World
- WorldBBC
Amit Shah: The quiet, feared strategist behind Modi’s rise
India’s PM is eyeing a record third term - his home minister is the brains behind his election wins.
13 min read - WorldAssociated Press
Death toll from heavy rains in southern Brazil jumps to 29, with 60 more still mising
The death toll from heavy rains in Brazil’s southern Rio Grande do Sul state jumped to 29 as of Thursday night, with another 60 people missing, according to the state's civil defense agency. Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva traveled to the state on Thursday to meet with local authorities and express his solidarity.
2 min read - WorldAssociated Press
The unprecedented destruction of housing in Gaza hasn't been seen since World War II, the UN says
The world hasn’t seen anything like the unprecedented destruction of housing in Gaza since World War II, and it would take at least until 2040 to restore the homes devastated in Israel’s bombing and ground offensive if the conflict ended today, the United Nations reported Thursday. The U.N. assessment said the social and economic impact of the war launched after Hamas’ surprise attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7 has been increasing “in an exponential manner.” It called the level of casualties
4 min read - BusinessRetail Banker International
2024 BMO Celebrating Women Grant Program launches to back women-owned businesses
Grants will be awarded to ten women-owned businesses that address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
2 min read - Worlddpa international
Report: Hamas leader calls for changes to hostage deal proposal
The leader of the Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Yehya al-Sinwar, still has three demands in the current negotiation offer for a hostage deal, according to a media report. He continues to demand a guaranteed end to the war, a source close to the Hamas leader told the Israeli television station Channel 12 on Thursday evening. Israel has so far denied this. Sinwar reportedly wants a written commitment for an "unconditional end to the fighting". According to the broadcas
2 min read - NewsWHTM
Students protest Israel-Hamas war at Dickinson College
CARLISLE, Pa. (WHTM) – A few dozen students are protesting the Israel-Hamas War at a Midstate college. They’ve set up encampments on campus of Dickinson College and have been there for about a week. John Jones, president of the college, says they’ve been peaceful and both sides have been in talks regarding demands. “They’re asking […]
1 min read - WorldBBC
Turkey halts trade with Israel over 'humanitarian tragedy' in Gaza
Officials said the measures would be in place until Israel allowed an "uninterrupted and sufficient flow" of aid.
2 min read - WorldBBC
Kenya orders flood evacuations as it warns dams could spill
Residents near 178 bodies of water have been told to leave as flooding is set to worsen.
3 min read - WorldFox News
Turkey cuts off all trade with Israel in protest against Gaza war: report
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ended all trade between his country and Israel on Thursday in the latest protest against the war in Gaza.
2 min read - WorldBBC
Guinness World Records: Nigerian woman paints nails for three days
The 19-year-old technician says she painted 4,000 nails in an attempt to break the world record.
1 min read - Businessdpa international
Russia's Gazprom reports first annual loss in nearly 25 years
Russia state-controlled energy giant Gazprom was in the red last year for the first time in almost a quarter of a century after trade with Europe nosedived in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine. Gazprom reported on Thursday a net loss in 2023 of 629 billion roubles (around $6.9 billion), missing analyst estimates. Russian media outlets reported this was the first annual net loss at Gazprom since 1999. Following a profit of 1.23 trillion roubles in 2022, the first year of the full-scale war in U
1 min read - Worlddpa international
Germany's Scholz to meet French President Macron in Paris
French President Emmanuel Macron will receive German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Paris on Thursday evening, days before a visit by China's president and Communist Party leader Xi Jinping. The Élysée Palace said that the meeting between Macron and Scholz would be a private dinner. No further details were disclosed. Xi is visiting France on Monday and Tuesday for the first time in almost five years as part of a trip to Europe. Macron and Scholz are expected to agree on joint positions regarding Xi's
1 min read - WorldBBC
Kenya appoints first woman air force head
Maj Gen Fatuma Ahmed becomes the first woman to lead any of Kenya's military services.
2 min read - WorldAssociated Press
NATO members 'deeply concerned' by activities such as sabotage on alliance soil. They blame Russia
NATO countries say they are deeply concerned by a campaign of hybrid activities on the military alliance's soil they attribute to Russia, and which they say constitute a threat to their security. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday in a message posted on the social media platform X that actions including disinformation, sabotage, acts of violence and cyber and electronic interference “will not deter us from supporting Ukraine.” There was no immediate response to a request for
1 min read - BusinessReuters
Pakistan pushes back deadline for expressions of interest to buy national airline
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Pakistan will push back the deadline for companies to express interest in buying national carrier Pakistan International Airlines to May 18, the country's privatisation minister said on Thursday. The extension, announced in a statement by Minister for Investment and Privatisation Abdul Aleem Khan, came a day before the expressions of interest had originally been due. "The Board accorded approval for extension in the date for submission of interests on the request of intere
1 min read - BusinessAFP
Record loss for Russia's Gazprom as European market closed
Russian energy giant Gazprom said Thursday it suffered a record annual loss last year as the European market was practically shut to its gas exports due to sanctions over Moscow's military operation in Ukraine.Exports to Europe have long been Gazprom's top earnings source, but following the start of the conflict in Ukraine European nations sought to reduce their reliance upon Russian natural gas.
