Author: HeraldStar

India and the European Union on Friday agreed to conclude a free trade deal by the end of the year, their first commitment to a deadline on talks that have been going for years, as they look to soften the effect of tariff increases from the United States. The announcement was made by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, on a two-day visit to India, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a joint press conference. Both sides have for years been trying to strike a free trade pact, which would involve major concessions by India – one of…

Protesters hurled petrol bombs and set fire to trash cans in Athens on Friday as hundreds of thousands of Greeks went on strike and took to the streets in nationwide demonstrations on the second anniversary of the country’s deadliest train crash. Fifty-seven people were killed when a passenger train filled with students collided with a freight train on February 28, 2023 in central Greece. The accident has become a painful emblem of the perceived neglect of the country’s infrastructure in the decades before the crash and the two years since. “The government hasn’t done anything to get justice,” said Christos…

– A parallel government being set up by Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) aims to grab diplomatic legitimacy from its army-led rival and ease access to advanced weaponry, politicians who back it and paramilitary sources told Reuters. The move could prolong a devastating war in which the paramilitary RSF has recently been losing ground, and effectively splinter Africa’s third largest country by area. Since conflict between the army and the RSF erupted in April 2023, the army-led government has retained wide international recognition, despite being forced by the fighting to move to Port Sudan on the Red Sea. But in a bid to challenge…

On Friday, forces fighting alongside Sudan’s army announced that they had intercepted a substantial quantity of military supplies intended for the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in North Darfur, escalating the ongoing conflict between the two factions. The RSF, however, quickly denied the claims, calling them “incorrect and mere lies,” while the situation remains shrouded in uncertainty as independent verification of the events has not been possible. The Joint Forces, which include former rebel groups now allied with Sudan’s army, made the announcement in a statement, alleging that the intercepted convoy, located southeast of al-Fashir, was carrying a large quantity…

Alesger stated, “The prosecution and punishment of those responsible for the Khojaly Genocide is critically important for ensuring justice above all.” 33 years have passed since the Khojaly Genocide, in which over 600 Azerbaijani Turks were brutally killed. Agil Alesger, Chairman of the Yeni Çağ Media Group and a member of the Azerbaijan Press Council’s Board of Directors, made significant statements on the 33rd anniversary of the Khojaly Massacre. Alesger emphasized that the Khojaly Massacre should be recognized as a crime against humanity under international law. Alesger stated, “This step is crucial for the acknowledgment of the gravity of the…

Islamabad, 26 February 2025– Qaiser Nawab, a renowned advocate for human rights and social justice, visited the Police Khidmat Markaz & Reporting Center for Transgender in Islamabad, where he met Nayab, a distinguished transgender rights activist and in-charge of the center’s transgender wing.During his visit, Nawab appreciated the Islamabad Police for their commitment to protecting the rights of the transgender community and other marginalized groups. He found the police center to be a safe, inclusive, and progressive space dedicated to ensuring justice and equal citizen rights for all.Reflecting on his decade-long struggle for transgender rights, Nawab remarked:“A decade ago, when…

Duo, the green cartoon owl mascot for language learning app Duolingo, has died, and singer Dua Lipa is grieving. The brand announced Duo’s passing on Tuesday, writing in a cheeky statement on their official X page that “Authorities are currently investigating his cause of death and we are cooperating fully. Tbh, he probably died waiting for you to do your lesson, but what do we know.” Duolingo is a smartphone-based language-learning app that offers more than 100 courses covering over 40 languages in bitesize sessions. It became hugely popular during the pandemic, and when you miss a lesson, the app famously sends silly or teasing messages to…

By Wang Kai One month after Donald Trump took office, U.S. inflation surged to 3% for the first time since June, marking it as one of the administration’s most pressing economic challenges. However, the root causes of this inflationary pressure go deeper than short-term policy changes. A recent report by KTrade Securities highlights that amidst upward inflation risks that stemmed from fiscal deficit, fueled by exorbitant debt, and complicated by rising tariffs, the U.S. economy is slowing down and showing signs of recession. It warns that adopting an isolationist approach—focusing on domestic priorities while disengaging from global trade—will not address…

South Korea finalised on Friday a new energy mix plan that envisages the construction of two new large-scale nuclear power plants and one small nuclear power reactor by 2038, the country’s industry ministry said. The plan also aims to secure renewable energy accounting for an average of 7 gigawatts (GW) per year by 2030, the ministry said in a statement. South Korea said its nuclear power generation is expected to grow from 180.5 terawatt-hour (TWh) in 2023 to 248.3 TWh in 2038. The portion of nuclear power generation in its energy mix is also expected to grow from 30.7% in…

Spanish energy firm Naturgy (NTGY.MC), opens new tab expects a 19% decline in the volume of natural gas it gets from long-term contracts as it plans to replace them in part with biomethane, Executive Chairman and CEO Francisco Reynes said on Thursday. The company expects volumes bought through long-term contracts to fall to 170 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2027 from 210 TWh in 2024, he said.