World News

UK police detail 'remarkable' probe into IS 'Beatles' cell

UK police lifted the lid Wednesday on a years-long probe into the notorious Islamic State (IS) kidnap-and-murder cell dubbed the "Beatles" by their captives.. "What we pieced together here is a trail of breadcrumbs, fragments of breadcrumbs really, amongst a huge amount of other inquiries, which we were then able to present... to a court to assist the prosecution in the US." - 'Snippet' - London's Metropolitan Police first began probing what would become known as the "Beatles" cell in November 2012, when a spate of kidnappings of Western journalists and aid workers began in northern Syria.

Wed, Aug 17, 2022 3 mins read

World News

War in Ukraine: latest developments

Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine: - 'Urgent' inspection of nuclear plant - NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says it is "urgent" that the International Atomic Energy Agency be allowed to inspect the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine that is under Russian military control.. Russian forces took the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, located in southern Ukraine, in March, shortly after invading. 

Wed, Aug 17, 2022 2 mins read

World News

WHO slams 'unimaginable cruelty' inflicted on Tigray

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday branded the "man-made catastrophe" in Ethiopia's Tigray region the "worst disaster on Earth" -- and slammed global leaders for overlooking the humanitarian crisis.. "This is the worst disaster on Earth as we speak...

Wed, Aug 17, 2022 2 mins read

World News

NASA's new rocket on launchpad for trip to Moon

NASA's giant new SLS rocket arrived at its launchpad Wednesday in Cape Canaveral ahead of a planned flight to the Moon in less than two weeks.. The SLS rocket, in development for more than a decade, is 98 meters (322 feet) tall.

Wed, Aug 17, 2022 2 mins read

World News

Police arrest suspect in deadly Ecuador blast

Ecuadoran police on Wednesday arrested a suspect in a weekend blast that killed five people in the port city of Guayaquil and was blamed by the government on organized crime, the interior minister said Wednesday.. So far this year, 861 people have been killed in the Guayaquil metropolitan area. pld/dga/mlr/dw

Wed, Aug 17, 2022 1 mins read

World News

UN rights chief says Rohingya refugees not able to return

UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet said Wednesday that it remained unsafe for Rohingya refugees to return to their homes in Myanmar, nearly five years after a crackdown there sparked an exodus to neighbouring Bangladesh.. Five years later the refugees refuse to go back without guarantees for their safety and rights in Myanmar, which is now ruled by a military junta after the ouster of its civilian government last year. 

Wed, Aug 17, 2022 2 mins read

World News

Miners toil for coal beneath the battle for east Ukraine

Deep underground, not far from Ukraine's frontlines, coal miners burrowing in the bowels of the earth are preoccupied by the war but resigned to getting the job done.. Just 170 kilometres (106 miles) from the pro-Russian separatist stronghold of Donetsk, miner Oleksandr Oksen says thoughts are often with colleagues on the frontlines.

Wed, Aug 17, 2022 2 mins read

World News

Climate change driving unprecedented forest fire loss

Forest fires supercharged by climate change are burning twice as much global tree cover as 20 years ago, according to a data Wednesday showing the equivalent of 16 football pitches are now lost every minute.. The data showed 2021 to be one of the worst years for forest fires since the turn of the century, causing 9.3 million hectares of tree cover loss globally. 

Wed, Aug 17, 2022 3 mins read

World News

Afghanistan's Olympic flag-bearer makes Australia home

Afghanistan's Olympic flag-bearer Kimia Yousofi has resettled in Australia after fleeing Taliban persecution, Games officials in Sydney said Wednesday, and the sprinter has already set her sights on Paris 2024.. Earlier this year Afghanistan's women's football team played their first match since fleeing to Australia. jl/arb/axn

Wed, Aug 17, 2022 1 mins read

World News

UN Myanmar envoy begins talks with junta chief

The UN's new special envoy for Myanmar began meetings with top junta officials on Wednesday but did not respond to questions about whether she would seek to meet ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi.. Heyzer did not respond to AFP questions on whether she would meet Suu Kyi on Wednesday as she left her hotel in a motorcade escorted by police and plainclothes security forces.

Wed, Aug 17, 2022 2 mins read