Ryuho Okawa, the leader of the Japanese "Happy Science" cult who claimed to be able to communicate with the spirits of everyone from Jesus to Donald Trump, died Thursday aged 66, local media reported.. He claimed to have had an epiphany at age 24, when he acquired an ability to communicate with spirits and realised his mission was "to lead humanity to happiness".
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday said she hoped India would use its G20 presidency to broker an end to the Ukraine war, and also unveiled a new strategic partnership with New Delhi.. "Prime Minister Modi knows very well Italy's position, which is giving full support to the territorial integrity of Ukraine," Meloni told reporters.
Leaders were set to gather in Panama on Thursday to discuss the world's oceans and the multiple threats they face, from climate change and pollution to overfishing and mining.. By bringing governments, activists and industry together, "we are able to increase our collective understanding of the issues our ocean is facing and successful initiatives that could be more widely adopted," she told AFP. Observers say the Our Ocean gathering is important because it is the only conference to address all ocean-related issues under a single roof.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Thursday that Germany and its allies were in talks with Kyiv over future security guarantees in preparation of a sustainable peace for Ukraine. . "We are speaking with Kyiv and other partners over future security guarantees for Ukraine," Scholz said in a speech to the German parliament.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz vowed Thursday to ramp up Germany's armaments manufacturing industry, after NATO warned that Ukraine was currently using up more ammunition than allies were producing.. In his address to parliament on Thursday, Scholz also hit out at calls particularly from the far left in Germany for Berlin to stop delivering armaments to Kyiv.
The toll from Greece's worst rail accident rose to 42 on Thursday after a head-on collision blamed on "human error" that has sparked angry protests.. - Angry protests - Angry demonstrators rallied outside the Athens office of Hellenic Train on Wednesday evening, as police used tear gas to disperse protesters who threw rocks at the building.
A jump in renewables and efficiency efforts helped blunt a feared runaway in carbon emissions growth from a surge in coal use last year due to the global energy crisis, the IEA said Thursday, even if CO2 emissions hit a new record.. "The impacts of the energy crisis didn't result in the major increase in global emissions that was initially feared –- and this is thanks to the outstanding growth of renewables, EVs, heat pumps and energy-efficient technologies," IEA executive director Fatih Birol said.
More than 100 countries have backed a plan by Vanuatu to enlist the UN's top court in tackling climate change, after what the nation's officials on Thursday described as a "herculean" diplomatic effort.. With rising sea levels threatening its future, Vanuatu has spearheaded a drive for the court to define what legal responsibility countries have for the changing climate and its impacts.
Europe's chief prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi is already investigating frauds that allegedly cost EU taxpayers 14 billion euros -- now she wants to go after the smugglers undermining sanctions against Russia. . This has led to notable successes, such as Operation Admiral, an investigation that broke up a network responsible for 2.2 billion euros in VAT fraud.
It was once a source of national pride -- an award-winning firm that powered South Africa's mining boom and later brought electricity to black communities left behind by apartheid.. All this largely benefited white people, with black South Africans segregated and disregarded by the apartheid government.
