pandemic’s most hotly debated tools: the humble mask.“This is my new norm,”…

A few days of cooler, wetter weather has not been enough to extinguish the dozens of active wildfires burning hundreds of square kilometres across Alberta, and hot weather in the forecast has prompted some residents of Grande Prairie to prepare to evacuate as a wildfire burns outside the city. “If a person looks out, the kids and I are playing in the yard here and everything just seems normal, but we are fully aware that there is still a wildfire,” said Brandon Wilson, who lives just two kilometres outside of the area currently under evacuation order.The most up to date…

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev took part in Russia’s most important annual public event this week – the May 9 celebration of the USSR’s victory over Nazi Germany in 1945. Russian President Vladimir Putin has turned “Victory Day” into a huge ceremony, where leaders of ex-Soviet nations show up to re-confirm their alliances. Some of them, including Mirziyoyev, also have a taste for the political longevity Putin seems to desire. After Russia’s constitution was amended in 2020 to “annul” Putin’s previous terms, nothing but his own mortality prevents the septuagenarian from presiding over 13 more Victory Day parades. Mirziyoyev, who ruled…

Sweden’s Loreen is favourite to win Eurovision ahead of Finland’s Kaarija and Ukraine’s Tvorchi, bookmakers William Hill say, adding that Australian rockers Voyager are also being backed after their appearance in the semi-final.The grand final of the song contest will be held on Saturday night (Sunday morning in Australia) in Liverpool, northern England, which is hosting the event on behalf of last year’s winners Ukraine.Twenty of the finalists have been endorsed by the public in two semi-finals.They will be joined by Ukraine and the “big five” of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Italy in the final.”Sweden are the…

KUALA LUMPUR: The United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) is still relevant despite the perception that it is now like a “lifeless” party following its poor electoral showings since 2018, said party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on Thursday (May 11).  “We see that UMNO seems like it is lifeless. That is the perception of society as a whole.  “But UMNO is still relevant even though our number of members in parliament is only 26 at the moment with four more from BN (Barisan Nasional),” he said at the party’s 77th anniversary celebration.  According to Bernama, Ahmad Zahid – who is also…

Africa is the second-most popular continent in the world, and a wide range of languages can be found in the African continent with a total population of about 1.34 billion people. Among the many wide ranges of languages spoken in Africa, English is one of them and there are several English countries in Africa. The African continent holds the record of being the second-largest continent in the world after Asia, also the second most populous continent in the world. Here is the list of the Top 10 Best English Speaking African Countries: Top 10 English speaking countries in Africa 1.…

Antakya, Turkey – Ali Bilgin stayed behind in Antakya after devastating earthquakes on February 6 triggered an exodus from the city in southern Turkey. The human rights lawyer pitched tents outside his damaged home in a southern suburb and has been fixing the damage himself. Some of his guests remain fearful of entering homes, but he was recently able to get up to the roof of the two-floor detached house and enjoy a view of the city. Ahead of Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14, he has been training volunteers to work as election observers at polling stations…

A 17-year-old migrant child from Honduras who arrived in the U.S. without a parent or guardian has died in government custody in Florida, officials said Friday, in what is believed to be the first such death in years. Enrique Reina, the Honduran secretary of foreign affairs, identified the child as Ángel Eduardo Maradiaga Espinoza and called for an “exhaustive investigation” into his death. Reina said the child was being held at a shelter used to house unaccompanied children in Safety Harbor, Florida, a small city west of Tampa.The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) acknowledged the death in a…

Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen on Thursday downplayed the possibility that President Biden could essentially ignore the debt limit by invoking the 14th Amendment, calling the idea “legally questionable.”Her comments come as lawmakers and the Biden administration remain locked in a standoff over whether and how to raise the debt ceiling, which caps how much money the federal government can borrow. Ms. Yellen warned lawmakers last week that the United States could run out of money to pay its bills on time by June 1.Mr. Biden is scheduled to meet with top congressional leaders again on Friday, after an initial…

Blockchain for data company Flare announced on Friday a new strategic partnership with Rationarium, the world’s first full-stack cloud enterprise solution provider for web3.  This collaboration will result in an advanced enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution, offering an array of cutting-edge features to enhance operational efficiency and financial management within the web3 ecosystem. Rationarium specializes in assisting web3 and blockchain companies by consolidating both off-chain and on-chain transactions into a unified ledger. Its crypto-native ERP solution includes customizable accounting and tax modules, empowering clients to tweek the software according to their specific requirements. Flare to integrate Rationarium’s solutions As part…