1 min read - WorldExplorersWeb
Nepal Supreme Court Bans Helicopter Airlifts
A powerful new player has entered the debate about commercialization and the environment in Nepal. The country’s Supreme Court has ordered the government to limit the number of climbers on Everest. It also bans helicopters above base camp on all its mountains and orders new regulations to limit garbage on its peaks. The tribunal’s order […]
3 min read - ScienceSpace
NASA selects Rocket Lab for back-to-back climate change research launches
NASA's PREFIRE mission will deploy a pair of satellites from twin launches aboard Rocket Lab's Electron rockets that will contribute to climate change studies in the Arctic and Antarctica.
3 min read - USWGN Chicago
Northwestern facing lawsuits, calls for president to resign after reaching agreement with pro-Palestinian demonstrators
CHICAGO — Northwestern University is facing at least two lawsuits and several resignations in the wake of its agreement with pro-Palestinian protestors to end the encampment on campus. CAIR-Chicago joined hosted a press conference Thursday afternoon saying they stand in solidarity with the anti-war demonstrators protesting Israel’s war on Gaza. CAIR Executive director Ahmed Rehab […]
3 min read - WorldFox Weather
10 killed in Brazil floods as governor warns of 'biggest climate disaster' to come
Torrential rains of nearly a half-foot in 24 hours across southern Brazil led to flooding that has killed at least 10 people.
3 min read - BusinessRoad & Track
Honda Reportedly Abandoning the Worst Name in Cars
Honda calls this car the e:Ny1 in Europe and China, a name that is near-impossible to both type and pronounce.
2 min read - LifestyleTasting Table
The Cultural Tradition Behind Thailand's Sabai Sabai Drink
In Thailand the phrase "sabai sabai" refers to a state of total relaxation, like you feel when on vacation. This cocktail embodies that attitude to a T.
2 min read - BusinessAssociated Press
Broadband internet services are disrupted in most parts of Nepal
Broadband internet was disrupted in many parts of Nepal on Thursday as Indian vendors from whom most Nepali private operators source the bandwidth stopped providing the services because of payment defaults. Private internet service providers in Nepal issued notices saying their services were either disrupted or connections were slow. The state-run Nepal Telecom was still continuing to provide internet services.
1 min read - WorldINSIDER
Ukraine says it's cracking down on satellite images of its territory in case they give away secrets to Russia
Satellite companies are taking images of Ukrainian territory every day, a defense official said, which risks them being used by Russia against it.
2 min read - WorldSemafor
Pressure piles on Kenya’s president as floods wreak havoc
Kenya's president faces mounting criticism over his handling of the country’s worst floods in three decades, even as his government steps up its response to the devastation and subsequent political fallout.
4 min read - Worlddpa international
German foreign minister's Pacific trip begins in Australia
Germany's foreign minister arrived on Thursday evening in Australia for a trip that will also take her to New Zealand and Fiji. Annalena Baerbock landed in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, after a flight of almost 19 hours that was interrupted only by a refuelling stop in Bali. She flew on an A350 German government aircraft named Konrad Adenauer, a former German chancellor. Her flight was being closely watched. In August of last year, Baerbock's same three-nation trip had to be abandone
1 min read - WorldAssociated Press
British police officer pleads guilty to terror charges for showing support for Hamas on WhatsApp
A British police officer pleaded guilty Thursday to terror charges for showing support on social media for Hamas, which is designated a terror group and banned in the U.K. West Yorkshire constable Mohammed Adil admitted sharing two images on WhatsApp supporting the group three weeks after Hamas and other Palestinian militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7 and killed about 1,200 people and seized some 250 hostages. Adil, 26, pleaded guilty in Westminster Magistrates’ Court to two counts of publ
1 min read - Worlddpa international
Germany's Scholz phones Netanyahu to speak about hostages, ceasefire
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in yet another discussion with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, spoke on the phone about efforts to release all the hostages and obtain a ceasefire. The two also spoke about further improvements to humanitarian aid for the people in the Gaza, German deputy spokesman Wolfgang Büchner said on Thursday. Additional details were not disclosed. As part of mediation efforts in Cairo, the Palestinian Islamist Hamas, which abducted some 250 people from Israel on O
2 min read - Worlddpa international
Report: Polish police arrest suspect, 16, in Warsaw synagogue attack
Polish police have detained a 16-year-old boy suspected of having thrown a Molotov cocktail at the historic Nożyk Synagogue, a police spokesman told the Rzeczpospolita newspaper on Thursday. The motive behind the Wednesday attack on the only Warsaw synagogue to have survived the Nazi onslaught during World War II, remained unclear. The suspect refused to make a statement. On Wednesday, the Israeli ambassador to Poland, Yacov Livne, published a photo on X, formerly Twitter, showing burn marks on
1 min read - WorldBBC
Iran charges journalists after BBC report on teen protester's death
Iran’s judiciary rejects as “fake” a BBC report that alleges security forces killed Nika Shakarami.
3 min read - Worlddpa international
Gaza war rages on as efforts to reach a ceasefire deal continue
Israeli fighter jets and artillery hit central Gaza on Thursday, the army said, as efforts to reach a new deal between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist Hamas group continue. Israeli Air Force (IAF) "fighter jets struck armed terrorists, terrorist infrastructure, and operational tunnel shafts," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Telegram. "The IDF continues to operate in the central Gaza Strip," it added. The IDF said it launched its attack after "a number of launches" on Wednesday from c
2 min read - Worlddpa international
Estonian minister blames Russia for GPS interference over Baltic
Estonia's Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna laid the blame for the jamming of GPS signals over the Baltic squarely with Russia on Thursday, following weeks of interference that has disrupted air travel in the region. Estonia has been seeing an increase in targeted disruptions to GPS satellite navigation recently. The authorities of the Baltic Sea state say the GPS signal interference is being transmitted from Russian's territory, and the problem has worsened since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in F
1 min read - Worlddpa international
France's Macron to make rearranged state visit to Germany in May
French President Emmanuel Macron will make an official state visit to Germany in late May, Germany's presidential office said Thursday, after a planned trip in July was cancelled at short notice. Macron and his wife Brigitte are set to arrive in Berlin on May 26 and will be welcomed with full military honours by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife Elke Büdenbender in front of Bellevue Palace. The state visit - the first by a French president to Germany since Jacques Chirac visi
1 min read - WorldAssociated Press
Double land mine blasts kill one person and wound at least 18 in Pakistan’s southwest
Double land mine blasts killed one person and wounded at least 18 on Thursday in Pakistan’s southwest, a police officer said. The first mine exploded when a truck was passing through a valley in coal-rich Duki district in Baluchistan province. The second detonated when counter-terrorism officials and civilians were examining the initial blast site, said district police officer Asif Haleem.
1 min read - Businessdpa international
OECD now sees minimal 2024 growth for Germany
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has yet again revised its forecast for economic growth in Germany downwards and now sees only miniscule growth of 0.2% for this year. The group, which published its economic outlook in Paris on Thursday, had already lowered its growth forecast for Germany in an interim report in February to 0.3% from a forecast of 0.6% in November. For 2025, the OECD expects the German economy to gain momentum and grow by 1.1%. The organization cit
2 min read - WorldAFP
Compilation of old disaster clips unrelated to recent earthquake in Taiwan on April 22, 2024
Two weeks after a massive deadly earthquake, Taiwan was rocked by more quakes on the night of April 22, 2024, causing buildings to sway and some to collapse. A viral video posted on Facebook claims to show the most recent of these recent seismic events. However, this is misleading: the footage is a compilation of several older clips from earthquakes in Japan and Taiwan, as well as demolition works in China.
4 min read - Businessdpa international
Irish budget airline Ryanair April passengers up 8% year on year
Irish budget airline operator Ryanair Holdings reported guests of 17.3 million for the month of April, 2024, compared to 16.0 million, a year ago, an increase of 8%. Load factor was 92% compared to 94%, prior year, down 2 percentage points. The airline operated over 98,400 flights in April. Almost 700 flights were cancelled due to Israel/Gaza conflict and over 340 flights cancelled due to the French ATC strike. For the rolling period, guests were 185.0 million, an increase of 9% from prior year.
1 min read - Worlddpa international
Survey finds about 20% of Germans worry about climate change daily
Around one in five people in Germany worry about climate change every day, a survey by the auditing firm PwC has revealed. According to the survey, 19.8% of Germans said climate change worried them on a daily basis. Internationally, about 28% of those surveyed felt the same. PwC surveyed around 20,000 people twice a year in 31 countries across Europe, Asia, North and South America and Africa. Of those surveyed in Germany, 60% said climate change worried them but they did not think about it regul
2 min read - BusinessJust Style
In data: Nike, Uniqlo, Adidas among China consumer favourites
International sportswear brands are winning over consumers in China, according to new research from GlobalData.
2 min read - Worlddpa international
Number of births in Germany at lowest level since 2013
The number of births and weddings in Germany fell to the lowest level in years in 2023, according to preliminary figures from the Federal Statistical Office. Around 693,000 children were born in Germany last year, the lowest level since 2013, according to the figures. The number fell by 6.2% compared to the previous year, when 738,819 births were counted. In eastern Germany, the number of births in 2023 fell by 9.2% compared to the previous year, from 86,227 to around 78,300, a much sharper decl
2 min read - WorldINSIDER
Photos show Russia flaunting its war spoils, including a Howitzer, Leopard 2, Bradley, and other modern weapons from over a dozen NATO countries
Russia on Wednesday displayed more than 30 captured vehicles from the war, showcasing the sheer diversity of the weapons used by Ukraine.
10 min read - BusinessJust Auto
Tesla signs mapping deal with Baidu in China
Deal followed last week’s visit to China by Tesla’s main shareholder and CEO Elon Musk
2 min read - WorldAssociated Press
Death toll jumps to at least 48 as a search continues in southern China highway collapse
The death toll from a collapsed highway in southeastern China climbed to 48 on Thursday as searchers dug for a second day through a treacherous and mountainous area. One side of the four-lane highway in the city of Meizhou gave way about 2 a.m. on Wednesday after a month of heavy rains in Guangdong province. Twenty-three vehicles fell down a steep slope, some sending up flames as they caught fire.
2 min read - WorldAFP
Indonesian constitutional court did not 'ban presidential challengers from running for top job'
Indonesia's constitutional court shot down challenges to Prabowo Subianto's victory in the country's presidential election but did not ban his poll rivals from ever running for president again, contrary to claims made in an edited video viewed hundreds of thousands of times on social media. Live footage of the constitutional court's decision shows judges did not ban Prabowo's rivals and the court's written decisions also make no mention of a purported ban.
3 min read - USWFLA
Spotty late-day rain develops
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – We’re already feeling some extra humidity this morning, and temperatures climb quickly. Highs reach the upper 80s to low 90s with a mix of sun and clouds this afternoon. Spotty rain develops this afternoon and the showers push toward the Gulf of Mexico around sunset. Overall, the rain chance is 30%, […]
1 min read - WorldAssociated Press
South Korea's parliament approves independent investigation of the devastating 2022 Halloween crush
South Korea’s parliament on Thursday approved special legislation mandating a new, independent investigation into the 2022 Halloween crush in Seoul that killed 159 people. The single-chamber National Assembly passed the bill by a 256-0 vote. It will become law after it is signed by conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol and promulgated by his government agency — steps that are considered formalities because the president and his ruling party already agreed on the legislation.
3 min read - WorldReuters
Analysis-Spain PM Sanchez's political gambles face litmus test in Catalan election
Crunch elections in Catalonia next week will test the wisdom of the latest political gambles by Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who aims to use the vote to buoy his power nationally but risks inadvertently awakening a dormant Catalan separatism. Sanchez aims to wrest control of the wealthy region in the May 12 vote from separatists who wield outsized influence over Spanish politics. It may also revive Catalan separatism seven years after the issue set off Spain's worst political crisis i
5 min read - WorldINSIDER
Russia is displaying its war 'trophies' — an array of captured Western hardware like Abrams and Leopard tanks — saying 'victory is inevitable'
Russia is showing off more than 30 captured NATO vehicles as it seeks to blame the treaty organization for the Ukraine war.
3 min read - BusinessReuters
S.Korea factory activity shrinks in April, but optimism about outlook ticks up
South Korea's factory activity contracted again in April, but manufacturers' optimism climbed to the highest level in nearly two years as output and orders managed to post marginal growth, a private-sector survey showed on Thursday. The purchasing managers index (PMI) for manufacturers in Asia's fourth-largest economy, compiled by S&P Global, fell to 49.4 in April, from 49.8 in March, on a seasonally adjusted basis. "While output and new orders returned to fractional growth territory, the head
2 min read - LifestyleBillboard
Slightly Stoopid Announce Lineup for 2024 Closer to the Sun Event
Support artists for Dec. 11 to 15 Mexico event include Stick Figure, Sublime and Cypress Hill.
1 min read
