World
- Worlddpa international
German MEP aide suspected of spying for China remanded in custody
An aide to a far-right German member of the European Parliament Maximilian Krah has been remanded in custody on suspicion of spying for China, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe announced on Wednesday. An investigating judge issued an arrest warrant against Krah's aide, according to a spokeswoman for the office. The aide is charged with acting as an agent for a foreign secret service. According to the federal prosecutor's office, the aide is alleged to have passed on information
1 min read - WorldAFP
Bangladesh organisation’s notice doctored to promote false ‘cash for Islamic conversion’ claim
Online posts shared hundreds of times in India have falsely claimed that an Islamic group in neighbouring Bangladesh advertised cash payments to anyone who could convert Hindu girls to Islam. AFP found several visual inconsistencies with the message that indicated it was doctored from an unrelated notice. The group has denied that it offered cash for conversions.
3 min read - WorldAssociated Press
Indonesia declares Prabowo Subianto president-elect after court rejects rivals' appeal
Indonesia’s electoral commission formally declared Prabowo Subianto president-elect in a ceremony on Wednesday, after the country’s highest court rejected challenges to his landslide victory lodged by two losing presidential candidates. Authorities blocked streets leading to the General Election Commission compound, where more than 4,200 police and soldiers were deployed. Wearing matching long-sleeved white shirts, Subianto and vice president elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka waved to their support
3 min read - Worlddpa international
German president to conclude visit to Turkey with Erdoğan meeting
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will end his three-day visit to Turkey on Wednesday with a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Erdoğan will first welcome his guest from Germany with military honours at 1:30 pm (1030 GMT), followed by lengthy talks, a press conference and a joint lunch. Steinmeier and Erdoğan are scheduled to meet for around three hours, with some unpleasant topics likely to be discussed. It's thought Steinmeier will raise the cases of important represen
2 min read - Worlddpa international
Hundreds of thousands march in Argentina against education austerity
Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets in Argentina to protest against cuts in the higher education sector. According to the University of Buenos Aires, more than 500,000 demonstrators protested in the capital alone on Tuesday against the strict austerity programme of President Javier Milei's ultra-liberal government. "We are defending the public, open and free university, which is one of the great achievements of our people and which we will not give up," said Nobel Peace Pri
2 min read - WorldBBC
UNRWA: Restart aid to Palestinian UN agency, EU urges
Countries including the US and UK are still withholding funds over Israel's claims against UNRWA.
3 min read - BusinessCNN
Private rooms coming to some of Japan’s bullet trains
Japan’s beloved Shinkansen trains are getting another upgrade – private rooms with doors in the upper class section.
2 min read - WorldReuters
Musk targets Australian senator, gun laws in deepening dispute over X stabbing content
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Elon Musk said an Australian senator should be jailed and suggested the country's gun laws were meant to stop resistance against its "fascist government", escalating his battle over a court order to remove video posts of a bishop being stabbed. After Australia's federal court told Musk's platform X to temporarily stop showing video of a knife attack on an Assyrian bishop during a church service in Sydney a week earlier, Musk accused the country's leaders of trying to censor th
3 min read - USWFLA
WATCH: Clearwater police rescue woman struggling in Gulf of Mexico
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Clearwater police on Tuesday released a video showing the moment officers rescued a woman last month who was struggling in the Gulf of Mexico. The woman was “swept out in very rough waters” off the coast of Clearwater Beach and was “barely able to keep her head above water,” police said. […]
1 min read - WorldSemafor
Talks for the first global plastics treaty underway in Ottawa
Negotiators representing more than 170 nations gathered in Canada this week to draft the first global treaty to reduce plastic pollution.
