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Facebook Tweet Email Link United States special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff has arrived at a controversial US-backed food aid site in Gaza as the starvation crisis in the enclave deepens. An Israeli source told CNN Friday that Witkoff had arrived at the aid site, which is run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GFH). On Thursday, the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Witkoff and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee would travel to Gaza Friday “to inspect the current distribution sites and secure a plan to deliver more food and meet with local Gazans to hear…
Facebook Tweet Email Link San Salvador, El Salvador AP — The party of El Salvador President Nayib Bukele approved constitutional changes in the country’s Legislative Assembly on Thursday that will allow indefinite presidential reelection and extend presidential terms to six years. Lawmaker Ana Figueroa from the New Ideas party had proposed the changes to five articles of the constitution. The proposal also included eliminating the second round of the election where the two top vote-getters from the first round face off. New Ideas and its allies in the Legislative Assembly quickly approved the proposals with the supermajority they hold. The…
Facebook Tweet Email Link The world of chess has been going through somewhat of an evolution in recent years, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. The ancient game’s popularity boom has been well documented, owing in part to the rise of online formats during the Covid-19 pandemic and the reputational boost provided by mainstream media, such as the Netflix series “The Queen’s Gambit.” Since then, chess’ move to online platforms has accelerated and its now currently debuting at the Esports World Cup (EWC) this week. The tournament, hosted and part-funded by Saudi Arabia, was held for the first…
Facebook Tweet Email Link Lightning is a familiar sight in stormy skies, but a new report has revealed just how far some bolts can travel — in one case, more than 500 miles. That astonishing bolt sparked to life in eastern Texas and stretched all the way to Kansas City, Missouri, traveling 515 miles in seconds. It struck during a thunderstorm in October 2017, but the bolt’s exact distance was finally verified in the study, published Thursday in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. “We call it megaflash lightning and we’re just now figuring out the mechanics of how…
Facebook Tweet Email Link Kyiv, Ukraine — The death toll from Russia’s heavy bombardment of Ukraine’s capital this week has risen to 31 people, marking the deadliest single attack on Kyiv in a year, Ukrainian officials said on Friday. The vast majority were killed in a single strike on an apartment block. Rescue workers have now recovered the bodies of at least 28 people from the destroyed apartment block, including five children, the State Emergency Service (SES) told CNN. At least 159 people were also wounded in the blast. “This is the highest number of injured children in one night…
Facebook Tweet Email Link Former Vice President Kamala Harris said she would not run for public office because the system is “broken,” as she reflected on her decision not to pursue a gubernatorial run in California and spoke about what she views as “capitulation” by those tasked with guarding democracy during Donald Trump’s second administration. In the former 2024 presidential candidate’s first interview since losing the election, Harris spoke about her career as a public servant, noting that when she was young she thought that people who want to improve or change a system should not just do so from…
Facebook Tweet Email Link Tokyo — The record-breaking sale of Hermès’ original Birkin bag was among the most remarkable auctions of modern times. Last month’s nine-way bidding battle opened with an offer of 1 million euros that instantly made it the most expensive handbag of all time. When bids reached 6 million euros, spontaneous applause erupted across Sotheby’s typically restrained Paris saleroom. After the auctioneer’s gavel fell at 7 million euros — meaning that, after fees, a then-anonymous telephone buyer would pay the equivalent of $10.1 million for the bag — cheers broke out. On the other end of the…
Facebook Tweet Email Link An 88-year-old Russian man, who gained local fame for building his own aircraft, has died after attempting to take off in a homemade helicopter. The man, a resident of the Omutninsky district of western Russia’s Kirov Region, attempted the flight in the self-built aircraft on Thursday, the Volga Region Transport Prosecutor’s Office said in a news release Friday. However, the helicopter self-destructed during take-off, it added. The aircraft failed to lift off and, instead, “during engine startup, while still on the ground and as the engine power was building, the main rotor blades detached. This caused…
Facebook Tweet Email Link Sydney Reuters — In a remote rainforest in Australia, home to deadly snakes, spiders and creepy-crawlies, scientists have discovered a new species of stick insect they believe is the heaviest ever found in the country. The new species weighs 44 grams (1.55 oz), about the same as a golf ball, and is 40 cm (15.75 inches) long. James Cook University’s Angus Emmott, who helped identify the new Acrophylla alta species, said the creature’s large size could be an evolutionary response to its cool, wet habitat. “Their body mass likely helps them survive the colder conditions, and…
The Middle East Race & ethnicity Student life Israel-Hamas war See all topics Facebook Tweet Email Link The French government will deport a Gaza student accused of reposting alleged antisemitic content on her social media and halt all evacuations from the territory, the country’s foreign minister said Friday as outrage grows over her reposts. “She must leave the country. She does not have a place in France,” Jean-Noël Barrot said in an interview with radio station France Info, without saying if authorities would return the student back to Gaza. The foreign minister did not name the woman, who has also…