A referendum on Moldova joining the EU was too close to call early yesterday with almost all votes counted, as pro-EU Moldovan President Maia Sandu blamed “criminal groups working together with foreign forces” — a veiled reference to Russia — for the outcome.The close vote is a setback for Sandu, wh
The world’s biggest nature protection conference opened in Colombia yesterday with the UN secretary-general calling for nations to “convert words into action” and fatten a fund seeking to address biodiversity loss.On the eve of the official start of the conference, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guter
Approval ratings for Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba have fallen ahead of a general election on Sunday, one weekend poll showed, with another survey suggesting the ruling coalition could struggle to secure a majority.Former Japanese minister of defense Ishiba took office this month after bein
Many Cubans on Sunday waited in anguish and some took to the streets in protest as widespread blackouts stretched into their third day. Their concerns were heightened as a Hurricane Oscar hit Cuba’s eastern coast with winds and heavy rain.In Santo Suarez, part of a populous neighborhood in southwest
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Sunday canceled his trip to Russia for the BRICS summit, following medical advice to temporarily avoid long-haul flights after a head injury at home that caused a minor brain hemorrhage.In a statement, the presidential office said that Lula, 78, would
HOTBED OF EMOTION: Sometimes, travelers were using the drop-off zone to engage in last-minute amorous acts, the Dunedin airport chief executive said
Hugging your loved ones goodbye could land you in trouble at a New Zealand airport should your embrace linger too long.The international airport in Dunedin has introduced a three-minute cap on cuddles, as part of a broader effort to improve safety and keep traffic flowing at its drop-off zone.A sign
NEW RECRUITS: A video released by Ukrainian officials allegedly shows dozens of North Koreans lining up to collect military fatigues from Russian servicemen
Russian aerial strikes wounded more than a dozen and knocked out electricity for tens of thousands of Ukrainians overnight in attacks on residential areas as temperatures dropped toward freezing, Kyiv said yesterday.Ukraine also said it had targeted a crucial Russian explosives factory, about 750km
‘TOO MUCH STRESS’: Reporters said that they witnessed small protests, while videos posted on social media showed other demonstrations in Havana
A hurricane was bearing down on Cuba yesterday as efforts to restore power to the island were derailed for a third time late on Saturday, Cuban authorities said shortly before midnight, leaving millions in the dark and raising fresh questions over the viability of the government’s bid to re-establis
It is usually a serene two-and-a-half-hour ride on Japan’s famously efficient bullet train, but on Saturday, the journey quickly descended into a zombie apocalypse, with passengers screaming in terror.Organizers of the adrenaline-filled trip, less than two weeks before Halloween, touted it as the wo
Billionaire Elon Musk on Saturday promised to give away US$1 million each day until the US presidential election on Nov. 5 to someone who signs his online petition supporting the US Constitution.He wasted no time awarding a US$1 million check to an attendee of his event in Pennsylvania aimed at rall
Two close associates of Mozambique’s leading opposition candidate, Venancio Mondlane, who ran for president in the Oct. 9 elections, were gunned down in Maputo on Saturday as they prepared to challenge the contested elections.Lawyer Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe, another candidate from the Podemos pa
UNITED STATESDock collapse kills sevenAt least seven people were killed after part of a boat dock collapsed, sending at least 20 into the Atlantic off Georgia. Coast Guard ships were on Saturday night searching for missing people. The incident, which also caused multiple injuries, happened during a
‘THIS IS CRAZY’: For months, Cubans have been battling chronic blackouts, with one resident decrying that without reserves, people were living day-to-day
Cuba was on Friday racing to restore electricity after the failure of the island’s biggest power plant caused a nationwide blackout, coming on the heels of weeks of extended outages across the cash-strapped country.The capital, Havana, came to a virtual standstill as schools closed, public transport
STILL GROWING: The ongoing bleaching event, the fourth since 1998, surpassed the previous record of 65.7 percent in half the time, and is still increasing, an NOAA expert said
A global episode of heat-related coral bleaching has grown to the largest on record, US authorities said on Friday, sparking worry for the health of key marine ecosystems.From the beginning of last year through Thursday last week, “roughly 77 percent of the world’s reef area has experienced bleachin
On a desolate slab of island tundra in western Alaska, a resident of Adak would again become the last American to cast an in-person ballot for president, continuing a 12-year tradition for the nation’s westernmost community.The honor of having the last voter in the nation fell to Adak when they did
Chinese drone maker SZ DJI Technology Co (大疆創新), which dominates the global consumer market, yesterday said it was suing the US Department of Defense (DOD), complaining that Washington had “erroneously” included the company on a Chinese military company blacklist.It has faced scrutiny from Washingto
In 1995, astronomers confirmed the discovery for the first time of a brown dwarf, a body too small to be a star and too big to be a planet — sort of a celestial tweener. It turns out that was not the full story.Researchers have taken a fresh look at that brown dwarf and learned that it is not a sing
ISRAELDrone launched at PM homePrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said a drone was launched toward his residence in Caesarea yesterday, after the military reported a drone from Lebanon had “hit a structure” in the central town. “The prime minister and his wife were not at the location, and t
STICK V DRONE: Israeli officials said that troops engaged in a gunfight with three suspected militants, after which the Hamas leader was tracked down by a drone
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was tracked by an Israeli mini drone as he lay dying in the ruins of a building in southern Gaza and filmed him slumped in a chair covered in dust, according to video released by Israeli authorities on Thursday.As the drone hovered nearby, the video showed him throwing a st
FAKE RAPE? A university administrator said an alleged rape incident ‘does not exist’ and that he would resign and stand with the protesters if he were proven wrong
Authorities in Pakistan’s most populous province ordered all education institutes shut for yesterday as students protested after reports of a college campus rape spread online.The closure, which encompasses playgroups to universities, affected about 26 million children in addition to adult learners