3 min read - WorldAssociated Press
With public universities under threat, massive protests against austerity shake Argentina
Raising their textbooks and diplomas and singing the national anthem, hundreds of thousands of Argentines filled the streets of Buenos Aires and other cities on Tuesday to demand increased funding for the country’s public universities, in an outpouring of anger at libertarian President Javier Milei’s harsh austerity measures. The scale of the demonstration in downtown Buenos Aires appeared to exceed other massive demonstrations that have rocked the capital since Milei came to power. Students a
5 min read - WorldAssociated Press
Britain's home secretary touts UK-Rwanda migrant deportation deal during visit to Italy
Britain’s home secretary on Tuesday touted Britain’s migrant deportation deal with Rwanda as a “new and creative” deterrent to an old and growing problem. Home Secretary James Cleverly visited Italy, ground zero in Europe’s migration debate, hours after the U.K. Parliament approved legislation to enable the government to deport some people to Rwanda who enter Britain illegally. The deal, in which Britain will pay Rwanda to process the migrants, is aimed at deterring people from crossing the En
3 min read - WorldAccuWeather
Dust storm turns sky apocalyptic orange, red over Greece, Libya
A dust storm on Tuesday evening turned skies red and orange in Benghazi and Derna, cities in northern Libya, Africa, on the Mediterranean Sea. Videos showed scenes of apocalyptic orange and red skies, buildings and trees. The color was likely exaggerated by the approaching dusk. The dust storm also reached across the Mediterranean Sea to cast an orange hue in southern Greece. Data for Derna was not available, but the dust storm was accompanied by winds as high as 45 mph (70 km/h) according to Th
1 min read - ScienceExplorersWeb
Van Life on the Moon!
There’s a long tradition of science fiction gizmos pre-dating — if not outright influencing — the technology that follows. The latest example is the Lunar Cruiser, a joint venture between Japan’s Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), automotive juggernaut Toyota, and NASA. Fans of The Martian and other near-future works of speculative fiction will recognize the general […]
2 min read - Businessdpa international
Slump will not stop electric car market, Opel chief says
Uncertainty in Germany's electric car market will not slow the technology in the long term, Opel CEO Florian Huettl said on Tuesday, four months after the German government allowed subsidies for the sector to expire. That there is still no successor regulation may "prolong the path to electromobility," Huettl told dpa from the company's base in the central German town of Eisenach. "But it won't stop it." Opel is also currently noticing a reluctance to buy, said Huettl, who restated the strategy
2 min read - USNY Post
This French castle is whisper-listed for $425M — and could be the world’s priciest home ever sold
Outside Paris, a castle that has been owned by Rothschilds and the late King Hassan II of Morocco is quietly selling for a price that could break a record.
2 min read - CelebrityPeople
Justin Trudeau's 3 Children: All About Xavier, Ella-Grace and Hadrien
Justin Trudeau and his estranged wife, Sophie Grégoire, have two sons and one daughter
5 min read - WorldBBC
Dozens of Ethiopians die after boat capsizes off Djibouti coast
Officials say those aboard were returning home to Ethiopia from Yemen and some are still missing.
1 min read - TechnologyTom's Hardware
Intel CPU-dispensing vending machine game spotted in Japan — one user got a Core i7-8700 for $3
There are capsule toy 'vending' machines in Japan that dispense Intel CPUs. One user acquired an Intel Core i7-8700 CPU after inserting 500 Yen (around $3.25) and twisting the familiar knob. The CPU had some issues but appears to work after disabling one core.
3 min read - WorldAssociated Press
Martian skies over Athens? Greece's capital turns an orange hue with dust clouds from North Africa
Skies over southern Greece turned an orange hue on Tuesday as dust clouds blown across the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa engulfed the Acropolis and other Athens landmarks. Strong southerly winds carried the dust from the Sahara Desert, giving the atmosphere of the Greek capital a Martian-like filter in the last hours of daylight. The skies are predicted to clear on Wednesday as winds shift and move the dust, with temperatures dipping.
