The assassination of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe by a man resentful of the Unification Church has resurfaced years of controversy over the group.. In a letter published by local media, Yamagami accused Abe of supporting the Unification Church and expressed resentment towards the group, which has confirmed his mother's membership.
A deadly virus has swept through Zurich's zoo, killing three Asian elephants in a month and leaving experts stumped as to how to stop its spread.. In captivity, this virus is "the main cause of death for elephants between two and eight years", zoo curator Pascal Marty told AFP. The virus has also been known to kill elephants in the wild, he said, but "it's a bit harder to detect".
Buses of Russian tourists stream into Finland at Nuijamaa border crossing in the country's southeast, some hoping to enjoy the peaceful Finnish summer and others planning to travel further into Europe.. But many Finns are unhappy with the situation, and the thought of Russians enjoying a Finnish summer while Ukrainians suffer under a brutal invasion has been met with indignation.
Bricked-up doorways, crumbling facades and a small group of defiant locals: one of Shanghai's oldest neighbourhoods is barely clinging to life as the city presses ahead with demolition and redevelopment plans.. Where locals once dined at popular restaurants, large red-and-white signs on the walls urge cooperation with redevelopment plans.
Once a relatively peaceful neighbor of major cocaine producers Colombia and Peru, Ecuador has become a battleground for criminal gangs looking to control the drug trafficking trade, analysts and authorities say.. "Around 700 tons of cocaine a year comes into Ecuador from neighboring countries" Colombia and Peru, said Pazmino. str/vel/bc/sst/bfm
Russia's announcement this week that it will leave the International Space Station "after 2024" raises critical questions about the outpost's future viability. . - Why does Russia want to leave?
British pop giants Duran Duran headlined a glitzy Commonwealth Games opening ceremony in Birmingham on Thursday as more than 5,000 athletes braced for battle.. Prince Charles declared the Games open as Duran Duran got the party started to a backdrop of fireworks across the city.
Venezuela and Colombia will reestablish diplomatic relations at an ambassadorial level when leftist president-elect Gustavo Petro takes office in Bogota on August 7, representatives of the South American neighbors said Thursday.. Petro, Colombia's first ever elected left-wing president, had said on the campaign trail that he would reestablish diplomatic relations with Venezuela once in office.
Pope Francis celebrated mass Thursday at the oldest Catholic shrine in North America, where he was faced with a brief protest on the fourth day of a visit to Canada as he seeks to reset the Church's relationship with Indigenous people.. Francis came to Canada to apologize for the Church's role in the abuse of Indigenous children in Catholic-run schools.
Thousands of people demonstrated in Buenos Aires on Thursday, demanding a "universal salary" in crisis-ridden Argentina.. Radical leftist groups close to the Frente de Todos (Everyone's Front) ruling coalition have for weeks been demanding a universal living wage.
