Author: News Desk

In a traditional custom for lame-duck presidents, Joe Biden announced he would grant a record-breaking 1,500 commutations and 39 pardons on Thursday, weeks after he controversially pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, after promising not to grant him clemency.

Opposition leader John Draman Mahama’s win in last weekend’s presidential election in Ghanais a significant milestone in African politics. Ghana’s Electoral Commission confirmed late on Monday that with vote counting complete, 66-year-old Mahama’s party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), had scored around 56% of the ballots cast in the West African country. Mahama’s victory against Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, the candidate running for the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), rejuvenated opposition parties in Africa seeking change, showing that change is not only possible but attainable. After eight years with the NPP in power, Mahama’s victory further inspires opposition groups across Africa after earlier in the year, incumbent…

There is nothing futuristic about the age of artificial intelligence; it has already begun. In 2024, AI won two Nobel Prizes, one given to John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton for laying its foundations and the other given to Demis Hassabis, John Jumper and David Baker for applying it to biology. The five largest companies in the world are all technology companies. The company that designs AI chips, Nvidia, has multiplied its value 27 times over the past five years. But ChatGPT is only two years old, and the AI applications are still prototypes, yet millions of people are already using…

For months the bishop of Piazza Armerina Rosario Gisana has been at the center of controversy, the judges of Enna who condemned the pedophile priest Giuseppe Rugolo have slammed the monsignor for having «omitted any initiative to protect minors, facilitating the predatory activity of a prelate already subject to reporting”. “He covered a pedophile priest.” Gisana, the bishop of Piazza Armerina, is under investigation for perjury https://palermo.repubblica.it/cronaca/2024/12/13/news/piazza_armerina_vescovo_indagato_procura_enna-423883737/?rss

China stocks led losses in Asia Friday after Beijing affirmed its recent policy shifts and stressed on plans to boost growth following a high-profile meeting Thursday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.39%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 was down 0.94%. Most other Asia-Pacific markets also fell, tracking Wall Street declines following a hotter-than-expected producer price inflation reading. The outlier was South Korea’s Kospi, which gained 0.23%, while the small-cap Kosdaq rose 1.01%. Internet firm Kakao gained over 5%, with many of its subsidiaries seeing huge gains. Shares of Samsung Biologics, the fourth-largest company in the Kospi by market cap,…

The national memorial to Queen Elizabeth II could cost £46,000,000, according to a provisional budget released before a design is chosen. From today, artists, architects and engineers will compete to have their design selected for a monument commemorating the country’s longest reigning monarch. It will stand in the heart of London, in the area of St James’s Park’s Blue Bridge, with views of the Queen’s former residence, Buckingham Palace, as well as Horse Guard Parade, Big Ben and the London Eye. The late Queen’s former private secretary Lord Janvrin, chairman of the committee, said: ‘The memorial must be – simply…

Country music star Morgan Wallen scooped four Billboard Music Awards in a ceremony which aired hours after he pleaded guilty to two counts of reckless endangerment in court. Wallen picked up awards for top male artist, top country artist, and top country male artist as well as top collaboration for the track I Had Some Help which he featured on with US star Post Malone. The awards ceremony, featuring a pre-recorded acceptance speech from Wallen, was broadcast hours after he appeared at a criminal court to plead guilty to throwing a chair from the rooftop of a six-storey bar in…

David Puttnam, the renowned film producer, educator, and environmentalist, has said equipping school teachers with strong digital literacy skills is key to ensuring our young children have the ability to make sound judgements on social media. Mr Puttnam this week received an honorary doctorate at University College Cork (UCC) along with actor Jeremy Irons, Chernobyl activist Adi Roche, and national rowing coach Dominic Casey. For Puttnam, who has lived in Skibbereen in West Cork with his wife Patsy since 1998, the award was special. “Over the years, I’ve had quite a number of honorary degrees. But what’s different and special…

French President Emmanuel Macron was expected Thursday to name a new prime minister a week after MPs toppled the government, shortening a visit to Poland amid a torrent of criticism over the prolonged political crisis. Macron had promised to name a replacement government chief within 48 hours after meeting party leaders at his Elysée Palace office Tuesday, participants said. Hope for movement increased when Macron’s office said he would “shorten” a trip to Poland trip and return to Paris “in the early evening.” But the president has in the past often taken longer than expected with such decisions. He…

Along with an institution dedicated to the French language, which opened its doors in Villers-Cotterêts, Picardy, in 2023, it was to be the other major museum project of Emmanuel Macron’s presidency. But the Terrorism Memorial Museum, due to open in March 2027 in the Paris suburb of Suresnes, will not see the light of day. The news was made official in a December 10 press release from the museum’s planning committee: “This decision was taken unilaterally, without any consultation of those in charge of the project, without knowing anything about its progress, and without informing the associations of victims of…