1 min read - WorldReuters
Analysis-Argentina's Milei revs up chainsaw and blender in fiscal deficit attack
Argentina's libertarian President Javier Milei is revving up his attack on the country's deep fiscal deficit, doubling down on "chainsaw" spending cuts and "blender" austerity that squeezes purchasing power - and he hopes brings down rampant inflation. The embattled country, facing drained central bank reserves and annual inflation nearing 300%, posted a third straight monthly fiscal surplus in March, a reflection of Milei's laser focus on cost-cutting since taking office in mid-December. "Zer
3 min read - WorldBBC
Zambian FA president charged with money laundering
Andrew Kamanga, the president of the Football Association of Zambia, is arrested and charged with money laundering offences.
1 min read - WorldBBC
Tanzania tourism: World Bank suspends funding for Ruaha National Park project
It follows allegations of evictions and other rights abuses during the expansion of a national park.
3 min read - Worlddpa international
Aide to far-right German EU lawmaker suspected of spying for China
An aide to a far-right German member of the European Parliament has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China, in the latest espionage case to come to light in Germany. The suspect, an employee of lawmaker Maximilian Krah of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), is said to have passed on information from the European Parliament to China, prosecutors said. Federal prosecutors reported the arrest in Dresden on Tuesday, without linking the arrest to Krah, who is the AfD's top candidate in upcomin
3 min read - WorldAssociated Press Finance
A legal challenge over the UK's role in arms sales to Israel will go ahead
A legal challenge over the British government's role in allowing weapons to be sent to Israel can be heard at the High Court later this year, a judge said Tuesday. Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq and the U.K.-based Global Legal Action Network filed the challenge in December, calling for the U.K. to stop granting licenses for arms exports to Israel.
2 min read - WorldAssociated Press
Spain approves plan to compensate victims of Catholic Church sex abuse. Church will be asked to pay
Spain on Tuesday approved a plan aimed at making reparation and economic compensation for victims of sex abuse committed by people connected to the Catholic Church. It also announced the future celebration of a public act of recognition for those affected and their families. The Minister of the Presidency and Justice, Félix Bolaños, said the plan was based on recommendations in a report by Spain's Ombudsman last year. From that report, he said it was concluded that some 440,000 adults may have
2 min read - WorldAFP
Milei announces Argentina's first budget surplus in 16 years
Argentina's spending-slashing new President Javier Milei has hailed his country's first quarterly budget surplus since 2008 as an "historic achievement."This amounted to a surplus of 0.2 percent of GDP. "This is the first quarter with a financial surplus since 2008," said Milei, referring to his left-wing rival Cristina Kirchner's first year in the presidency.
2 min read - Worlddpa international
German police sets situation centre to manage security during Euros
A newly established police centre in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia will be used to manage the security situation during the Euro 2024 in Germany from June 14 to July 14. "The danger is abstractly high and we're taking it seriously so it doesn't become concrete. To this end, all information relating to football and security will be collected and evaluated around the clock in one place," Herbert Reul, the state's interior minister, said during a visit to the International Police Cooperation
2 min read - WorldAssociated Press
Dutch intelligence sees the wars in Gaza and Ukraine as triggers for terrorist threats
The Dutch national intelligence agency said Tuesday that threats targeting the Netherlands are increasingly connected to worldwide turmoil, including the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. “The terrorist threat is serious at this moment,” the agency’s director-general, Erik Akerboom, told The Associated Press. Akerboom said he is particularly concerned about big events, noting that the agency is working closely with French authorities to prevent incidents during the Paris Olympics this summer.
