The Israel Air Force this week will hold one of its largest drills in years with the United States Air Force simulating offensive strikes against Iran’s nuclear program. The drill will take place from Tuesday until Thursday over the Mediterranean Sea and Israel. It will include long-range flights such as those that Israeli pilots might need to make in order to reach the Islamic Republic. … Continue reading Israel, US to hold air drill simulating striking Iran nuclear program

Police on Monday stopped and searched people at the sites of weekend protests in Shanghai and Beijing, after crowds there and in other Chinese cities demonstrated against stringent COVID-19 measures disrupting lives three years into the pandemic. From the streets of several Chinese cities to dozens of university campuses, protesters made a show of civil disobedience unprecedented since leader Xi Jinping assumed power a decade … Continue reading China strengthens grip after rare protests against Covid lockdowns and communism

Russian military strikes on Ukraine this week have left half of the capital city of Kyiv without electricity, amid cold winter temperatures. Fifteen civilians have died following Russian shelling in the recently recaptured city of Kherson. FRANCE 24 – In a rare public spat involving Ukrainian leaders, President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday criticised the mayor of Kyiv for doing what he said was a poor job setting … Continue reading Russia amps up missile strikes in Ukraine, killing 15 in Kherson

The majority of the country of Ukraine remains without electricity, heat, and water after a series of devastating Russian missile attacks against the country’s infrastructure this week. THE GUARDIAN – The Kyiv mayor, Vitaly Klitschko, said 60% of households in the city of 3 million had no power, and there were rolling blackouts around the country, as engineers struggled to repair transformers and transmission lines … Continue reading Much of Ukraine still without power, heat and water after Russian missile attacks

Beijing, the capital city of China, has been placed on strict lockdown as Covid cases within the communist nation starts to rise. CNBC – More and more apartment compounds in Beijing on Friday forbade residents from leaving for at least a few days. That’s on top of a growing number of bans on business activity, which have forced gyms to close and restaurants to halt … Continue reading Beijing comes to a halt as China puts capital city on lockdown

Rescuers were digging through debris on Tuesday to find survivors of a powerful earthquake that toppled homes and buildings in a highly populated area of Indonesia’s West Java province, killing at least 268 people. A further 151 people remain missing and more than 1,000 were injured, the country’s National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB) said. The 5.6-magnitude quake hit the Cianjur region in West Java … Continue reading Search underway as magnitude-5.6 earthquake leaves over 200 dead in Indonesia

The French government on Tuesday expressed shock after a tax inspector was stabbed to death as he was trying to audit the books of a business owner in the north of the country. The murder victim, a 43-year old civil servant for the tax authorities, was found dead on Monday, killed “most likely by repeated stabbing”, the prosecutors’ office in the northern French city of … Continue reading France in shock after murder of tax inspector

The southern Chinese metropolis of Guangzhou locked down its largest district Monday as it tries to tamp down a major COVID-19 outbreak, suspending public transit and requiring residents to present a negative test if they want to leave their homes. The outbreak is testing China’s attempt to bring a more targeted approach to its zero-COVID policies while facing multiple outbreaks driven by fast-spreading omicron variants. … Continue reading China’s Guangzhou locks down millions in ‘zero-COVID’ fight

An earthquake on the main Indonesian island of Java has killed at least 162 people and injured hundreds, regional governor Ridwan Kamil has said. The 5.6 magnitude quake struck Cianjur town in West Java, at a shallow depth of 10km (six miles), according to US Geological Survey data. Scores of people were taken to hospital, with many treated outside. Rescuers were working into the night … Continue reading Indonesia: Java quake kills 162 and injures hundreds

The head of Russia’s state-run atomic energy agency, Rosatom, warned on Monday there was a risk of a nuclear accident at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, following renewed shelling over the weekend. Moscow and Kyiv have traded accusations of shelling the facility for months since Russian forces took control of it in March, shortly after invading Ukraine. Renewed shelling on Sunday triggered fresh … Continue reading Top Russian official warns of possible nuclear accident at Zaporizhzhia

Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is currently under the control of Russian military officials, was hit by shelling on Sunday, drawing condemnation from the United Nations nuclear watchdog, which said the attacks risked a major disaster in the area. YAHOO NEWS – More than a dozen blasts shook Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant on Saturday evening and Sunday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) … Continue reading Ukraine nuclear power station shelled, UN nuclear watchdog says