World News

Varsha Sharma has been through some turbulent years on her small farm in the mountainous state of Himachal Pradesh, in northern India. For more than a century her family have been rice farmers, but erratic rainfall and water being diverted for industry have made cultivating rice more difficult.

Seven years ago she switched to a hybrid rice variety and to growing apples, but that just caused fresh problems. The hybrid rice variety promised increased production, but needed a lot of additives, which she says damaged the soil.

India's space agency has released latest images of the Moon as its third lunar mission starts descending towards the little-explored south pole. The pictures have been taken by Vikram, Chandrayaan-3's lander, before it began the last phase of its mission.

Vikram, which carries a rover in its belly, is due to land near the south pole on 23 August. The lander detached from the propulsion module, which carried it close to the Moon.

The Online News Act, Bill C-18, in Canada is forcing large social media platforms to pay Canadian news publishers for sharing their content. The parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Meta, responded by pulling news from its subsidiaries.

Problem is, 50% of Canadians get their news from such social media sources. This is creating an information vacuum for those trying to escape Yellowknife due to rapidly approaching wildfire in the Northwest Territories’ capital.

A strong 6.3 magnitude quake shook the Bogota capital of Colombia as well as other cities such as Medellín and Cali.

The initial quake was followed shortly by a strong 5.7 aftershock sending people out into the streets and causing damage to buildings. The epicentres of both quakes were around 100 miles southeast of Bogota.

With global forecasts positioning travel and tourism as a leading driver of Africa’s economic growth over the next decade, Jamaica’s Minster of Tourism Hon. Edmund Bartlett has highlighted the strategic importance of the Caribbean in engaging members of the African Diaspora domiciled in the Americas to forge stronger partnerships between both regions and benefit from this promising trajectory.

Residents of Yellowknife were scrambling to leave the northern Canadian city by air and road ahead of a noon Friday evacuation deadline. There are hours-long queues at the airport and hundreds of passengers have been turned away from packed flights.

The main highway has long traffic queues with officials fearing the road could be cut off as the fire nears. It is one of 240 fires in the Northwest Territories and was about 15km (9 miles) from Yellowknife on Thursday.

Despite the portrayal of heroism in movies and television, it’s worth remembering that not all superheroes wear capes or fly through the air to fight archvillains intent on ruling the Earth.

World Humanitarian Day, celebrated annually August 19, was established by the United Nations General Assembly to honour humanitarians worldwide who work with little fanfare in conflict zones, refugee resettlement centres, areas hit by disasters or even urban soup kitchens. The following are examples of heroes from the United States:

The Gambia Experience, in partnership with conservation organisation *CAPED Gambia (Community Action Platform on Environment and Development), is supporting a tree planting project in Sintet. Providing vital funds through its Carbon Offset Scheme, the tour operator is assisting the planting of over 7000 highly endangered indigenous fruit and nut tree species.

The project which commenced on July 29th aims to make a significant impact on the environment, food security, and entrepreneurship within the region’s vulnerable rural communities. The Gambia Experience has a longstanding partnership with CAPED Gambia and has previously provided funding to support mangrove restoration over 15 hectares of degraded wetland within the villages of Kalimu and Soma.

The day that World War II effectively ended is commonly known as V-J Day, or Victory over Japan Day, when Imperial Japan surrendered to the Allies.

Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945 (which was August 14 in the Americas and Eastern Pacific Islands). September 2, 1945, was the day the formal surrender ceremony took place in Tokyo Bay, aboard the battle vessel USS Missouri, at the war’s end.

Yesterday afternoon, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell participated in a White House media brief to provide an update on the federal response to wildfires in Hawaii.

Criswell called into the briefing while on the ground in Hawaii where she’s been surveying the damages with Gov. Josh Green. She announced that FEMA is now offering two programs to provide immediate resources to wildfire survivors.

Currently, 44 children are receiving care from Save a Child’s Heart in Israel in a partnership between Ethiopian Airlines and its Israel-based representation and management company, TAL Aviation. Being the largest African carrier, Ethiopian Airlines has emerged as a significant player in the world of aviation.

Though flying is its core business, programs such as “Save A Child’s Heart” and “Back to Origins” are just two of many socially conscious programs that enhance the social responsibility of this Ethopia-based African Star Alliance member airline.

More than a dozen federal agencies and departments are mobilised to assist state, county, nonprofit and private sector partners to help the people of Hawaii with recent devastating wildfires.

Personnel from FEMA, federal agencies and voluntary organizations are arriving daily to Hawaii to support active response and initial recovery efforts. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell is in Hawaii today with U.S. Fire Administrator Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell and Administrator Isabella Guzman of the U.S. Small Business Administration to meet with Gov. Josh Green and other officials to assess the damage.

The government of The Bahamas is delighted to announce a major partnership with HUB350 and the Kanata North Business Association (KNBA). This collaboration forms part of a broader vision to leverage technology and innovation to transform The Bahamas into a leading hub in tourism and climate change resilience. 

The pivotal role in brokering this transformative partnership was played by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Aviation, and Investments, Chester Cooper, Minister of State, Ginger Moxey, and the Bahamas High Commission, under the leadership of High Commissioner V. Alfred Gray and First Secretary Nahaja Black. Their combined effort and strategic negotiation have resulted in an alliance that aims to enhance The Bahamas’ technological capacity and promote sustainable development. 

The Embassy of Nepal dispatched 40 wooden items that were provided by the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) branch of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to Nepal. Qatar Airways transported the artifacts. The Embassy plans to deliver them to the Department of Archaeology in Kathmandu, Nepal, on August 12, 2023.

The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confiscated these unlawfully taken Nepalese artifacts in Hawaii during August 2010. In 2011, the Nepalese government formally made a request to the United States government for the repatriation of these items.

Eighty people were confirmed to have been killed by wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui, officials say. There are fears the numbers will rise further, as hundreds are still uncontactable.

Firefighters have been trying to contain fires in several areas, including the historic town of Lahaina which has been utterly devastated. Hawaii's attorney general has announced a "comprehensive review" into how the authorities responded to the wildfires.

Amari Kuala Lumpur is delighted to announce that it has been named the winner of the Luxury Lifestyle Award for Best Luxury City Hotel in Malaysia for 2023. Operated by ONYX Hospitality Group, a reputable force in Southeast Asia's hospitality industry with over five decades of management experience, Amari Kuala Lumpur is a shining example of the company's commitment to excellence.

The Luxury Lifestyle Awards is a global awards programme that recognises excellence across the whole range of industry sectors. The awards are held annually and are judged by an independent panel of experts.