World

Egypt is setting up an area along its border with the Gaza Strip that could shelter Palestinians if an Israeli military offensive in Rafah sparks a mass exodus, a report says.  Three security sources told Reuters that Egypt has started preparing a desert area with basic facilities as part of …

Christian Bruckner, 47, a suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, has gone on trial for unrelated sexual offenses in Portugal. The charges include three counts of rape and two of sexual abuse of children. Bruckner, who is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for a 2005 rape …

Mexico will likely elect a woman as its next president, but the new leader is expected to face financial limitations due to commitments initiated by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. López Obrador has proposed new and expensive projects in the closing months of his administration, leaving big-ticket projects unfinished. Officials …

Families of Indonesian activists who were kidnapped and tortured 25 years ago protested on Thursday against Prabowo Subianto’s apparent presidential victory. They expressed shock over Subianto’s apparent victory in the presidential election and blamed him for the past atrocities. Subianto, currently the defense minister, claimed victory based on unofficial tallies …

Greece legalized same-sex civil marriage, making it the first Orthodox Christian country to do so, despite opposition from the Greek Church. A cross-party majority of 176 lawmakers out of 300 voted in favor of the bill, with 76 against, two abstaining and 46 not present during the vote. The law …

Slovakia’s president, Zuzana Caputova, is challenging a recent amendment that eliminates the special prosecutor’s office handling major crime and corruption. Caputova is seeking to freeze the legislation, which was approved by lawmakers loyal to populist Prime Minister Robert Fico. The amendment, passed in early February, has faced criticism domestically and …

Poland’s Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, has announced plans to upgrade the border wall with Belarus to enhance security against unauthorized migration. Tusk voiced concerns about the inadequacy of the European Union’s asylum legislation in addressing current migration challenges. The Prime Minister of Finland, Petteri Orpo, agreed with Tusk on the …

At least 11 people are dead and four injured after a massive fire in a paint factory in New Delhi, India. The blaze started on the first floor of the factory late Thursday, trapping victims on higher floors with no escape route. The building, located in the Alipur area of …

Hong Kong customs officials have arrested seven people in connection with the territory’s largest-ever money laundering case, involving approximately $1.8 billion. Those arrested were allegedly part of a large-scale transnational syndicate utilizing shell companies and bank accounts to transfer large sums from overseas to Hong Kong. The syndicate received significant …

North Korea’s supreme leader has drawn a red line at sea, vowing to fire upon any South Korean vessel that even barely crosses it. Kim Jong Un reportedly attended the test launch of a new surface-to-air missile on Wednesday, where he told military officials to be prepared for a strike …

Russia’s prison agency announced Friday that prominent Vladimir Putin critic and opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died at the age of 47. The Federal Prison Service said in a statement that Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday and lost consciousness, according to The Associated Press. An ambulance arrived …

Voters in two districts in England have delivered new blows to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Results show they elected opposition-party lawmakers in seats that Sunak’s Conservatives had held for years. Labour Party candidates won the House of Commons seats of Kingswood in southwest England and Wellingborough in the country’s center. …

Truckers staged protests on busy highways outside of Mexico City on Thursday to protest the wave of killings of drivers during highway robberies. Trucks either drove very slowly or blocked some lanes of traffic. The protest was organized by the Mexican Alliance of Drivers’ Organizations, known by its initials as …

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Albania on Thursday to reaffirm relations with a key partner in the region and assure Western Balkan countries of Washington’s support for their integration into the European Union. Blinken met with top officials and focused on the future of the Western Balkans as …

Four Roman Catholic bishops met with Mexican drug cartel bosses in a bid to negotiate a possible peace accord, one of the bishops said, and President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Thursday he approves of such talks. The revelation by Bishop of Chilpancingo-Chilapa, José de Jesús González Hernández, in remarks …

The U.S. will build up to five military bases for the Somali army in a project that seeks to bolster the Somalian national army’s capabilities amid ongoing threats from an extremist group. Somalia’s defense minister and the U.S. charge d’affaires signed a memorandum of understanding Thursday in Mogadishu, the Somali …

At least four people died and the search continued for two more who were missing Thursday after a boat carrying more than two dozen migrants capsized off Panama’s Caribbean coast in an apparent attempt to avoid the treacherous Darien Gap land route. Panama’s Public Safety Ministry said in a statement …

Greece’s parliament is to vote late Thursday to legalize same-sex civil marriage in a first for an Orthodox Christian country and despite opposition from the influential Greek Church. As lawmakers debated the bill for a second day, opinion polls suggest that most Greeks support the proposed reform by a narrow …

The slow-simmering cross-border conflict between Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group and Israeli forces escalated Wednesday, reviving fears that the daily clashes could expand into an all-out war. A rocket fired from Lebanon struck the northern Israeli town of Safed, killing a 20-year-old female soldier and wounding at least eight people. Israel …

Marines injured in Japan rollover accident The Marines were injured after a tactical vehicle rolled over. They were ‘transported to U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa with non-life-threatening injuries,’ according to the Marine Expeditionary Force Okinawa. A “mass casualty exercise” in Okinawa, Japan, became more real than expected on Thursday after a …