Smokers in Italy’s financial and fashion capital of Milan risk being fined for lighting up on city streets or crowded public areas, after the country’s toughest ban came into effect on Wednesday.Those who defy the new prohibition in the polluted northern Italian city could be fined between 40 and 240 euros ($41 to $249), a …
Milan says no to all outdoor smoking in Italy’s toughest ban Read More »
36RU3N2The number of irregular migrants arriving in Britain on small boats soared in 2024, data showed Wednesday, piling pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to stem the dangerous Channel crossings.Immigration, both irregular and regular, was a major issue at July’s general election, which brought Labour to power but also saw a breakthrough for Nigel Farage’s …
Migrants crossing Channel to UK in 2024 soar by 25 percent Read More »
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday hailed the end of Russian gas transit across his country as a significant “defeat” for Moscow amid its near three-year invasion.Flows of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine stopped on Wednesday morning after Zelensky refused to prolong decades of cooperation that had earned billions of dollars for both Moscow …
Moscow, Kyiv end Russian gas transit to Europe via Ukraine Read More »
Gaza’s civil defence agency said an Israeli air strike killed at least 15 people in the territory’s north on Wednesday, in what it called the first deadly attack of the New Year.”The world welcomed the New Year with celebrations and festivities, while we witnessed 2025 begin with the first Israeli massacre in the town of Jabalia just …
Gaza rescuers say 15 killed in Israeli New Year strike Read More »
South Korean investigators probing a Jeju Air crash which killed 179 people in the worst aviation disaster on its soil said Wednesday they will send one of the retrieved black boxes to the United States for analysis.The Boeing 737-800 was carrying 181 people from Thailand to South Korea Sunday when it issued a mayday call …
South Korea to send Jeju Air crash black box to US Read More »
Camped on the street winding up to the residence of South Korea’s impeached president, protesters direct vitriol at police and echo obscure conspiracies as investigators prepare to execute a warrant for his arrest.Suspended leader Yoon Suk Yeol claimed “anti-state elements” and electoral fraud were plaguing the country as he made his bungled bid to instate …
Right-wing YouTubers back South Korea president’s last stand Read More »
Mob killings in Bangladesh surged after the August revolution last year that toppled the iron-fisted rule of ex-leader Sheikh Hasina, three rights groups said Wednesday.Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), a leading Bangladeshi human rights organisation, said it had recorded at least 128 people killed by mobs in 2024.Of those, 96 took place from August onwards …
Bangladesh saw surge of mob killings in 2024: rights groups Read More »
US president Jimmy Carter, who died on Monday, left an enduring legacy when he brokered historic peace between Egypt and Israel — tepid and shaky, but unbroken even by the nearly 15-month long Gaza war.”For 45 years we’ve had no war” with Egypt, said Ruth Wasserman Lande, a former Israeli diplomat in Cairo.But, she told …
Carter’s Middle East peace legacy survives, but mostly in name Read More »
A major power outage plunged much of Puerto Rico into darkness on New Year’s Eve, with the US island territory’s electric utility saying restoration could take up to two days.The “island-wide blackout” began at 5:30 am Tuesday (0930 GMT), Luma Energy, which manages power transmission on the island, said in a social media statement.It said …
Island-wide blackout hits Puerto Rico on New Year’s Eve Read More »
Revellers across the world ushered in 2025 on Wednesday, with huge crowds waving goodbye to the old year that brought Olympic glory, a dramatic Donald Trump return, and turmoil in the Middle East and Ukraine.It is all but certain that 2024 will go down as the hottest year on record, with climate-fuelled disasters wreaking havoc …
World greets 2025 after sweltering year of Olympics, turmoil and Trump Read More »
