Iraq’s parliament on Saturday passed a bill criminalizing same-sex relations, which would receive a sentence of up to 15 years in prison, in a move rights groups condemned as an “attack on human rights.”Transgender people would be sentenced to three years’ jail under the amendments to a 1988 anti-pr
VILLAGERS PANICKED: It was not clear what caused the blast that destroyed four buildings, but there is a heat wave that could have affected the explosives’ stability
Security was tight yesterday around a military base in southwestern Cambodia, a day after a huge explosion there killed 20 soldiers, wounded others and damaged nearby houses.Guards sought to keep media away from the site in Kompong Speu Province.Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said on Facebook on
US President Joe Biden on Saturday poked fun at himself, but took sharp aim at his election rival, former US president Donald Trump, at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, as protesters outside demonstrated against the conflict in Gaza.A long list of VIP guests, including jour
The Japanese ambassador raved about the daffodils and the glorious spring sunshine and the Australian envoy joked about beating the Poms at their own game, while a life-sized Paddington waved and clapped.On the steps of a centuries-old country house in northwest England, one of the nation’s most ecc
CHINATornado leaves 5 deadA strong tornado on Saturday wreaked havoc through the city of Guangzhou, killing five people and injuring 33, Xinhua news agency said. The tornado, which occurred early afternoon, was accompanied by a hailstorm with hailstones as big as fists, and the extreme weather event
UKRAINE-LINKED TARGETS: Five have been charged and the government summoned the Russian ambassador over a fire that required 60 firefighters to bring under control
A 20-year-old British man has been charged with masterminding an arson plot against a Ukrainian-linked target in London for Russia and Moscow’s ambassador was summoned by the government, authorities said on Friday.“Included in the alleged activity was involvement in the planning of an arson attack o
SQUASHING STORIES: David Pecker said that he paid US$30,000 to a Trump Tower doorman and US$150,000 to a ‘Playboy’ model who said she had an affair with Trump
Former US president Donald Trump’s historic criminal trial wrapped up for the week on Friday following four days of testimony by a colorful former tabloid publisher who said he suppressed potentially damaging stories about Trump. Trump, 77, is accused of falsifying business records to reimburse his
Does Argentine President Javier Milei communicate with a ghost dog whose death he refuses to accept? Forced to respond to questions about his mental health, the president’s office has lashed out at “disrespectful” speculation.Twice this week, presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni was asked about Mile
Japanese Emperor Naruhito and his wife, Empress Masako, are to pay a state visit to Britain in late June as guests of King Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, Buckingham Palace said on Friday.The announcement comes as the palace revealed that the 75-year-old British monarch would make a limited ret
A South Korean music executive credited with creating popular K-pop group NewJeans denied allegations that she was trying to break her label away from Hybe, home to global sensation BTS, sending the K-pop giant’s shares tumbling on Friday.The internal dispute at Hybe, South Korea’s biggest music fir
As the sun sets on another scorching Yangon day, the hot and bothered descend on the Myanmar city’s parks, the coolest place to spend an evening during yet another power blackout.A wave of exceptionally hot weather has blasted Southeast Asia this week, sending the mercury to 45°C and prompting thous
REVERSAL: ‘Today’s ruling unfortunately casts a dark shadow on their bravery and will undoubtedly deter future sexual assault victims from coming forward,’ a lawyer said
Harvey Weinstein’s New York sexual assault conviction was overturned by the state’s highest court, which found that the judge in the disgraced Hollywood movie mogul’s 2020 trial had made fundamental errors.In a 4-3 decision, the New York Court of Appeals on Thursday ordered a new trial, saying the j
DISTURBING MYSTERY: What causes whales to strand as they did in Western Australia on Thursday is not clear to scientists and there are various theories about it
More than 100 long-finned pilot whales that beached on the western Australian coast on Thursday have returned to sea, while 29 died on the shore, officials said.Ships and a spotter plane were monitoring the rescued whales in case they returned to shore, Western Australia Parks and Wildlife Service o
The University of Southern California (USC) on Thursday canceled its main graduation ceremony and dozens more college students were arrested at other campuses in the US as protests against the Israel-Hamas war continued to spread.College officials across the US are worried the ongoing protests could
Saudi Arabia could have its first Miss Universe contestant this year, organizers said this week, after a fashion model and influencer claimed she had been selected. The Miss Universe Organization “is currently undergoing a rigorous vetting process qualifying a potential candidate to be awarded the S
French singer Kendji Girac, who was seriously injured by a gunshot this week, wanted to “fake” his suicide to scare his partner who was threatening to leave him, prosecutors said on Thursday.The 27-year-old former winner of France’s version of The Voice was found wounded after police were called to
NATURAL DISASTER: Residents took to rooftops to save their lives and belongings in a Nairobi slum where the Kenyan Red Cross said it had rescued seven children
Storms and flash floods turned roads into gushing rivers and swamped homes with waist-high muddy water across the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Wednesday, killing at least 10 people.The East Africa region has been lashed by relentless downpours in recent weeks, as the El Nino weather pattern exacerbates
LOST AND FOUND: The Jewish family who owned the portrait fled Austria after 1930, but the Liesers’ heirs and current owners made an agreement to sell it
A portrait of a young woman by Gustav Klimt that was long believed to be lost on Wednesday was sold at an auction in Vienna for 30 million euros (US$32 million).The Austrian modernist artist started work on the Portrait of Fraulein Lieser in 1917, the year before he died, and it is one of his last w
Five British military horses spooked by noise from a building site on Wednesday bolted during routine exercises near Buckingham Palace, threw off four riders and caused chaos as they galloped loose through central London streets and collided with vehicles during the busy morning rush hour.The commot
Doctors have transplanted a pig kidney into a New Jersey woman who was near death, part of a dramatic pair of surgeries that also stabilized her failing heart.Lisa Pisano’s combination of heart and kidney failure left her too sick to qualify for a traditional transplant, and out of options. Then doc