Witnesses and an aid group reported three people were killed in Sudan’s restive Darfur area on Friday, as the UN condemned recent hostilities that have killed over 200 people. West Darfur state, the arid region of Sudan bordering Chad, has for the past week been gripped by deadly violence between members of the Massalit community and … Read more
Ecuador’s President, Guillermo Lasso, stated on Friday that he has declared a state of emergency for two months in three districts where drug trafficking has resulted in the worst levels of violence. “I have declared a state of exception in the (coastal) provinces of Guayas, Manabi and Esmeraldas, effective from midnight tonight,” he said in … Read more
Sharon Osbourne is taking a break from her new work to assist her husband who got Covid-19. “The Talk UK,” Osbourne’s new talk show, tweeted a video on Thursday in which she tearfully shared the news that Ozzy Osbourne had tested positive. “But I spoke to him and he’s okay,” Osbourne said. “I am very worried about Ozzy … Read more
Samsung’s latest commercial, which depicts a lady running alone at night with headphones on, has been dubbed “ridiculous” and “unrealistic.” A young woman running through the streets of a city alone at 2 a.m. appears in the Samsung Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Buds commercial. ‘Night Owls’ is the title of the piece. ‘Your Galaxy. Your … Read more
Boris Becker was sentenced to two years and six months in prison after being found guilty of bankruptcy offences. Dean Beale, the Chief Executive of the Insolvency Service, said: “The Court has handed down a prison sentence to Boris Becker today after he was convicted of offences relating to his bankruptcy.” “Boris Becker’s sentence clearly … Read more
Laine Hardy, the winner of American Idol and a Louisiana native, was arrested on Friday and charged with spying communications at the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. Hardy surrendered to the LSU Police Department on Thursday after a warrant was issued, according to WAFB. “Hardy was arrested by LSU Police today and booked into East … Read more
Taiwan kicked off the first Asian Pride Games on Friday with a colorful ceremony that drew hundreds of athletes and spectators, as the island abandons its zero-Covid policy despite an increase in infections. The games are the successor to The Straits Games, founded in Malaysia 20 years ago and considered the first international gay sports … Read more
On Friday, Kenya hosted a national funeral for former President Mwai Kibaki, who died last week at the age of 90 after a decade in rule defined by economic resurgence, scandal, and bloodshed. Kibaki was the third head of state in Kenya’s history, serving from December 2002 to April 2013 following the 20-year authoritarian regime … Read more
Hundreds of demonstrators battled with police in various Colombian cities on the one-year anniversary of a huge revolt against outgoing conservative President Ivan Duque. In Bogota, Medellin and Popayan, hooded protesters threw stones, Molotov cocktails and fireworks at riot officers. Police responded with flash bombs, non-lethal ammunition and tear gas. One protester was wounded in … Read more
Jurgen Klopp believes his new contract will not be the determining factor in whether Liverpool’s star attackers Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane commit their long-term futures to the club. Salah and Mane, along with fellow attacker Roberto Firmino and midfielder Naby Keita, have contracts that expire next year. With Klopp now staying until 2026, there … Read more
On Friday, power shortages added to the suffering of millions of people wilting in a heatwave throughout India and Pakistan, with experts blaming climate change for the early arrival of sweltering summer temperatures. In the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh hundreds of forest fires have broken out in recent weeks, eating up tinder-dry pine … Read more
Since hundreds of remains were discovered near Kyiv following the withdrawal of Russian soldiers from the area, Ukraine and Western countries have accused Russia of war crimes in Ukraine. A team of AFP journalists saw 20 bodies on Yablunska (Apple Tree) Street in Bucha on April 2. In the weeks that followed, AFP spoke to … Read more
On Bucha’s Yablunska Street, they all took separate routes to death: a perilous evacuation, a borrowed bicycle, and a wounded parent. One of them was even born in Russia. But at the end of it all, at least 20 people in civilian clothes were found on a stretch of the street — victims of what … Read more
Mason Greenwood, a Manchester United forward, has been granted bail until the middle of June following allegations that he raped and abused a young woman. The 20-year-old was arrested in January after images and videos were posted online. He was also questioned on suspicion of making threats to kill. Greenwood was released on conditional bail, which … Read more
