Author: Justin M. Larson

The raid in Sydney occurred days after a mass shooting in Bondi Beach killed 15 people, but the police say they have found no connection between the two events so far. Source link

Mircea Barbu,BucharestandAndré Rhoden-PaulGetty ImagesA Romanian court has sentenced Wiz Khalifa to nine months in prison for smoking cannabis on stage.The American rapper, real name Thomaz Cameron Jibril, admitted to smoking a joint during his performance at the Beach, Please! festival last year in Costinesti.A Romanian appeals court overturned an earlier fine of 3,600 Romanian leu (£619; $829) for drug possession and ruled the rapper must serve the sentence in custody. However he was sentenced in abstentia, and it is unclear if Jibril is even in Romania – he was last seen on Tuesday, performing with Gunna in California.The BBC has…

Briefing ambassadors in the Security Council, Rosemary DiCarlo, head of UN political affairs, and Joyce Msuya, Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, said Syrians have made tangible progress over the past year.However, the country’s recovery – following the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024 – remains fragile and uneven, requiring sustained international support. Millions returning, millions more in needOne of the clearest signs of change, UN officials said, has been the large-scale return of displaced Syrians. More than two million people displaced inside the country have gone back to their areas of origin, while over 1.3 million refugees have returned…

A mysterious object that a controversial scientist claims could be an alien battleship reaches its closest point to Earth on Friday.The object, known as 3i/ATLAS, will speed by at 130,000mph, at a distance of 170 million miles, roughly twice as far away as the sun. While there is near consensus among astronomers that the object is a comet from outside our solar system, a Harvard University astrophysicist has sparked a furious debate by warning he cannot rule out that extraterrestrials are paying us a visit.Professor Avi Loeb told Sky News that humanity should be on high alert for what may…

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Lossless audio is becoming more common, but many people are still unsure what the term means. In simple words, lossless audio keeps all the details from the original recording. Nothing is removed to make the file smaller, so the music sounds closer to what the artist created. Apple Music, Spotify and Amazon Music all support at least CD-quality sound. The one major service that still relies on compressed formats is YouTube Music.Even if your favorite app does not offer lossless quality, you can still improve how your music sounds. Most streaming apps…

“I am alarmed by reports that areas around villages and cultural sites are being struck by fighter jets, drones, and artillery,” he said.  “Under international humanitarian law, it is very clear that protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure is paramount.”  Renewed fightingSince fighting reignited on 7 December, Cambodia has reported 18 civilian fatalities, while Thailand has reported one civilian death. Strikes have increasingly been reported further from the border and into each other’s territories.  The development comes after intensifying border clashes between the two countries over the summer that were the most serious escalation in a decade. To date, some 750,000…

A Briton who fought in Ukraine has been sentenced to 13 years in a maximum-security prison, the Russian Prosecutor-General’s office has said.Hayden Davies, a former British soldier who Russia has called a mercenary, was reportedly captured in Ukraine’s Donbas region in late 2024 or early 2025 while serving with the country’s foreign legion.He was tried in a Russian-controlled court in the city of Donetsk, which is currently occupied by Moscow. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) said it strongly condemned the sentencing of Mr Davies “on false charges”, adding he was a prisoner of war.It said: “We remain…

Issued by the UN human rights office, OHCHR, the report describes how civilians – including many from besieged El Fasher – endured torture and abductions during a three-day offensive by Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on nearby Zamzam camp for displaced persons in April this year.Highlighting the report’s findings, UN rights chief Volker Türk noted that more than 1,000 civilians had been killed in the Zamzam offensive alone, including 319 who faced summary execution at home, in the main market, or in schools, health facilities and mosques.“Such deliberate killing of civilians or persons or de combat may constitute the war crime…

The VC arms of Google and Nvidia have invested in Swedish vibe coding startup Lovable’s $330 million Series B at a $6.6 billion valuation, the company announced on Thursday.The news confirms an earlier story from CNBC, which reported on Tuesday that Lovable had raised at that valuation, trebling its valuation from its previous round in July, and that the investors included U.S. VC firms Accel and Khosla Ventures. CapitalG, one of Google’s VC divisions, and Menlo Ventures led the round. Alongside Accel and Khosla, Nvidia venture arm NVentures, actor Gwyneth Paltrow’s VC firm Kinship Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, Databricks Ventures, Atlassian…

Fed up with it getting dark at 4pm? Well after Sunday, the days will start to get a little longer.The 21 December marks the winter solstice, which brings with it the shortest day and the longest night of the year. Daylight will last for approximately eight hours in London, 49 minutes shorter than the June solstice.The actual moment of the solstice will occur at 3.03pm in the UK, but most people mark the whole day. Solstice is recognised by holidays and festivals in many cultures around the world. Image: People celebrating last year at Newgrange, Co Meath. Pic: PA It…

A paramilitary attack in April was one of the most brutal of Sudan’s civil war. Now, hunger is spreading as Western aid cuts have reduced U.N. rations. Source link

