11 World News

WORLD NEWS

By: Staff

Russia Blocks Google News as Ukraine Invasion Continues

Italy Out of 2022 World Cup

Russia has blocked Google News from the country after its promotion of "inauthentic information" about the invasion of Ukraine.

Google has implemented a new policy that restricts monetization on content that involves the pending war between Ukraine and Russia.

The policy affects stories on any website, app or video streaming platforms in the US and overseas.

Russia's internet regulator, Roskomnadzor, blocked Google News from Russian users within hours.

A statement provided by Interfax, a Russian International Information Group, announced, "The mentioned US internet news resource provided access to numerous publications and materials containing unreliable, publicly significant information about the course of the special military operation in Ukraine."

The blockage comes after Russia's previous action against US platforms Facebook and Twitter in March.

Italy experienced a 1-0 loss against North Macedonia in the semi-final playoff.

According to www.theguardian. com, Italy had 32 goal attempts in the match. North Macedonia's Aleksandar Trajkovski scored the winning goal, eliminating Italy from their race to the World Cup. Trajkovski plays in Saudi Arabia for Al-Fayha.

Domenico Berardi (pictured left) had opporutnity to score throughout the game. However, he was unable to play off a missed pass by North Macedonia goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski.

Italy midfielder Jorginho stated, "It hurts, it hurts so much. We have always created and dominated matches but we have not been able to finish teams off. It is not to blame anyone in particular but it is the reality."

Portugal also moved to the final with a 3-1 win against Turkey. Portugal will play against North Macedonia in Qatar.

Photo courtesy of www.cnet.com

States Suspend Gas Taxes

Gas prices, which started rising amid the pandemic, have hit a record high these past weeks. Looking to help their residents, some states have decided to suspend their gas taxes.

According to The New York Times, “Gas prices… rose to new highs in recent weeks in part because the war in Ukraine led to more volatility in the energy market.”

On March 11, the average price of gas across the country was $4.33 per gallon, and, although it has started to decrease, it is still 48 percent higher than it was a year ago, according to AAA.

Due to this, Governor of Maryland, Larry Hogan, announced on March 18 that, “The state would suspend its tax of 36.1 cents per gallon for gasoline, and its slightly higher tax for diesel fuel, for the next 30 days, a measure that will cost the state $100 million,” according to www.nytimes. com.

Within two weeks, the Governors of Georgia and Connecticut also signed bills to suspend the two states' gas taxes. Governor Ned Lamont of Connecticut also decided to suspend fares needed to ride a public bus.

States such as Ohio, West Virginia and California are now considering doing the same.

Photo courtesy of www.thenewyorkpost.com

China Announces City-Wide Lockdown Amid COVID-19 Spike

Photo courtesy of www.theguardian.com China will have its biggest city-wide lockdown since the emergence of the COVID-19 outbreak.

According to www.bbc.com, “The city of Shanghai will be locked down in two stages over nine days while authorities carry out Covid testing.”

Although case numbers are not considered high by some international standards, the city has faced a wave of new infections for the past month. So far, the city has tried to resist locking down the city, in fear of upsetting the economy.

However, “After Shanghai recorded its highest daily number of cases on [March 16] since the early days of the pandemic, authorities appear to have changed course,” states BBC News.

The eastern half of the city will be shut down from March 28 - April 1, while the western half will shut down from April 1 - 5.