World News

Pope Francis celebrated one of his biggest Masses, with around a million attendees in Democratic Republic of Congo's capital, estimates say.

Huge crowds started to gather in Kinshasa well before dawn, including scores of schoolgirls dressed in white who danced along the Pope's route. A public holiday was declared, so as many people as possible could attend.

The Anguilla Tourist Board (ATB) have just announced the opening of the brand-new ferry terminal facility at the port of Blowing Point. The official opening ceremony took place on January 20, attended by Government officials, tourism stakeholders, media representatives, and representatives from other governmental departments and statutory bodies, before it then began operations.
 
The Hon. Minister Haydn Hughes, Minister of Infrastructure, Communications, Housing, Utilities and Tourism for Anguilla, said: “This Administration made a commitment to significantly modernize Anguilla’s infrastructure, for the benefit of both our visitors and importantly, our on-island community.

Lichtenstein now has a booming gambling industry, with six casinos currently operating in the principality.

15.5mi-long principality between Austria and Switzerland, the German-speaking country is known for its medieval castles, alpine landscapes and villages linked by a network of trails. The principality’s capital, Vaduz, a cultural and financial centre, is home to Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, with galleries of modern and contemporary art.

Ambassador Dr. John Nkengasong remembers the 1990s as a scary time. HIV/AIDS patients who arrived at a clinic near the lab where the young virologist worked in Côte d’Ivoire faced an almost certain death.

“I would never have imagined that in my lifetime we will sit here and be projecting that by the year 2030 we could, could possibly, bring HIV/AIDS to an end as a public health threat,” said Nkengasong, who today serves as the U.S. global AIDS coordinator and special representative for health diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have announced new designs to improve security of Permanent Resident Cards (also known as Green Cards) and Employment Authorization Documents (EADs).

The new Green Card and EAD designs contain state-of-the-art technology that continue to safeguard national security and improve service for our customers. Changes include improved detailed artwork; tactile printing that is better integrated with the artwork; enhanced optically variable ink; highly secure holographic images on the front and back of the cards; a layer-reveal feature with a partial window on the back photo box; and data fields displayed in different places than on previous versions.

Sundar Pichai grew up in a two-room apartment in Chennai, India. At 12, he received his first phone, sparking a love of technology, a passion for exchanging ideas and a gateway to a world of knowledge his parents encouraged him to explore.

He studied first at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur and then at Stanford University in the heart of America’s Silicon Valley. Pichai joined Google in 2004 and was named its chief executive officer in 2015.

In November 2019, former U.S. President Donald Trump was fined US$2 million after admitting to using charitable funds to boost his 2016 political campaign. A New York state judge ruled that the tax-exempt status of the Donald J. Trump Foundation was abused to further the former President’s political efforts.

Unlike the U.S., non-profits linked to politicians in Jamaica seem to escape similar scrutiny. This is despite a 2021 report outlining an example of a local charity that may have been misused.

With climate change and global conflicts such as the war in Ukraine leaving small states like Statia at risk of major food shortages, the Government of St. Eustatius, with support from the European Union (EU), has taken a major step towards sustainable agriculture on the island.

The two sides have signed a €2.9 million sustainable agriculture agreement to ensure basic food security, create economic opportunities and increase Statia’s resilience against external threats such as extreme weather exacerbated by climate change.

India celebrated its 74th Republic Day with a colourful parade displaying military might and cultural diversity. The public holiday marks the anniversary of India officially adopting its constitution, making it a sovereign republic.

Its highlight is a parade which is held in capital city Delhi and telecast live across the country. Every year, the country also invites a foreign dignitary as the chief guest to the parade - this year, Egypt's president Abdul Fattah al-Sisi was the guest of honour.

A Brazil football shirt prepared for legendary player Pele ahead of his last international game is estimated to sell for up to £30,000 at auction.

It was one of two number 10 jerseys made for Brazil's game in 1971 against Yugoslavia, Hansons Auctioneers said. Pele did not wear it in the match and gave it to the team's masseur instead.

In a major boost to its operations, the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC) and Mastercard have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen cooperation on tourism innovation. The signing took place during FITUR, the largest tourism trade fair in Spain, between Co-Chair of the GTRCMC and Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett and Senior Executives of Mastercard.

A group of New York State lawmakers have called on NYC’s Madison Square Garden arena to stop using facial recognition technology as a weapon against its customers. The legislators demanded that facility’s proprietor, MSG Entertainment, “immediately stop the use of this inappropriate technology on fans,” or chance being stripped of its gainful $43 million tax abatement.

The United States has pledged an additional $100 million to assist Pakistan’s recovery from devastating 2022 floods, bringing total U.S. assistance to over $200 million since August.

In 2022, heavy monsoon rains caused flooding and landslides in Pakistan, killing around 1,700 people and injuring tens of thousands of others. An estimated 33 million people were affected, and hundreds of thousands remain displaced. Cropland was destroyed and sanitation systems were damaged.

New metro line operated with Chinese-made automated driverless trains, capable of speed of up to 74.5 miles (120 kilometers) per hour with daily capacity of 800,000 passengers, now connects central Istanbul and Turkey’s capital’s new international airport. The fully-automated, driverless trains were built by Chinese company CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co., Ltd., which signed a purchase and commissioning contract with Türkiye’s Directorate-General of Infrastructure Investments back in January 2020.

A hotel with a heart is the promise of Wonil Hotel Perth in Australia. It’s a new Handwritten Collection hotel set to open at the Forrest Hall Precinct in early February.

Wonil is the Noongar name for the peppermint tree and the new hotel is located on the banks of the Swan River surrounded by peppermint trees, adjacent to The University of Western Australia.

Jamaica Prime Minister, Most Hon. Andrew Holness, will make the headline address at the Global Tourism Resilience Conference.

This conference is being held from February 15-17, 2023, at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Regional Headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica.