World
- WorldBBC
South Africa: Rescuers contact 11 survivors in collapsed building
A number of people are trapped in the basement, according to the area's disaster management leader.
2 min read - WorldBBC
South African anger over flag-burning poll advert
The Democratic Alliance says the controversial message sets out the choice ahead of the election.
2 min read - WorldAssociated Press
Bugging equipment found in room where Polish government was to meet
Bugging devices were found in a room where Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was scheduled to meet with his Cabinet on Tuesday, an official said. The Cabinet ministers were meeting in Katowice, a southwestern Polish city where Tusk was attending an economic conference. Jacek Dobrzyński, the spokesperson for the head of Poland's secret services, said a routine security check uncovered equipment that could be used for recording or eavesdropping.
1 min read - WorldAssociated Press
China's Xi visits Pyrenees mountains, in a personal gesture by France's Macron
France’s president is hosting China’s leader at a remote mountain pass in the Pyrenees on Tuesday for private meetings after a high-stakes state visit in Paris dominated by trade disputes and Russia’s war in Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron made a point of inviting Chinese President Xi Jinping to the Tourmalet Pass near the Spanish border, where Macron spent time as a child visiting his grandmother. The mountain meetings come after a grandiose state visit by Xi on Monday that included
1 min read - WorldBBC
Gaza war: Where has Israel told Rafah displaced to go?
Many Palestinians are fleeing eastern parts of Rafah, after the Israeli military ordered their evacuation before starting an operation in the southern Gaza city. Almost seven months into its war against Hamas, senior Israeli government and military figures have insisted that victory is impossible without a full-scale ground assault on Rafah. In March, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was intending to evacuate most, if not all, of the civilians in Rafah ahead of major offensive and send
6 min read - Worlddpa international
Israel: Two reservists killed by Hezbollah fire on Lebanese border
Two Israeli reservists have been killed in a drone attack by the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah, the Israeli army said on Tuesday. The two 31-year-old soldiers were killed on Monday in an incident on Israel's northern border, the army said. The drone loaded with explosives had hit a building in the town of Metulla. According to media reports, the army was unable to intercept the unmanned aerial vehicle. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack. According to Lebanese reports, four civil
1 min read - WorldAssociated Press
Vietnam celebrates 70 years since Dien Bien Phu battle that ended French colonial rule
Vietnam on Tuesday celebrated the 70th anniversary of the battle of Dien Bien Phu in which the French colonial army was defeated by Vietnamese troops, marking the end of the French occupation of Indochina. At Dien Bien Phu, Vietnamese troops led by General Vo Nguyen Giap, surprised French forces with heavy artillery fire at their mountainous garrison in northwestern Vietnam. When Dien Bien Phu fell in 1954, it spelled the end of almost a century of French colonial rule.
2 min read - WorldAFP
Image of eastern China bridge falsely shared as 'Mumbai highway' in pro-BJP posts
Social media users have repeatedly shared a photo of a bridge in China's eastern Shandong province, falsely claiming it showed a highway in the Indian megacity Mumbai built by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The posts surfaced as India held its marathon general election that the BJP is widely projected to win.
3 min read - WorldBBC
Malawi vice-president corruption charges dropped
The move raises questions over the government’s handling of prosecutions for alleged corruption.
2 min read - WorldINSIDER
Russia's military is so hard up for manpower that it now pays more than the oil and gas sector
Russia is a major energy producer, and the industry's robust revenues have kept Moscow's war chest filled.
3 min read - WorldAFP
Fake fingers for Japanese gangsters falsely linked to India election fraud claim
India's election commission said it had not recorded any cases of voter fraud involving prosthetic fingers, contrary to social media posts that baselessly accused Muslims in West Bengal state of wearing fake fingers to cast multiple votes. The posts, which surfaced as Indians voted in national elections, in fact show photos of prosthetic fingers for former gangsters in Japan.
3 min read - Worlddpa international
IDF says it now controls Gaza side of Rafah crossing
The Israeli military has taken control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing in the south of the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Tuesday. "Following intelligence that indicated that the Rafah Crossing in eastern Rafah was being used for terrorist purposes, IDF troops obtained operational control of the Gazan side of the crossing," the army wrote on its Telegram channel. That followed an overnight operation in which the ground troops together with the air force
2 min read - WorldAFP
Video shows ex-Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif's China visit in 2013, not 2024
Pakistan's foreign ministry said former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's trip to China in April 2024 was a "private" one but social media posts misleadingly claimed a video showed he received a high-profile official welcome. The video in the posts was actually taken during Sharif's first official foreign trip in July 2013 after he was elected prime minister.
2 min read - WorldAssociated Press
Congo military releases 2 Kenya Airways staffers held for 2 weeks over cargo dispute
The Republic of Congo’s military has released two Kenya Airways staffers who were detained for two weeks in a cargo dispute, Kenya's foreign ministry said Monday. The staffers' detention had led Kenya Airways to suspend flights to Congo, but the state-owned airline said flights would resume Wednesday. Congo’s military had arrested the staffers from the airline’s offices in the main airport in the capital, Kinshasa.
1 min read - Worlddpa international
China's Xi to travel to the French Pyrenees and Serbia
Chinese President Xi Jinping's trip to Europe is scheduled to include an excursion to the French Pyrenees mountain range on Tuesday. The first day of talks in Paris focused on trade policy and Ukraine with French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The Élysée Palace said a more personal aspect of the visit is planned for Tuesday. Xi and Macron plan to arrive at the Col du Tourmalet, one of the highest paved mountain passes in the Pyrenees, at around
1 min read - Worlddpa international
Putin to be sworn in for fifth term as Russia's president
Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to be sworn in for another six-year term in office on Tuesday after winning a landslide victory during March elections that outside observers criticized as heavily manipulated. Putin is expected to take the oath of office in a ceremony in the Kremlin in Moscow, with senior Russian politicians and other high-ranking guests in attendance. The 71-year-old has dominated Russian politics for the past 24 years, and he has sought to rebuild Russian power and domi
1 min read - Worlddpa international
Germany's Baerbock again criticizes Russia over cyberattacks
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has again criticized Russia following cyberattacks on the governing Social Democratic Party (SPD) and German companies. "We see that the Russian war is being waged at all levels," Baerbock said on Tuesday during her visit to the Pacific state of Fiji. This included the blockade of Ukrainian grain exports, but also the cyberattacks that targeted not only Ukraine, but also the SPD and German companies. "This is a process that is irresponsible. It is an eve
2 min read - WorldAssociated Press
India votes in third phase of national elections as Modi escalates his rhetoric against Muslims
Millions of Indian voters across 93 constituencies were casting ballots on Tuesday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi mounted an increasingly shrill election campaign, ramping up polarizing rhetoric in incendiary speeches that have targeted the Muslim minority. In recent campaign rallies, Modi has called Muslims “infiltrators” and said they “have too many children,” referring to a Hindu nationalist trope that Muslims produce more children with the aim of outnumbering Hindus in India.
4 min read - WorldAssociated Press
Why voters in southern India are more resistant to Modi's Hindu-centric politics
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has wielded near-total control over Indian politics since coming to power 10 years ago, with one exception: He has failed to win over the country’s wealthier southern region. Not one of them is controlled by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party — a stark rejection of its Hindu-nationalist agenda that enjoys wide support in northern India. The BJP is expected to win India's election when results are announced in June, delivering Modi another five years as prime minister.
6 min read - WorldBBC
Israel criticises terms of Gaza ceasefire with Hamas but talks go on
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu says the deal Hamas accepted does not meet the country's key demands.
3 min read - WorldReuters
CORRECTED-Vietnam marks 70th anniversary of the 'historic' Dien Bien Phu victory
War veterans, party leaders and diplomats gathered in Vietnam's Dien Bien Phu province on Tuesday for an event to mark the 70th anniversary of the country's victory over French colonial forces. The historic Dien Bien Phu battle is considered one of the great battles of the 20th century. Undeterred by unrelenting rain, tens of thousands of people crowded Dien Bien Phu's main stadium to watch military parades and variety shows, and listen to rousing speeches, which were broadcast on national tel
1 min read - WorldFox News
Anti-Israel agitators in NYC shout down man waving Israeli flag: ‘Shame on you!’
A crowd of anti-Israel agitators waving Palestinian flags on the Upper East Side were filmed shouting down a counterprotester waving an Israeli flag.
1 min read - WorldBBC
Vladimir Putin: Little chance of change as Kremlin leader is sworn in again
Most Russians seem happy with their president, even as he wages war in Ukraine and curbs democracy.
4 min read - Worlddpa international
Hamas agrees to ceasefire proposal as Israel attacks Rafah
A few hours after the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement announced that it would agree to the mediators' proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, the Israeli army attacked targets in the east of the city of Rafah late on Monday evening. According to an army spokesman, the targets were Hamas facilities. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war Cabinet had previously decided to continue the military operation in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip in order to increase the military pressure on Hamas and
5 min read - WorldBBC
Newspaper headlines: 'No truce yet' in Gaza and Alzheimer's treatment hope
Tuesday's front pages are mostly dominated by ceasefire negotiations in the ongoing Israel-Gaza war.
2 min read - Worlddpa international
Israeli army attacks targets in east of Rafah
A few hours after the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement announced that it would agree to the mediators' proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, the Israeli army attacked targets in the east of the city of Rafah late on Monday evening. According to an army spokesman, the targets were Hamas facilities. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war Cabinet had previously decided to continue the military operation in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip in order to increase the military pressure on Hamas and
2 min read - WorldBBC
Hamas says it accepts Gaza ceasefire proposal
Israeli PM Netanyahu says the deal the Palestinian group agreed to was "far from Israel's requirements".
4 min read - USAFP
'Today I saw death': Tales of horror as floods hit Brazil
In all her 74 years Lorena Martins had never seen anything so horrible: a torrent of foul, rust-colored flood water engulfing her modest home in Brazil, taking away everything but her family."Today I saw death," said Martins, acknowledging that the flood water scared her.
4 min read - USKTVU
SF State protesters meet with university president over Gaza, tents
Protesters at San Francisco State University and the administration met on Monday over concerns regarding the Gaza war and the tent encampment demonstration in the center of campus.
1 min read - Worlddpa international
Scholz in the Baltics: Germany will defend 'every inch' of NATO
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz assured NATO partners in the Baltic Sea region of Germany's reliable military defence support during a visit to the region on Monday. In Riga, Scholz also responded to Russian plans to hold tactical nuclear exercises, which has been seen in the West as an attempt at intimidation by the Kremlin. "It is always important to say loudly that nuclear weapons must not be used in this war," Scholz said while in Riga on Monday, during his first visit to Latvia as German chan
4 min read - WorldAssociated Press
Call it Cognac diplomacy. France offered China’s Xi a special drink, in a wink at their trade spat
How do you smooth over trade tensions with the all-powerful leader of economic powerhouse China? Charm him with a bottle of Cognac, or two. China recently opened an anti-dumping investigation into European brandy — which mainly means French Cognac.
1 min read - Worlddpa international
UNICEF warns incursion into Rafah would threaten 600,000 children
The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) warned on Monday that a military besiegement and ground incursion in Rafah would pose "catastrophic risks" to the 600,000 children taking shelter there. "Rafah is now a city of children, who have nowhere safe to go in Gaza. If large scale military operations start, not only will children be at risk from the violence, but also from chaos and panic, and at a time where their physical and mental states are already weakened,” said U
2 min read - Lifestyledpa international
Can you plant seeds from shop-bought produce? Yes, but ...
Most fruits contain seeds, and some plants culinarily regarded as vegetables - including tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers - are botanically fruits because they contain seeds. When you buy them at a supermarket or greengrocer's, can you use their seeds to grow them in your garden? "Yes, but there's a high risk you won't get anything that tastes good," says Christine Scherer, horticultural technician at the Bavarian Garden Academy in Germany. The reason, she explains, is that F1 hybrid (first filia
2 min read - WorldSemafor
China's Xi tries to woo France's Macron during first stop of European tour
Chinese leader Xi Jinping wants to deepen ties with Europe even as many countries in the bloc cosy up to Washington.
3 min read - WorldAssociated Press
Powerful ethnic armed group in western Myanmar claims to capture base and hundreds of soldiers
A powerful ethnic minority armed group battling Myanmar's army in the country's west claimed Monday to have taken hundreds of government soldiers prisoner when it captured a major command post. The Arakan Army, the well-trained and well-armed military wing of the Rakhine ethnic minority movement, has been on the offensive against army outposts in the western state of Rakhine — its home ground — for about six months.
3 min read - WorldBBC
Russia to hold nuclear drills following 'threats' from West
Russia will hold tactical nuclear weapons drills in response to recent comments by France and the UK, the Kremlin said.
2 min read - WorldBBC
Chad presidential vote set to end military rule
The country is set to become the first of Africa's current junta-led states to move to democratic rule.
5 min read - WorldINSIDER
Watch an exploding Ukrainian drone boat dodge fire from the air to kill one of the small, high-speed Russian ships still fighting in the Black Sea
Ukraine's military intelligence agency said its forces used Magura V5 naval drones to destroy a Russian military speedboat in Crimea.
3 min read - WorldAssociated Press
Turkey says it has carried out new airstrikes against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq
Turkey has carried out a new round of airstrikes targeting Kurdish militants in neighboring Iraq, the Turkish defense ministry said Monday. Warplanes struck suspected positions of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in the regions of Hakurk, Metina and Gara in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, according to the statement. The airstrikes reportedly killed 16 militants, including some commanders, the ministry said.
1 min read - Worlddpa international
France warns that forcing civilians from Rafah may be a war crime
The French Foreign Ministry has emphasized its "firm opposition" to Israeli plans to launch a military ground offensive against the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. "France also recalls that the forced displacement of a civilian population constitutes a war crime under international law," the ministry said in a statement on Monday. The French government demanded that the Palestinian militant group Hamas immediately release all hostages, and that parties to the conflict agree to a perman
1 min read - WorldAssociated Press
2 workers killed, more than 50 trapped when a building under construction collapses in South Africa
A multi-story apartment building under construction collapsed Monday in a coastal city in South Africa, killing two construction workers and leaving 53 trapped under the rubble, authorities said. An additional 20 workers were pulled from the mangled wreckage of the building and were being treated for injuries at various hospitals, city authorities said. The building collapse happened just after 2 p.m. in the city of George, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) east of Cape Town on South Africa’s s
3 min read - ScienceGizmodo
New Fusion Record Achieved in Tungsten-Encased Reactor
A tokamak in France set a new record in fusion plasma by encasing its reaction in tungsten, a heat-resistant metal that allows physicists to sustain hot plasmas for longer, and at higher energies and densities than carbon tokamaks.
3 min read - USNY Post
Insane video shows animal owner performing CPR on pig in the middle of heavy traffic
The incident in Jingmen, Hubei Province, China, left onlookers stunned as the owner tried to revive the unconscious pig amid heavy traffic.
1 min read - USWGN Chicago
University of Chicago faculty members speak out in support of student protestors
CHICAGO — Faculty members at the University of Chicago are coming out in support of student protestors Monday. About 120 faculty and staff stood in solidarity with student protestors during a press conference. Monday marks the eighth day of encampment on the Main Quad of the campus by pro-Palestine protesters. It’s one of several around the country […]
2 min read - Businessdpa international
Local tourism finds boost from Germany's cheap monthly rail pass
Germany's national railway company says it has recorded a 28% increase in regional rail travel since it introduced its so-called Deutschland Ticket 12 months ago. Describing the pass as "a rocket for regional transport," Deutsche Bahn board member Evelyn Palla said its introduction had seen domestic traveller numbers rise significantly. The €49-a-month pass allows the bearer unlimited travel on Deutsche Bahn’s domestic network and on most local public transport providers. "Overall, almost two th
1 min read - Worlddpa international
Maersk: Shipping capacity down as much as 20% due to Red Sea attacks
Due to the difficult security situation in the Red Sea, Danish shipping giant Maersk is expecting an industry-wide loss in freight capacity on routes from eastern Asia to Europe of 15% to 20% in the second quarter. Maersk released the estimates on Monday, citing attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi militants on merchant shipping in the Red Sea. The Houthi militants have said the attacks are intended to support the Palestinian militant group Hamas by making it more difficult for cargo ships to reach
1 min read - WorldAssociated Press
New Liberia forest boss plans to increase exports, denies working with war criminal Charles Taylor
Liberia, West Africa’s most forested country, has a long history of illegal logging, which the country's regulator, the Forestry Development Authority, has repeatedly struggled to confront. One of Merab's companies was also mentioned in the trial of Charles Taylor, a former Liberia president who was convicted of war crimes during the civil war in neighboring country Sierra Leone.
5 min read - Worlddpa international
Jordan warns of 'massacre' in Rafah if Israeli attack not halted
Jordan has warned of a looming "massacre" of Palestinians by Israeli troops if the international community fails to prevent the expected Israeli military offensive against the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip. "Another massacre of the Palestinians is in the making. Israel is warning Palestinians to leave Rafah as it threatens an attack," Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi announced on Monday on X, formerly Twitter. "All must act now to prevent it." Failure to halt the planned offensive would
1 min read - Worlddpa international
Hamas warns of 'catastrophic' consequences of Rafah evacuation
The Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas has sharply criticized the start of Israel's evacuation of the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, ahead of a military operation. Israel is damaging all efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza war, Mahmoud Mardawi, a senior Hamas official, told dpa on Monday. The move would have a negative impact on the indirect negotiations and have a "catastrophic effect" on the local population, he said. Mardawi emphasized that an Israeli military operatio
1 min read - Worlddpa international
Von der Leyen and Macron stress need for cooperation with Xi's China
France and the European Union are focusing on joint efforts with China to solve key global problems at the start of Chinese President Xi Jinping's trip to Europe. "China is important for the EU to tackle major global challenges," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday in a three-way meeting with Xi and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace in Paris. She cited the fight against the climate crisis as one such challenge. "In addition, both China and
1 min read
