Indonesia landslide kills 17 as search continues for dozens missing

West Bandung, Indonesia — The death toll from a massive landslide in West Java rose to 17 as rescuers used heavy equipment and hand tools to search for dozens still missing days after heavy rain unleashed a torrent of mud through the village of Pasirlangu. The flow of soil and debris surged across the community at the foot of Mount Burangrang early Saturday, burying homes and forcing hurried evacuations. Authorities warned that saturated, unstable slopes and persistent rainfall were complicating operations and raising the…

Israeli officials say final hostage’s remains recovered from Gaza Strip

Israel’s military said it has retrieved the remains of Israeli police officer Ran Gvili, the last hostage held in Gaza, a development officials said fulfills a key condition in the initial phase of a U.S.-brokered plan to end the Gaza war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had “brought them all back,” after months of operations and negotiations to secure the release or recovery of the 251 people abducted during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 assault. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the return of the final Israeli hostage…

Rights watchdog reports Iran protest death toll approaching 6,000

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…

European Union opens probe into X’s Grok AI chatbot

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…

Court orders North Korea to pay compensation to Japanese migrants

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…

Video shows Hawaii volcano erupting, unleashing spectacular rivers of lava

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…

American free climber ascends Taiwan’s tallest skyscraper in daring feat

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 blocks Burnham’s bid for parliamentary comeback

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…

Second Minnesota shooting fuels intensifying political backlash across the state

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…

Trump White House Justifies Minneapolis Killing of a U.S. Citizen

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.…