Two-and-a-half years after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a grand temple to Hindu god Ram, the shrine is embroiled in an unsavoury row over allegations that donations from devotees worth tens of millions of rupees have been embezzled. The temple in the once-flashpoint city of Ayodhya in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh replaced […]
Continue ReadingRodríguez addressed the nation on state television channel VTV more than two hours after the quakes. Prior to that, official information had been very scant, no doubt due to the fact that communication channels to some of the worst affected areas were down. But it is also a result of restrictions placed on independent media […]
Continue ReadingSome western regions in France are now bracing for huge thunderstorms from Thursday afternoon onwards. Gusts of up to 110km/h (68mph) are expected on France’s Atlantic coast, and the first day of the Garorock festival has been cancelled in the Lot-et-Garonne region – where temperatures could reach 42C. Climate change is driving up temperatures around […]
Continue ReadingBack-to-back earthquakes have hit Venezuela, leaving at least 160 people dead, the country’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez has said. The capital Caracas and its surrounding areas have seen some of the worst damage. In the area of El Junquito, on the outskirts of Caracas, a content creator has captured the aftermath of a building collapsing. […]
Continue ReadingRyanair has changed its family seating policy to allow parents to sit with their young children without paying a seat reservation fee, after an investigation was opened. Adults travelling with children who do not wish to pay for a reserved seat will now be told of their free seat allocation after check-in, which Ryanair said […]
Continue ReadingThe price of oil has fallen to levels not seen since before the Iran war as traffic through the key Strait of Hormuz shipping route gradually resumes. Global benchmark Brent crude briefly fell below $72.48 (£55) a barrel, the price it was at the day before the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on […]
Continue Reading“My patients ask me – if they become dependent, who will take care of them?” says Dr Prasun Chatterjee, who leads the geriatrics unit at Apollo Hospital in Delhi. Others worry about something more immediate – who would take them to hospital if they fell ill in the middle of the night. Many of his […]
Continue Reading“We will not be intimidated by the lack of light. We have gone through more than that, and we will survive now,” Razvozhayev said in a Telegram message to the public. “The enemy is again striking vilely, trying to deprive us of our usual living conditions and sow panic.” He said a “special regime” had […]
Continue ReadingEight people who US prosecutors say have ties to Antifa have collectively been sentenced to 450 years in prison for their roles in a riot outside an immigration detention centre in Texas. A former US Marine Corps reservist, who was convicted of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, was sentenced to 100 years in […]
Continue ReadingE-commerce giant Alibaba has launched a high-stakes legal challenge against the US government, suing to get off a Pentagon blacklist that claims it is linked to the Chinese military. The US Department of Defense (DoD) has said that because Alibaba complies with Chinese technology regulators, it is effectively an arm of the military. In the […]
Continue Reading