Pavel Borlatschenko sobbed as he watched his wife Marina board one of the last buses transporting civilians from Lyman, which is set to fall to Russian soldiers soon. Swirls of black smoke rise above a depot near the railway station after a morning strike in the town in the eastern Donbas region, where the Russian … Read more
A member of parliament for the region told AFP on Friday that six soldiers were killed in a rebel assault in the Central African Republic’s southeast, where civil war has raged for years. “At four in the morning, rebels attacked the town of Nzako,” near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, 700 kilometres … Read more
Officials say talks between the Taliban and a Qatar-Turkey partnership to run Afghanistan’s five airports, including the capital, have come to a halt after the Islamists insisted on using their fighters to protect the facilities. Kabul’s only airport was trashed in August when tens of thousands of people rushed to evacuate on any available flight … Read more
Today is Ed Balls Day, an annual tradition in which Twitter users gather to commemorate a memorable social media encounter. It’s been 11 years since the infamous social media blunder. It’s a day to commemorate a 2011 gaffe that has made social media users laugh for more than a decade—and no one is more amused … Read more
Barclays posted an 18% reduction in net earnings in the first quarter due to litigation and bad debt losses on Thursday. Profit after tax declined to £1.4 billion ($1.8 billion, 1.7 billion euros) compared with the first three months of 2021, Barclays said in an earnings statement. Barclays booked an already-flagged litigation hit of £500 million … Read more
Nokia, the Finnish telecom equipment company, reported a 17 percent drop in quarterly profits owing to its exit from Russia and supply issues on Thursday, but said it would exceed its target for the year. The company said net profit stood at 219 million euros “primarily due to a 104 million euro ($230 million) provision related to … Read more
Last year, large areas of tropical rainforest were burned or hacked down for livestock and crops, with Brazil leading the way, according to academics, who warn that climate change is making it harder to repair the losses. Some 11.1 million hectares (27.5 million acres) of tree cover was lost across the tropics in 2021, with … Read more
After meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to try to negotiate a ceasefire in the nine-week war and an agreement on civilian evacuations, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres travels to Ukraine. He visits the ruined town of Borodianka outside Kyiv, where Russian forces are accused of murdering civilians. “The sooner this war ends, the … Read more
A Malaysian man facing execution in Singapore for drug trafficking was granted a stay of execution on Thursday, according to campaigners, a day after the hanging of a prompted outrage. Datchinamurthy Kataiah was scheduled to be hanged on Friday after several years on death row in the city-state, which has some of the world’s toughest … Read more
IQM Quantum Computers has received EUR35 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to help expedite the development and commercialization of quantum processors produced at Europe’s first quantum-dedicated fabrication facility in Espoo, Finland. The loan is part of the European Guarantee Fund’s venture debt programme, which was created to help small and medium-sized businesses affected … Read more
Following his assistance in arranging a Russian-US prisoner swap, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan informed Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday that Ankara was ready to do more to help end the war in Ukraine. Erdogan’s office said that Putin “thanked” the Turkish leader in a phone call for helping put together Wednesday’s exchange of … Read more
Moderna, a US biotech company, announced on Thursday that it had submitted an emergency use authorization request for its Covid vaccination for children aged six months to under six years in the United States. Very young children are the only group that are yet to be eligible for the Covid-19 vaccine in the United States … Read more
Nepal has prohibited imported booze, playing cards, and nearly a dozen other “non-essential” items to solve the Himalayan country’s rising trade deficit and dwindling foreign currency reserves, according to officials. Falling remittances and tourism earnings, combined with a blowout budget deficit, have severely dented Nepal’s fiscal position during the Covid-19 pandemic. The central bank has … Read more
According to police, a 77-year-old white South African farm owner was arrested on Thursday for shooting and wounding a black woman whom he claimed he mistook for a hippopotamus. Paul Hendrik van Zyl, was arrested Tuesday after firing shots in the direction of the woman who was fishing with her partner in a river in … Read more