The family of a teenage boy who took his own life after being blackmailed on Instagram are suing the platform’s owner Meta.Warning: This article contains details that some readers may find distressing.Murray Dowey, from Dunblane in Scotland, was just 16 years old when he became a victim of online sextortion in December 2023.His parents, Mark and Ros Dowey, have now launched legal action against Meta in a US court alongside another family amid claims the tech giant failed to protect children on its platforms.Lawyers are alleging the company “knew of safety features that would prevent sextortion” but instead “prioritised profit”.Mrs…

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban during their joint press conference at the Kremlin on July 5, 2024.Contributor | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesOne of Russia’s last remaining allies in the European Union told CNBC he believes there is no way forward for proposals to fund the rebuilding of Ukraine via frozen Russian assets. The European Commission – the EU’s executive arm – is considering using seized Russian assets held in Europe to provide further financial support to Ukraine. Speaking to CNBC as officials arrived at the European Council meeting, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán…

Actors have voted overwhelmingly to refuse digital scanning on set in a bid to secure adequate AI protections.Equity – the UK’s largest acting union – announced the results of an indicative industrial action ballot on Thursday. Image: Equity general secretary Paul W Fleming announced the results It’s the first time such a large section of Equity’s membership – over 7,000 performers working across TV and film – has been balloted, and is a big moment for the UK’s film and TV industry.As an indicative ballot, it’s not binding, nor would it legally cover members who refuse to be digitally scanned…

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Millions of Facebook users filed claims in a recent privacy settlement after the platform was accused of mishandling user data. The approved payouts have been rolling out, which means people are watching their inboxes for updates. Scammers know this and are sending look-alike emails that push you to click a “Redeem Virtual Card” button. Arlene B emailed us to share what landed in her inbox.”I received an email stating that it was from (Facebook User Privacy Settlement Administrator) and that I needed to click on the button below to “Redeem Virtual Card.”…

The economy cabin of American Airlines A321XLR.Leslie Josephs/CNBCAmerican Airlines is about to fly passengers to California for the first time on a skinny, long-range plane that it hopes will change air travel. The airline’s head of network planning now has to decide where else it should fly.The first Airbus A321XLR for a U.S. airline is scheduled to take off from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Thursday, bound for Los Angeles International Airport.The XLR stands for extra-long-range, and with the ability to go up to 4,700 nautical miles, the plane can fly much farther than cross-country, though…

Ecuador defender Mario Pineida has died at the age of 33 after being shot in Guayaquil.Local media reported that Pineida was shot on Wednesday by two people on motorbikes who opened fire on him, his mother and another woman outside a shop in the north of the city.Ecuador’s interior ministry said it has sent a special police unit to investigate.Guayaquil has become a hotspot for gang violence and drug trafficking, with 1,900 murders recorded between January and September – the highest in Ecuador.Three second-tier footballers were killed in September and a local player was wounded in a shooting in October.…

Kazuo Ueda, governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ), gestures to speak during a budget committee session at the lower house of parliament in Tokyo, Japan, on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. Ueda said the recent pace of increases in Japans long-term bond yields is “somewhat fast,” while adding that long-term yields should be determined by the market in principle. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesBloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesJapan’s central bank on Thursday kicked off its last policy meeting of the year, with expectations that it will raise benchmark interest rates to their highest in 30 years, as it…

Despite sky-high inflation, water and energy cuts and prospects for a deal with the U. S. dimming, President Masoud Pezeshkian has apparently thrown up his hands. Source link

Carmakers have known for decades that battery recycling was poisoning people abroad. Nigeria’s crackdown is an effort to catalog the damage. Source link

On a mission to understand how Jaipur balances tradition and innovation, a writer and chef explores its street food stands and palatial dining spots. Source link

A former anaesthetist has been jailed for life for intentionally poisoning 30 patients, including 12 who died.A court in the city of Besançon in eastern France found Frédéric Péchier guilty of contaminating infusion bags with substances that caused cardiac arrest or hemorrhaging.His youngest victim, a four-year-old child, survived two cardiac arrests during a routine tonsil surgery in 2016. The oldest victim was 89.”You are Doctor Death, a poisoner, a murderer. You bring shame on all doctors,” said prosecutors last week. “You have turned this clinic into a graveyard.”Péchier was first placed under investigation eight years ago, when he was suspected…

This report is from this week’s CNBC’s “Inside India” newsletter which brings you timely, insightful news and market commentary on the emerging powerhouse. Subscribe here.The big storyIndia-U.S. relationship looked set to reach new heights at the start of 2025. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the earliest foreign leaders to meet the newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump in February, just hours after he signed a plan to introduce “reciprocal tariffs.” The optics were powerful as the leaders of the world’s largest and oldest democracies shook hands, and vowed to double bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030, with Modi stating,…

Since Sunday, more than 1,000 people were newly displaced from Kadugli, capital of South Kordofan state, as well as the towns of Dilling and El Koaik.  They are reportedly seeking shelter in four other states: North and West Kordofan, Khartoum and White Nile.Thousands on the moveFighting across the Kordofans has intensified as the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continue their battle for control of the country.Humanitarians report that people have also been arriving in White Nile from parts of West Kordofan state that have seen intense clashes this month, including the towns of Babanusa and Heglig.Some 1,600 people – mainly women and children – arrived in the city of Kosti in White…