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A U.S.-based rights group says it has confirmed the deaths of nearly 6,000 people amid a wave of anti-government protests in Iran, as Tehran warned Washington against intervening and a nationwide internet blackout obscured the true toll. The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported it had verified 5,848 deaths since demonstrations that began over economic grievances in late December swelled into mass protests against the Islamic Republic, with the largest crowds on Jan. 8. HRANA said the confirmed dead include 209…

EU opens DSA probe into X’s Grok over sexual deepfakes, potential child abuse images The European Commission has launched a formal investigation into Grok, the artificial intelligence tool embedded in X, over its role in the spread of sexually explicit images, including potential child sexual abuse material. The action, taken under the EU’s Digital Services Act, follows public outcry over sexually manipulated images circulating on the platform. “Sexual deepfakes of women and children are a violent, unacceptable form of…

Tokyo court orders North Korea to pay €440,000 to victims of ‘paradise on Earth’ repatriation scheme Tokyo — A Japanese court has ordered North Korea to pay €440,000 in damages to four plaintiffs who say they were lured to the country by a propaganda campaign promising a “paradise on Earth,” in a rare legal rebuke that rights advocates called historic. The Tokyo District Court ruled Monday that the four had “most of their lives taken away” and awarded each at least 20 million yen (about €110,000) in compensation. The case…

HILO, Hawaii — Kilauea volcano put on another dramatic display yesterday, sending lava and smoke high into the air as molten rock spilled from its openings during a fresh burst of activity, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The eruption, which began at approximately 11:10 a.m. local time (9:10 p.m. Irish time), marked Kilauea’s 41st eruptive episode in an ongoing sequence, the USGS said. At its most intense, lava fountains surged nearly 480 meters above the crater, producing a fiery column visible across the summit…

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Alex Honnold on Tuesday became the first person to free solo climb Taipei 101, scaling the 508-meter, 101-story skyscraper without ropes, a harness or a safety net in a live-streamed feat that drew hundreds of spectators on the streets below and millions more on Netflix. The 40-year-old American climber, famed for his 2017 ropeless ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite, moved deliberately up the building’s southeast face for about an hour and a half before topping out and rappelling to the ground, where he…

Labour’s ruling body has blocked Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham from seeking the party’s nomination in the Gorton and Denton by-election, citing the cost and risk of triggering a separate mayoral contest ahead of major elections in May — a move likely to inflame tensions inside the party. Burnham, one of Labour’s most high-profile figures and widely regarded as a potential leadership rival to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, said he wanted to stand to replace Andrew Gwynne, the sitting MP who resigned last week on health…

Minneapolis border shooting ignites political crisis as Senate funding vote falters, shutdown looms Graphic cellphone videos of border patrol agents fatally shooting Alex Pretti outside a Minneapolis coffee shop on Saturday have ricocheted across television and social media, stoking protests and driving an immediate political backlash that threatens to derail funding for the Department of Homeland Security and trigger a government shutdown by Friday. Pretti, 37, an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs hospital, was…

Minneapolis officials and residents demanded answers after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents fatally shot Alex Pretti during a weekend protest, as videos verified by Reuters appeared to contradict the Trump administration’s self-defense account and a federal judge ordered evidence preserved. Pretti, 37, became the second U.S. citizen this month to be killed by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis amid a sweeping surge of thousands of armed, masked agents deployed by President Donald Trump. Minnesota Gov.…

Winter storm shuts airports, knocks out power as Arctic cold grips eastern U.S. A powerful winter storm swept from the Ohio Valley and mid-South to New England with heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain, colliding with a deep Arctic blast that has locked in dangerous cold across much of the United States east of the Rockies. Winter storm warnings stretched across most of the eastern third of the country, covering about 118 million people, as the National Weather Service warned of widespread, prolonged travel disruptions and…

Minneapolis — A fatal shooting by a federal agent in Minneapolis has intensified scrutiny of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown after a month marked by five shootings tied to enforcement operations and a surge in deaths in immigration detention. The man killed Tuesday was identified in local reports as Alex Pretti, 37, a U.S. citizen, registered nurse and licensed gun owner. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said a U.S. Border Patrol agent opened fire after Pretti resisted attempts to disarm him. Local…