The Chinese military on Tuesday said it had begun conducting joint exercises involving its army, navy, air force, and rocket force to “close in on” Taiwan from “multiple directions,” according to a statement posted on the Eastern Theater Command’s official social media account. The drills mainly focus on sea-air combat-readiness patrols, joint seizure of comprehensive…
An American citizen has been detained in Belarus after being accused of attempting to sneak into the country on a cargo train by Belarusian authorities. The 27-year-old unnamed American man was traveling in the empty carriage of a train from neighbouring Lithuania when he was found by custom officers at Maladzyechna train station, Belarus’ customs…
Britain’s second-largest city has declared a “major incident” after a sanitation worker strike left over 17,000 tons of uncollected garbage on the curbside. “It’s regrettable that we have had to take this step, but we cannot tolerate a situation that is causing harm and distress to communities across Birmingham,” John Cotton, leader of Birmingham city…
Israel has launched a strike on Beirut for the second time in days, further testing the shaky ceasefire with Hezbollah struck four months ago. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said three people were killed, including a woman, and seven injured in the strike early Tuesday, which Israel said had targeted a Hezbollah militant. Two missiles hit the…
A colossal fire erupted Tuesday in a Malaysian suburb outside Kuala Lumpur due to a burst gas pipeline, prompting evacuations of nearby homes. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights in central Selangor state was visible for miles. National oil company Petronas said in a statement that the fire broke out at…
The prime minister of Greenland pushed back Sunday against assertions by U.S. President Donald Trump that America will take control of the island territory. Greenland, a huge, resource-rich island in the Atlantic, is a self-governing territory of Denmark, a NATO ally of the United States. Trump wants to annex the territory, claiming it’s needed for…
A South Korean man tending a family grave is suspected of sparking one of the record wildfires that ravaged the southeastern part of the country last week, the National Police Agency said on Monday. The multiple fires, which left 30 people dead and thousands of structures – including a centuries-old Buddhist temple – destroyed, were…
Syria’s new transitional government was sworn in Saturday nearly four months after the Assad family was removed from power and as the new authorities in Damascus work to bring back stability to the war-torn country. The 23-member Cabinet, which is religiously and ethnically mixed, is the first in the country’s five-year transitional period and replaces…
Over 300,000 Canadians faced power outages in parts of Ontario on Sunday as an ice storm pummeled the region over the weekend, according to electricity provider Hydro One. Environment Canada issued winter storm warnings for freezing rain in Ottawa, parts of Quebec and Ontario, with the risk of snow mixed with or transitioning to ice…
A German start-up’s orbital rocket spun out and crashed seconds after take-off Sunday, in a rare European test flight that the makers said “met its set goals.” The flight, from a spaceport in northern Norway, marked the first time a rocket capable of reaching orbit was launched from continental Europe excluding Russia, manufacturer Isar Aerospace…
