French police investigate secret luxury restaurants in Paris breaching COVID-19 rules

French police are investigating clandestine posh restaurants after a reporter from a French news outlet went to one undercover posing as a guest and exposed it in a video which went viral. The video showed guests breaking all kinds of Covid-19 restrictions including the wearing of masks and the guests even greeted each by kissing each other on the cheeks.

Container ship blocks Suez Canal hitting world trade

A massive container ship is currently blocking the Suez Canal, one of the busiest global shipping routes. Marine and salvage engineers tried and failed to dislodge the enormous ship on Thursday (25 March 2021) but the company, Evergreen Marine who operates the ship have said that it could take weeks before the ship is dislodged. It became stuck on Tuesday after a sudden gust of wind and a dust storm. The blockage is causing a tailback of ships to form, all waiting to get through. Around 12% of global trade passes through Suez Canal as it provides a short sea link between Europe and Asia. 

Review: Agent Sonya by Ben Macintyre

The biography on Ursula Kuczynski (aka Agent Sonya) by Ben McIntyre is an exciting account of a woman who took many risks as a spy for the Soviet Union whilst being a mother of three children.

Xi Jinping declares eradication of extreme poverty in China

China’s President Xi Jinping solemnly declared “complete victory” in eradicating absolute poverty in the country during a conference in Beijing on Thursday 25th February 2021. The announcement of this great miracle in the human history of poverty reduction came four months before the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which leads the world’s most populous nation. China is expected to declare a moderately prosperous society in all respects in the middle of this year, which means that the country has achieved its first centenary goal on schedule in 2021. In 2049, China will achieve its second centenary goal of building “a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious.

Feminist protesters clash in Mexico City

Women marching on International Women’s Day (8 March 2021) clashed with police at barricades surrounding the National Palace in Mexico City, where officers fired pepper spray after the protesters attempted to tear down a metal wall. The three meter high metal wall was erected to protect the National Palace but the protesters have turned it into a memorial for women killed simply because of their gender. The government said that the wall was put up there to protect the palace from “vandalism”.

US carries out air strike in Syria

The US carried out an air strike on facilities used by Iranian-backed militia groups in eastern Syria on Thursday night (25 February 2021) in response to three separate rocket attacks against US forces in Iraq, according to a Pentagon spokesperson. The strikes is alleged to have destroyed several facilities at a border control point used by a number of Iran-backed militia groups linked to the attacks against US forces in Iraq, including Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada,

US Covid death toll passes 500,000 in grim milestone

The number of US coronavirus deaths have passed 500,000 as of Monday (22 February 2021) according to data from John Hopkins University. Over 28 million have also tested positive for COVID-19 in the USA. This is higher than any nation in the world. Both statistics are the worst in the world and the pandemic has thrown a harsh spotlight on the country’s ability to cope with such a disaster, especially during the tumultuous tenure of Donald Trump, whose administration botched the government response.