2 min read - BusinessAssociated Press
As airplane makers struggle to meet demand, Morocco wants to become a manufacturing hub
Moroccan officials want to turn the country into an aviation hub, luring investors aiming to spread out their supply chains to more nations with available and affordable workers. The North African kingdom is among a longer list of countries vying for contracts with big manufacturers looking to speed up production and deliver more planes to meet demand. Companies like Boeing and Airbus — as well as the manufacturers that build their components — are outsourcing design, production and maintenanc
2 min read - Worlddpa international
Far-right German politician pleads innocent in Nazi slogan trial
A leading member of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party claimed his innocence in court where he is on trial for the use of a banned Nazi slogan. "I am in fact completely innocent," the AfD chairman in the state of Thuringia, Björn Höcke, said on Tuesday during the second day of the trial. Höcke was in a regional court in the eastern city of Halle to face allegations that he knowingly used a banned slogan of the Storm Troopers (SA), the Nazi paramilitary fighting organization,
2 min read - Worlddpa international
Death toll among Gaza innocents is 'beyond warfare,' says UNHCR head
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Tuesday sharply criticized the recent attacks by Israeli forces in Rafah in the Gaza Strip due to the high death toll among women and children. "The latest images of a premature child taken from the womb of her dying mother, of the adjacent two houses where 15 children and five women were killed - this is beyond warfare," said Volker Türk, warning of possible war crimes. The pregnant woman was fatally injured in an Israeli attack on a residential buil
2 min read - Worlddpa international
New economic corridor planned to link Turkey to Gulf via Iraq
Turkey, Iraq and two Gulf countries have signed a declaration to pursue closer trade links with a new economic corridor made up of billions of dollars in roads and railways. Representatives of the countries signed a declaration of intent during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Iraq on Monday, the office of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani said on Tuesday. Ministers from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates also signed the declaration. The two rich Gulf states are potential
1 min read - Worlddpa international
German lawmaker likely to be fined for Nazi slogan use if convicted
A leading member of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is likely to receive a fine at most in the event of a conviction for the use of a banned Nazi slogan, the court has said. A prison sentence and revocation of Björn Höcke's ability to hold office is not expected, said court spokeswoman Adina Kessler-Jensch after the end of the second day of the trial. Prosecutors accuses Höcke of knowingly using a banned slogan of the Storm Troopers (SA), the Nazi paramilitary fighting or
1 min read - WorldINSIDER
Robert Kraft yanks support for Columbia as Israel-Gaza protests intensify
Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots, is pulling support for Columbia University as protests against Israel divide the campus.
2 min read - WorldAssociated Press
Spain reopens a probe into a Pegasus spyware case after a French request to work together
A Spanish judge has reopened a probe into the suspected spying on the cellphone of Spain’s prime minister after receiving a request to collaborate with a similar investigation in France. The judge with Spain’s National Court said Tuesday there is reason to believe that the new information provided by France can “allow the investigations to advance.” Both probes concern the alleged use of Pegasus spyware developed by the Israeli NSO Group.
1 min read - Worlddpa international
UN sees 'perilous precedent' in UK's Rwanda deportation law
Heads of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Tuesday called on Britain to reconsider its new law facilitating the deportation of asylum seekers to Rwanda. The bill passed on Monday significantly restricts the possibility of resisting deportation - even if migrants are exposed to risks in the process, UNHCR head Filippo Grandi and the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said in Geneva. Moreover, people's specific individual circumstances may not be adequately
1 min read - WorldAFP
Greece holds major disaster response training exercise
Greece is holding a three-day disaster exercise on the tourist island of Crete with both visitors and operators stressing the need to prepare for emergencies, including quakes and fires.Ronni Aram, a tourist from Germany taking part in the drill, said it was "absolutely essential when it comes to the case of a real emergency that everyone is prepared and knows what to do so that everyone will be safe".
2 min read - Worlddpa international
Iran condemns planned EU sanctions as 'unlawful'
Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amirabdollahian has condemned planned sanctions against his country over the major drone and missile attack on Israel earlier this month as "unlawful" and "regrettable." Iran had exercised its right to self-defence with the attack, Amirabdollahian wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday. He called for sanctions to be imposed against Israel. At a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, the foreign ministers of the 27 EU member states instructed EU chief diplomat Josep B
1 min read - WorldAssociated Press
A well-known figure in a German far-right party tells his trial he is completely innocent
One of the best-known figures in the far-right Alternative for Germany party said Tuesday at his trial on charges of using a Nazi slogan that he is “completely innocent.” Björn Höcke went on trial at the state court in the eastern city of Halle last week, months before a regional election in the state of Thuringia in which he plans to run for the governor's job. Höcke is accused of ending a speech in nearby Merseburg in May 2021 with the words “Everything for Germany!” Prosecutors contend he w
2 min read - BusinessEngadget
Rivian offers (up to) $5,000 discount if you trade in your gas-powered truck
Rivian will give you up to around $5,470 in discount if you trade in an eligible gas-powered truck or SUV when you purchase or lease a qualifying R1 electric vehicle package in the US and Canada.
