A dangerous chemical scare that forced tens of thousands from their homes in southern California eased on Sunday, with officials saying conditions had improved enough for many residents to return. Garden Grove Police Chief Amir El-Farra said authorities were able to shrink the evacuation area after reviewing fresh data and consulting subject matter experts. "For those that remain impacted, I know this may be frustrating. That number is approximately 16,000 of you. Please understand that we are doing this for your safety, and…

A Spanish national evacuated from a cruise ship earlier this month and now quarantined at a military hospital in Madrid has tested positive for hantavirus, Spain's Health Ministry said, sharpening concern around an outbreak that began at sea. The case is the second positive result among 14 Spanish nationals flown to the Spanish island of Tenerife from the luxury liner MV Hondius. The ship was carrying about 150 passengers and crew from 23 countries when a cluster of severe respiratory illnesses was first reported to the…

Alarm is spreading beyond the Democratic Republic of Congo as the Ebola outbreak gathers pace, with the head of the World Health Organization warning that neighbouring states face grave danger unless they move swiftly to contain the virus. "Countries bordering DRC are at especially high risk and should take immediate action," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who said he would travel to the DRC tomorrow, heading to the vast central African nation at the heart of the current outbreak. "The outbreak is…

Any hopes of a swift breakthrough with Iran dimmed on Tuesday after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a deal could still "take a few days," a day after US forces launched what Washington described as defensive strikes in ⁠southern Iran. Rubio, outlining the operation against targets that included boats allegedly trying to lay mines and missile launch sites, made clear the US position on the vital shipping lane. The Strait of Hormuz, he said, must remain open "one way or the other". "The straits have to be open, they're…

Artificial intelligence has moved to the center of the Vatican’s moral agenda, with Pope Leo XIV releasing his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, or Magnificent Humanity, in a closely watched statement of intent from the new pontiff. The pope signed the document on 15 May, deliberately tying it to the 135th anniversary of the landmark encyclical issued by the last pope to take the name Leo - Pope Leo XIII. That document, Rerum Novarum, confronted the social and economic shocks unleashed by the Industrial Revolution in…

A fragile sign of progress emerged in Garden Grove after authorities said they found a crack in a damaged tank holding toxic chemicals, a development that may be easing pressure as fears of an explosion have driven tens of thousands of people from their homes. Roughly 50,000 residents in the Garden Grove area of Orange County, southeast of Los Angeles, were ordered to evacuate on Friday after the tank began leaking and sent fumes across a densely populated area about 8km from Disneyland. Federal regulators sent in a team of…

The United States will secure either a satisfactory agreement with Iran or confront Tehran “another way,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, as Washington sought to temper expectations of any immediate breakthrough in the three-month-old war. Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Mr Rubio said the US would allow diplomacy every opportunity to work before turning to what he called “alternatives,” after President Donald Trump said yesterday that he had instructed his team not to hurry into an agreement with Iran. Rubio said…

With pressure building inside a tank of hazardous chemicals in Southern California, firefighters racing to stop an explosion or toxic leak have turned to outside specialists in a bid to avert disaster, as several nearby shelters filled up with evacuees. Evacuation orders stayed in force across a zone affecting tens of thousands of residents in Garden Grove, a Los Angeles-area suburb. California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Orange County, while his office urged residents to comply with evacuation…

A powerful blast struck a train carrying military personnel in Pakistan's restive southwestern province of Balochistan, killing at least 24 people, according to a senior official. Among the dead were army servicemen in the provincial capital of Quetta, where the attack also left more than 50 people wounded, the official told AFP. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) militant group claimed responsibility for the bombing, which Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif denounced as a "cowardly" act of terrorism. Images from the scene…

Kyiv woke to one of the fiercest assaults it has faced since Russia launched its full-scale invasion four years ago, as waves of drones and missiles slammed into the capital and nearby areas, including an Oreshnik hypersonic missile fired close to the city. During the hours-long overnight attack, two people were killed in Kyiv and another two died in the surrounding region, while nearly 100 others were injured, Ukrainian officials said. Officials said dozens of apartment buildings and several schools were damaged, with many…