Author: News Desk

Thai king signs same-sex marriage bill into law Thailand has made history as the first country in Southeast Asia to legalise same-sex unions, following the signing of a landmark marriage equality bill by the king. The bill, which passed the Senate in June, received royal endorsement and was officially published in the Royal Gazette on Tuesday. It is set to take effect on January 22 of next year. This moment marks a significant victory for LGBTQ+ activists, who have spent years campaigning for marriage equality in Thailand. The move is seen as a major step forward in LGBTQ+ rights in…

UK stock market does not trust labour Today, the UK stock market has shown mixed reactions, UK stock market does not trust labour reflecting the volatility and uncertainty in the market. The FTSE 100 experienced a rise early in the day, supported by stimulus measures from China, which helped boost sectors like mining and energy. However, volatility remains as global economic concerns persist, especially regarding inflation and interest rate uncertainty. Additionally, Nasdaq and Deutsche Börse have been raided by EU officials investigating whether the exchange groups may have been involved in antitrust violations related to financial derivatives. On the flip…

UNHCR confirms Israel killed 2 staff members in Lebanon The UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, has confirmed the deaths of staff members killed in Israeli air strikes. One of its staff members, Dina Darwiche, and her child in an Israeli airstrike in eastern Lebanon. The strike, part of a barrage of over a thousand airstrikes in the past two days, hit Darwiche’s home on Monday. Her husband and older son were rescued but remain in the hospital with serious injuries. Dina Darwiche had worked at UNHCR’s Bekaa office for 12 years, dedicated to helping refugees. In addition to Darwiche, another UNHCR…

The European Union’s drive to make its supply chain greener risks leading to a scorched-earth policy. A planned on agricultural imports from deforested land will affect developing countries producing commodities like timber and palm oil. The move is already causing exports to go elsewhere. If she doesn’t want to lose vital commodities, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will either have to offer aid or back down on labour and environmental protections. The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), due to come into force on Dec. 30, will prevent goods that can be traced to deforested land from entering the bloc. Products…

Sweden accuses Iran of hack inciting revenge for Quran burnings Sweden’s security service, Sapo, has accused Iranian intelligence of hacking into a Swedish text messaging service to send 15,000 inflammatory messages. The breach, which occurred last summer, involved SMS messages urging “revenge against Quran-burners” after several activists set fire to copies of the Quran during anti-Islam protests in Sweden. The Iranian embassy in Stockholm denied the accusations, calling them “baseless” and damaging to diplomatic relations. However, Swedish authorities claim that their investigation traced the attack to a cyber group called Anzu, allegedly linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC). The group…

Starmer commits to follow international law Sir Keir Starmer commits to follow international law and is being snubbed by the US president for a meeting Keir Starmer will pledge to reaffirm Britain’s commitment to internationalism and the rule of law at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. “This is the time to uphold fundamental principles and show our readiness to defend them. To recommit to the UN, internationalism, and the rule of law.” In contrast, Rishi Sunak has distanced himself from the UN and International Law, indicating a willingness to reject any treaty that conflicts with his Rwanda plan. Britain’s…

CrowdStrike boss apologises for global IT outage On Tuesday, cybersecurity company CrowdStrike faced intense scrutiny in a US congressional hearing over its role in the massive global IT outage that occurred in July.  Adam Meyers, a senior executive at CrowdStrike, testified before a congressional committee about the faulty software update that crippled millions of computers worldwide on July 19. The outage disrupted payment services, grounded flights, and forced hospitals to cancel appointments and postpone surgeries. During the hearing, Meyers expressed deep regret, stating the company was “deeply sorry” for the widespread disruption and was “determined to prevent it from happening…

Sri Lanka’s new leftist president dissolves parliament, calls snap election Sri Lanka’s newly elected president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has officially dissolved the 225-member parliament, setting the stage for an early general election. Dissanayake’s National People’s Power (NPP) alliance, which held only three seats in the dissolved parliament, is aiming for a stronger mandate. The snap election is scheduled for November 14, almost a full year ahead of the original timeline, according to a government gazette announcement. In a significant move, Dissanayake appointed Harini Amarasuriya as the country’s new prime minister on Tuesday. This marks the third time a woman has…

Five men arrested on suspicion of murder after man disappeared a month ago For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsFive men have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man went missing a month ago.Michael Wheeler, 37, has not been seen since he vanished on 24 August, missing several regular appointments and not contacting his “incredibly worried and desperate” family or friends.His car was then found abandoned in his hometown of Yeovil, Somerset,…

‘Her death was preventable’: Mother of murdered Libby Squire says report flashers to prevent worse crimes For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsThe mother of murdered student Libby Squire is urging women and girls to report crimes including flashing and voyeurism, as she warned her daughter’s death was “totally preventable”.The Hull university student was killed by predator Pawel Relowicz, now 28, who had an extensive history of escalating sexual offending.He dumped the 21-year-old’s body…