The shopfronts are decked out in white, blue and red, with Chinese and Russian flags hanging side by side from the ceiling. Waist-high Russian dolls greet customers at the entrance. Inside, shelves are stocked with an array of Russian goods – from chocolates and cookies to honey and vodka. In China, pop-up stores specializing in…
Mark Carney has never been a politician. Yet now he’s sworn in as Canada’s new Prime Minister on Friday, he will face two of the most complex political challenges of any rookie world leader in years. First, he must win a general election that he’s expected to call almost immediately to try to capitalize on…
Pope Francis has approved a new three-year reform process for the Catholic Church, sending a strong signal he plans to continue in the post despite spending more than a month in hospital battling pneumonia. The Vatican announced on Saturday that the 88-year-old pope had signed off on the reform plans from Rome’s Gemelli hospital on…
A Peruvian fisherman has been found alive in the Pacific Ocean after spending 95 days lost at sea, Peru’s state news agency Andina reported Saturday. Máximo Napa Castro, 61, set off on his fishing boat on December 7 from Marcona, a coastal town in the south of the country, but bad weather caused him to…
The head of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has been killed in Iraq in an operation by members of the Iraqi national intelligence service along with US-led coalition forces, the Iraqi prime minister announced Friday. “The Iraqis continue their impressive victories over the forces of darkness and terrorism,” Prime Minister Minister Mohammed Shia…
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on Ukrainian troops in the Russian region of Kursk to surrender, as diplomatic back-and-forth continues over a potential US-brokered ceasefire with Ukraine. At a meeting with members of Russia’s security council on Friday, Putin accused Ukrainian troops in the region of committing crimes against civilians, but acknowledged US President…
Iran is using aerial drones, facial recognition systems, and a citizen-reporting app to enforce mandatory hijab laws on women, according to a United Nations report released Friday. The report highlights Iran’s escalating reliance on technology to monitor and punish women defying the mandatory dress code. Central to this crackdown is the “Nazer” mobile application, a…
Advocates in Mexico are calling for an immediate and independent investigation after the discovery of what they’re describing as an “extermination camp” in Jalisco that cartels allegedly used to kill missing persons. There, the organization found at least three crematoriums with incinerated skeletal remains hidden under a layer of earth and a brick slab. The…
Cuba’s power grid collapsed Friday night, triggering a nationwide power outage and plunging its more than 10 million people into darkness. “At around 8:15 p.m. tonight, a failure at the Diezmero substation caused a significant loss of generation in the west of #Cuba and with it the failure of the National Electric System,” Cuba’s Ministry…
Editor’s Note: Warning: This story contains descriptions of rape and sexual violence. Sixteen-year-old Darkuna watched, terrified, as six gun-wielding men ransacked her home. “For God’s sake, what do you really want?” she cried. One of the fighters looked directly at the girl and responded: “I want you.” After stealing the family’s valuables, each of the…