2 min read - WorldAFP
EU lawmakers greenlight new rules to rein in national spending
European Union lawmakers on Tuesday backed new budgetary rules aimed at boosting investment while keeping spending under control despite fierce criticism from leftwing groups.A majority of lawmakers backed the new rules during a session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.
3 min read - WorldBBC
Chinese supermarket in Abuja shut for allegedly barring Nigerians
The consumer protection agency has summoned the owner in its investigation into racism allegations.
2 min read - Worlddpa international
China describes espionage allegations in Germany as 'slander'
China has rejected allegations that it has been carrying out spying operations in Germany, describing the claims as slanderous. "The intention behind this hype is quite obvious, namely to slander and suppress China and undermine the atmosphere of cooperation between China and Europe," said a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Tuesday. China has always adhered to the principles of mutual respect and non-interference in the internal affairs of other states, the spokesman said. German
2 min read - Worlddpa international
German EU lawmaker: 'No further information' about arrest of employee
European member of parliament for Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), Maximilian Krah, initially reacted cautiously to reports of the arrest of his employee on suspicion of spying for China. "I learned of the arrest of my colleague Jian Guo this morning from the press," he wrote on X. "I have no further information. Spying for a foreign state is a serious accusation. Should the allegations prove to be true, this would result in the immediate termination of his employment." The AfD
1 min read - WorldAssociated Press
South Korean sentenced to 14 months in jail for killing 76 cats
A South Korean man has been sentenced to 14 months in prison for killing 76 cats in one of the country's most gruesome cases of animal cruelty in recent years. The man, who is in his 20s, was convicted of violating South Korea’s animal protection law last week, the Changwon District Court in southeastern South Korea said Tuesday. The man went on a cat-killing spree between December 2022 and September 2023 due to a deep hatred of the animal that he began harboring after other cats scratched his
1 min read - WorldAssociated Press
Police clear out a migrant camp in central Paris. Activists say it's a pre-Olympics sweep
French police evicted migrants from a makeshift camp in Paris a few steps away from the River Seine on Tuesday, the latest operation in what aid groups call a campaign of ‘’social cleansing'' ahead of the Summer Olympics. "I was already scared but I am even more scared because I don’t know where to go,” said Boubacar Traoré, 16, who said he fled conflict in Burkina Faso, arriving in France two months ago. The operation came days after police carried out a large-scale eviction at France’s bigge
2 min read - WorldReuters
UN rights chief 'horrified' by mass grave reports at Gaza hospitals
GENEVA (Reuters) -U.N. rights chief Volker Turk said on Tuesday he was "horrified" by the destruction of the Nasser and Al Shifa medical facilities in Gaza and reports of mass graves containing hundreds of bodies there, according to a spokesperson. Palestinian authorities reported finding hundreds of bodies in mass graves at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis this week after it was abandoned by Israeli troops. Bodies were also reported at the Al Shifa site following an Israeli special forces opera
3 min read - WorldBBC
Hope Hostel in Rwanda says it's ready for first migrants from UK
Rwanda is gearing up to welcome deported asylum seekers now the landmark UK bill has passed.
5 min read - WorldAFP
Opposition politician falsely claims Nigeria has shut down five state-run agencies
An adviser to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said in February that the government would implement parts of a white paper that recommended the scrapping and merging of some state-owned entities. Weeks later, social media posts alleged that the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) and three others were among those to be scrapped. But the claim is false. None of the government agencies mentioned in the claims is slated for closure. Moreover, a committee s
3 min read
