A group of hostages being held for ransom by armed criminals in a remote region of Papua New Guinea have all now been freed, the country’s Prime Minister James Marape said Sunday. “We apologize to the families of those taken as hostages for ransom, it took us a while but the last three have been successfully returned through covert operations with no (ransom) paid,” Marape … Continue reading Armed group has released its last three hostages in Papua New Guinea, says prime minister

Spain and Finland will send Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, the countries’ governments said Thursday. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced he would send 10 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine as he visited Kyiv on Thursday for the second time since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Western allies are ramping up the supply of military hardware to Ukraine, as it prepares to face a potential … Continue reading Spain, Finland to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine

Rescuers with backhoes and bulldozers dug through tons of earth and rubble Thursday for 48 people missing after a landslide buried an open-pit mine in northern China. State broadcaster CCTV reported that the confirmed death toll in the disaster rose to five. Conditions in the area remain dangerous, and the search had to be suspended for several hours because of a second landslide at the … Continue reading More bodies found in China mine collapse, 48 remain missing

A horrific video showed two men open fire on a group and kill seven people, including a 12-year-old girl at a Brazilian pool hall, reportedly for being mocked after losing two games in a row.  “The way it happened, it is clear that some victims may not even have been involved with the game that was taking place at the establishment,” Police Lt. Romening dos … Continue reading Seven killed in Brazilian pool hall massacre after losers mocked

The U.S. is preparing to send 100 to 200 troops to Taiwan for training amid rising tensions with China, a U.S. official familiar with the planning confirmed to Fox News on Thursday.   This number will expand a much smaller training program, which has included the National Guard, Special Ops, and U.S. Marines in the past.   The Michigan National Guard will also train a contingent … Continue reading US sending up to 200 more troops to Taiwan as China tensions grow

Many of Britain’s largest grocery store chains this week introduced limits on the sale of specific vegetables and fruit as shortages of certain products continue to extend across the U.K. Grocery giants including Tesco, Asda, Aldi and Morrisons are struggling with their supply chains, particularly with products sourced from southern Spain and Morocco where extreme weather has damaged crops. In Northern Europe some farmers have … Continue reading Many U.K. grocers limit some fruit and veggie sales as extreme weather impacts supply

China’s navy has significant advantages over its US rival, including a bigger fleet and greater shipbuilding capacity, as Beijing seeks to project its power across the oceans, the head of the United States Navy said Tuesday. Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, US Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said China “consistently attempts to violate the maritime sovereignty and economic well-being of other … Continue reading US can’t keep up with China’s warship building, Navy Secretary says

Israeli troops on Wednesday entered a major Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank in a rare, daytime arrest operation, triggering fighting that killed at least 10 Palestinians and wounded scores of others. The raid, which reduced a building to rubble and left a series of shops riddled with bullets, was one of the bloodiest battles in nearly a year of fighting in the West … Continue reading 10 Palestinians killed, scores hurt in Israel West Bank raid

A mysterious iron ball nearly 5 feet wide was found on a beach in Hamamatsu City, Japan, this week. Officials scrambled to ensure the giant ball was not a bomb, according to Japanese broadcaster NHK, which released video of police examining it.  The ball is not a bomb, officials said – but its origin is still unknown. The peculiar orb, which is hollow and sand-colored, … Continue reading A mysterious, large metal ball was discovered on a beach in Japan, prompting investigation

Two brothers robbed a jewellery shop and took off with a £15,000 Rolex after disguising themselves as elderly men with “extremely life-like” latex masks.  The pair might have got away with it – if they hadn’t abandoned the masks in the boot of the car. Several weeks after the robbery, one of the brothers was stopped by police while driving. In the car were the … Continue reading Brothers jailed after dressing up as old men in ‘extremely life-like’ masks to rob jewellery shop

Belarus has claimed there was a significant grouping of Ukrainian troops massed near its border and warned that this posed a threat to its security. “At present, a significant grouping of the Ukrainian army is concentrated in the immediate vicinity of the Belarusian-Ukrainian section of the state border,” the defence ministry said in a post on Telegram. “The probability of armed provocations, which can escalate … Continue reading Belarus claims Ukraine army groups have massed at border, risking its security

A cyclone which is intensifying as it approaches the southeastern African coast has been labeled as “dangerous” by the United Nation’s weather agency on Monday as nations brace for landfall. Cyclone Freddy is projected to reach Madagascar on Tuesday evening and hurtle toward Mozambique by the end of the week. The tropical cyclone is equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane and is expected to dump … Continue reading Madagascar, Mozambique set for “dangerous” Cyclone Freddy

Pope Francis has intervened for the third time to crack down on the celebration of the old Latin Mass, a sign of continued friction with Catholic traditionalists. Francis reasserted in a new legal decree published Tuesday that the Holy See must approve new celebrations of the old rite by signing off on bishops’ decisions to designate additional parish churches for the Latin Mass or to … Continue reading Pope intervenes again to restrict celebration of Latin Mass

Incidents of vandalism and arson of Christian churches have spiked in recent weeks in Germany and France, a Vienna-based watchdog group reports. Three churches were torched in Paris over the course of just one week, from January 17-26, revealed the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe (OIDACE) in a report Monday. Unknown perpetrators threw Molotov cocktails at the church of Saint Martin … Continue reading Report: Church Vandalism Spree Strikes Germany and France

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck southern Turkey near the Syrian border late on Monday, setting off panic and further damaging buildings two weeks after the country’s worst earthquake in modern history left tens of thousands dead. Two Reuters reporters said the tremors were strong and lasting, damaging buildings and leaving dust in the night air in central Antakya city, where it was centred. It was … Continue reading Panic as Turkey, Syria rocked again by 6.3M earthquake

Dutch internet cables, gas pipelines and wind farms in the North Sea are vulnerable to sabotage by Russia, according to an intelligence report.  Russia has covertly mapped the Dutch infrastructure in the North Sea and “undertakes activities that indicate espionage and preparatory actions for disruption and sabotage,” the intelligence agencies of the Netherlands said in a report on Monday.  Physical threats to other vital sectors, … Continue reading Dutch Say Maritime Infrastructure Faces Russian Sabotage Threat

Researchers monitoring the rapid melting of the world’s widest glacier now have a better understanding of its natural processes due to an extensive deployment of probes and warn that trouble looms due to a warming climate. Findings recently published in the journal Nature said changes under the Thwaites Glacier are different from what researchers first believed. Scientists reported melting below the ice shelf is slower … Continue reading Antarctica’s ‘Doomsday Glacier’ is melting away differently than scientists first thought