“MY LIFE SPED UP” Mu Zhen, Wawan’s driving practice mentor, is the Chinese train driver for the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway, which links Indonesia’s capital with its fourth-largest city.In an operation simulator, Mu told Wawan to ease as the Indonesian driver’s right hand tightly gripped the speed control handle. “Tension may lead to misoperation as the handle has high sensitivity,” Mu detailed the reason and guided Wawan to try again. “I am excited to mentor Indonesian train drivers and happy to…

Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa’s president, has vowed to collaborate with the international community to stop Israeli “genocide” against Palestinian people. He has also called on Israel to end the siege on Gaza and allow a humanitarian corridor in the Strip.  Addressing the African National Congress (ANC) post-national executive committee (NEC) meeting on Monday, Ramaphosa said the governing party is angered by the Zionist state’s indiscriminate shelling and blockade of the Gaza Strip.  He said the ANC will push for a…

The African Radical Economic Transformation Alliance (ARETA) has urged all South Africans to take part in a pro-Palestinian demonstration outside the Israeli embassy in Pretoria, saying Hamas attacks were “legitimate retaliation against Israel”. Party president Carl Niehaus also called on all left-wing political parties and civil society organizations to rally behind Palestine on Monday in the same way the Palestine Liberation Authority (PLO) supported South Africa’s struggle against apartheid. Under the PLO’s former leader, Yasser Arafat, Palestine threw its weight…

JERUSALEM, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) — Hamas, an Islamist Palestinian group ruling the Gaza Strip, launched a massive surprise attack on Israel on Saturday, which included firing thousands of rockets and infiltrating militants into southern Israel. In response, the Israeli military conducted tens of airstrikes targeting Hamas sites and headquarters in the coastal enclave. The new round of conflict has led to hundreds of people killed on both sides, with thousands injured. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the country “at…

GAZA/JERUSALEM, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) —  Israel’s cabinet declared a “state of war” on Sunday after a massive surprise attack launched by Hamas has so far killed at least 700 in Israel while retaliatory Israeli airstrikes killed at least 413 in Gaza. The Israeli army continued its extensive airstrikes on targets in Gaza on Sunday as Hamas militants are fighting with Israeli soldiers on Israeli territories. Hamas militants remained in control of several communities in southern Israel on Sunday evening, as the Israel…

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) — This week’s unprecedented ouster of the U.S. House Speaker has pushed U.S. party infighting to a climax, the fallout of which will undoubtedly complicate the trajectory of the U.S. House and potentially shape the country’s wider political landscape, already mired in partisan wrestling. Experts have said that the ouster could also disrupt the 2024 presidential elections, besides disrupting the legislative process. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was booted out of his position by lawmakers on Tuesday,…

PARIS, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) — “This week,” France will begin withdrawing its soldiers deployed in Niger, the French Joint Defense Staff said on Thursday. “We will begin our disengagement operation this week, in good order, safely and in coordination with the Nigeriens,” the French military headquarters was quoted by the French daily Le Figaro as saying. According to the Joint Defense Staff, about 1,000 French soldiers are based in Niamey, Niger’s capital, and 400 others in the northwest of the…

Since last year, Taiwan has served as a stage for politicians from countries like the US, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Canada and the UK to make a show. Congress members, retired officials, and local leaders of these countries have been flocking to the island for photo opportunities. They speak wildly, showing their “concerns” for the Taiwan question.   Since August 2022, in addition to then Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, visits have been made by South Korean…

Brazil has increased imports of oil products from Russia to 920 thousand tonnes, which is three times more than the volume of purchases from the United States, according to the database of the Brazilian customs. Calculations show that Brazil increased its purchases of oil derivatives from Russia 2.1 times last month, while imports rose 2.4 times to $672.8 million. This is a record for Moscow in terms of supplies to Brasilia in both monetary and absolute terms. The second largest…

The Global Education Monitoring Report 2023, published by UNESCO, has three specific mentions on the use of technology in the education sector in Kerala. Under the heading, “Collaborative work will improve the quality and diversity of content creation”, the School Wiki portal is mentioned as an international model. The report says that a remarkable achievement is the development of content about more than 15,000 schools. The portal is the largest repository of local language information on education in India, including…