Author: News Desk

A British man has been extradited to the United States to face charges he was involved in a global piracy ring that distributed movies and television shows online before their scheduled release dates, causing major losses for production studios. George Bridi, 51, was extradited on Tuesday from Cyprus, where he had been arrested in August 2020, the office of U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss in Manhattan said on Wednesday. A lawyer for Bridi could not immediately be located. Bridi and two other men were charged over their work for the Sparks Group, which prosecutors said leaked movies and TV shows, including…

The Taliban has surrounded the only remaining province resisting its rule, a senior leader said on Wednesday, calling on rebels to negotiate a settlement with the group. Since the fall of Kabul on Aug. 15, mountainous Panjshir has been the only province to hold out against the Islamist group, although there has also been fighting in neighbouring Baghlan province between Taliban and local militia forces. Under the leadership of Ahmad Massoud, son of a former Mujahideen commander, several thousand members of local militias and remnants of army and special forces units have been holding out against the Taliban. In a…

Tokyo :  Japan’s strong start into the Tokyo Olympics with five golds on the opening weekend is good news for beleaguered organizers and politicians because it gives them a breather. Three golds in their very own sport of judo in the iconic Boudican arena, one in swimming, and boasting the first gold medalist in the new sport of skateboarding have the nation counting medals rather than coronavirus infection numbers. Such an early gold rush is just what the International Olympic Committee (IOC) always hopes for because early success from the host nation is a big boost for the entire Games,…

Rome : A large wildfire in the west of the Italian island of Sardinia forced several hundred residents to evacuate on Saturday night, according to media reports. Around 400 people had to leave their homes, Italian media reported. Among other areas, residents of the village of Cuglieri were affected, said dpa international. Some residents were able to return on Sunday morning when the situation improved slightly. The “enormous fire” has been destroying the fields in the region since Saturday, the newspaper Nuova Sardegna wrote. Emergency forces continued to fight the flames on Sunday. Several firefighting planes and helicopters were deployed over…

Madrid : Madrid’s tree-lined Paseo del Prado boulevard and the adjoining Retiro park have been added to UNESCO’s World Heritage list, said AP.  The UNESCO World Heritage Committee, holding an online meeting from Fuzhou, China, backed the candidacy on Sunday that highlighted the green area’s introduction of nature into Spain’s capital. The influence the properties have had on the designs of other cities in Latin America was also applauded by committee members. The Retiro park occupies 1.2 square kilometers (1.3 square miles) in the center of Madrid. Next to it runs the Paseo del Prado, which includes a promenade for…

India : Union environment minister, Bhupender Yadav, said the world should not be shifting goalposts and setting new benchmarks for global climate ambition during the G20 ministerial meeting on Friday. In comparison to top emitters, India’s per capita emissions are seven times lower than that of the United States, 3.4 times lower compared to China’s and three times lower compared to the EU. The target of reducing emissions to net zero by mid-century, proposed by some countries, will not be adequate in view of the fast-depleting global carbon space, India said in its official statement at the G20 energy and…

US: People who are 65 and older or who have issues with their immune systems most likely will require a third shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine, according to the newspaper. President Joe Biden urged Americans to get vaccinated on Saturday even as US had its worst Covid week in three months, as weekly cases surged fourfold to 347,784 from a month earlier with the spread of the Delta variant. “Folks the Delta variant is no joke. Please protect yourself and your loved ones – get vaccinated,” Biden said in a tweet. Florida made up about one in five…

China: Typhoon In-Fa is expected to make landfall along the east coast near Shanghai on Sunday, forecasters say. Flights and train services have been suspended, while people have been ordered to stay indoors. Disruptive winds, rough seas and flooding are expected. Meanwhile, dozens of ships have been evacuated from a busy port south of Shanghai. The typhoon follows a period of historic flooding that caused widespread damage and killed at least 58 people in central China. Emergency crew are still working around the clock to rescue survivors and provide aid to the tens of millions of people affected by the…

MOSCOW : Russia has sent a shipment of coronavirus-related humanitarian assistance to Cuba, including 1 million medical masks, the defence ministry said on Saturday, adding President Vladimir Putin had given instructions for the aid. Cuba, which kept coronavirus infections low last year, earlier this week reported the highest rate of contagion per capita in Latin America. That has strained its healthcare sector and helped stoke rare anti-government protests earlier this month on the Communist-run island. Two military planes carrying 88 tons of aid – including food and personal protective equipment, including over 1 million medical masks, departed from an airfield…

US: A judge in Los Angeles on Friday signed off on a deal that allows former U.S. President Donald Trump’s billionaire ally Thomas Barrack to be released from custody while he awaits trial on charges of illegal lobbying on behalf of the United Arab Emirates. This report produced by Freddie Joyner.