World

Mobile and internet services return across Afghanistan after 48-hour blackout Mobile phone and internet services were restored across much of Afghanistan on Wednesday afternoon, local residents and telecommunications firms said, ending an abrupt 48‑hour outage that left banks, remittances, flights and online classrooms in disarray. Subscribers of Roshan and Etisalat — the country’s largest mobile operators, both with significant foreign ownership — reported signal returning late in the day in Kabul and in provincial…

Atop Rockefeller, a celebration of luck, labor and the long arc of migration On a glittering evening at the top of Rockefeller Center, with the Manhattan skyline folding into dusk, about 40 recipients of what they still call the Morrison Visa gathered to trade stories and to measure a particular kind of success: the steady, ordinary achievement that accumulates into a life remade. The event — a gala that could have been any high‑end New York fundraiser except for the unmistakable Irish cadence in the room — was less about…

Israeli navy intercepts international aid flotilla en route to Gaza; Greta Thunberg among those taken to port Israeli forces boarded and detained vessels from a high-profile international flotilla attempting to reach Gaza on Saturday, seizing 39 boats, according to the organizers, and leaving only one ship still underway. Live-feed footage verified by Reuters showed soldiers in helmets and night-vision goggles climbing onto decks as passengers — some wearing life vests and huddling with their hands raised — were taken into…

Britain steps in to shore up Jaguar Land Rover — but the fix poses bigger questions After nearly a month of halted production following a crippling cyberattack, Britain is turning to a familiar — if politically sensitive — tool: a government-backed guarantee to unlock private lending for Jaguar Land Rover’s supply chain. The move, announced by the business ministry, aims to steady suppliers and protect jobs in the wake of an industrial shock that has rippled through communities from the West Midlands to Merseyside. What…

Valencia on edge as new storms revive memory of last year’s deadly floods Valencia’s empty schoolyards and shuttered libraries felt, on a wet dawn this week, like a city holding its breath. After hours of heavy overnight rain, Spain’s national weather agency AEMET issued red alerts across the eastern Mediterranean coast — warning of “a very complicated situation” and “extraordinary danger” in the provinces of Valencia and Castellón, and parts of Tarragona in Catalonia. Towns that still bear the scars of October 2024’s…

Dead child and grandmother in Moscow region underscore risks as war’s long arm reaches deeper The charred ruins of a private home in Voskresensk, a small commuter town southeast of Moscow, came to symbolize on Monday how a war that began on the plains of eastern Ukraine is seeping into the everyday life of ordinary Russians. Regional governor Andrey Vorobyov said a fire sparked by a drone strike killed a 76-year-old woman and her six-year-old grandson. “Last night, air defence forces shot down four drones in Voskresensk and…

Moldova’s Clear Vote for Europe Tests Resilience of a Fragile Democracy A decisive mandate in the shadow of geopolitical pressure Chisinau’s streets saw an unusual calm on the morning after parliamentary elections that delivered a striking — if narrow — validation of President Maia Sandu’s pro‑European platform. With nearly all ballots counted, the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) crossed the symbolic 50% threshold, taking 50.1% of the vote to the Patriotic Bloc’s 24.2%. For many inside a country of 2.4 million, the…

Mass shooting and arson at Michigan Mormon church leaves at least four dead; suspect killed A gunman who drove his vehicle through the front doors of a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, fired an assault-style rifle at worshippers, set the sanctuary on fire and was later killed in a confrontation with responding officers, authorities said Sunday. Local officials said at least four people were confirmed dead and eight were hospitalised, though investigators warned the…

Flotilla departs Greek waters, heads for Gaza in tense standoff with Israel An international flotilla of roughly 50 civilian vessels set out from Greek waters this week, aiming to challenge Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza and deliver aid — even as governments and navies warned that the mission risks a confrontation on the high seas. Organisers said the Global Sumud Flotilla planned to transit international waters in the eastern Mediterranean and hoped to reach the besieged coastal strip early next week. Among those aboard…

Humanitarian access collapses in Gaza City as MSF suspends operations Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said it has been forced to suspend all operations in Gaza City after its clinics were surrounded by Israeli forces — a blunt sign of how rapidly humanitarian space is narrowing as the Israeli military presses a major offensive into the densely populated urban centre. "We have been left with no choice but to stop our activities as our clinics are encircled by Israeli forces," Jacob Granger, MSF's emergency coordinator in…