Here is a summary of the latest world news briefs.
U.S. defense Secretary heads to Europe for NATO talks and visits troops
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is heading to Brussels on Tuesday to meet NATO allies, and to visit U.S. troops based in Poland. Washington remains focused on the threat of a large scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia announced that some of its military units were returning home from exercises in Ukraine. Austin’s departure occurred as a result. It was not known how many units were being pulled out and by how far.
Starbucks in China faces backlash over a police incident at its store
Starbucks is facing its second bout with public fury in China in just three months. Its first was after an incident at a Starbucks store that was described by the U.S. coffee company as a “misunderstanding”. This has prompted criticism from online users as well state media. On Monday, a Weibo user claimed that several police officers had been eating outside a Starbucks in Chongqing’s southwest before being told by staff to leave.
Expert from the U.N. says pollution causes more deaths than COVID.
Globally, polluting states and companies are causing more deaths worldwide than COVID-19, according to a U.N. environment report released Tuesday. It called for “immediate, ambitious action” to ban certain toxic chemicals. The report stated that pollution from pesticides and plastics is leading to widespread violations of human rights and at least 9,000,000 premature deaths each year. However, the issue is often overlooked.
Talk of resumed testing after small earthquakes were reported near the N.Korea nuclear facility.
South Korea claims that a series of small earthquakes have struck the region near North Korea’s closed nuclear test site. This highlights the region’s geological instability, as Pyongyang suggests it may resume testing for the first-time since 2017. According to Seoul’s Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), at least four earthquakes have struck the region in the last five days. All of them were natural.
India’s hijab controversy reaches its most populous country
A dispute over hijab restrictions for female students in a south Indian state has reached India’s largest state, Uttar Pradesh. A group of young people asked a college to ban the covering. Last week, Karnataka colleges were closed in India’s south after a new uniform policy prohibited students from wearing headcovers in class. This led to protests from Muslims and counter protests of Hindu students.
New Zealand passes law banning conversion therapy
On Tuesday, New Zealand’s parliament passed a bill banning conversion therapy, which is a method of forcing a person to change their sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression. The bill, which was introduced last year by the government, was passed with 112 votes for and eight against.
Zemmour, a French far-right candidate: Trump told me that I should stay true to myself
Donald Trump, the former president of the United States, has instructed Eric Zemmour, the French far-right presidential candidate, to remain strong and true to his convictions. Zemmour stated that Zemmour’s nationalist programme is creating division in the race for the presidency. Zemmour’s campaign team claimed that they had a 40-minute telephone conversation late Monday. Zemmour, like Trump, has made himself a political outsider by relying on his celebrity status as well as his no-nonsense language.
Russia announces that some troops are returning to base. Ukraine reacts cautiously
Russia claimed Tuesday that some of its military units had returned to their bases following exercises near Ukraine. This was in response to U.S. warnings and British warnings that Moscow could invade its neighbor at any moment. After the build-up of 130,000 Russian troops in the north, east, and south of Ukraine, it was not clear how many units were being pulled back and by how far.
After security alert, UK police have reopened central London roads
British police stated that an unattended object found in central London was not suspicious. As a precaution, roads that were previously closed would be reopened. While they were assessing the item, police had previously closed bridges that covered a mile of the River Thames.
Trudeau invokes emergency powers in order to starve a Canadian trucker of funds protesting his treatment
Canada plans to impose emergency measures not previously used for over 50 years to reduce funding for truckers who have caused nationwide protests that have shut down the capital for several weeks. Monday’s invocation of the Emergencies Act by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was only the second peacetime Canadian leader to do so. It gives Ottawa broad powers to stop three weeks of protests that have engulfed the nation and disrupted cross-border commerce.
(This story was not edited by Devdiscourse staff. It is generated automatically from a syndicated feed.