World

Spanish police say they have made their largest-ever cocaine seizure on the high seas, intercepting a vessel carrying nearly 10 metric tons of the drug hidden in a shipment of salt and bound for Europe from Brazil. Officers recovered 294 bales of cocaine and a handgun from the ship and arrested 13 people on board, police said in a statement. The vessel later ran out of fuel and had to be towed to port by coastguards in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands. The interdiction underscores both the scale and reach of…

President Catherine Connolly has congratulated Jessie Buckley on her Golden Globe win for best actress in a drama for Hamnet, hailing the achievement as a fresh high point for Ireland’s film industry. “Congratulations to Jessie Buckley on her wonderful achievement in winning a Golden Globe at this year’s ceremony in Los Angeles,” Connolly said in a statement. “This award is a fantastic recognition of Jessie Buckley’s outstanding work, and of the continued exceptional success of the whole Irish film industry. May I further…

An Irish man who spent seven months wrongly imprisoned in Iran has condemned what he called the “terrible” brutality of the country’s rulers, as fresh protests flare against the clerical establishment amid rising prices. Bernard Phelan, who was detained in 2022 after being accused of providing information to an enemy country, said he is encouraged to see Iranians taking to the streets but warned that fear runs deep under the current regime. “In one sense, I’m happy that the Iranian people are out in the street against the…

A Swiss court has ordered that the co-owner of a bar in the ski resort of Crans-Montana that caught fire on New Year’s Day, killing 40 people, must remain in custody as the criminal investigation proceeds. In a statement, the court said Jacques Moretti will be held for a provisional period of three months. The order can be reviewed if measures are taken to reduce the risk of flight, including the possibility of a security deposit. Prosecutors in the Valais canton initially ordered Moretti’s detention on Friday after a…

Trump warns Cuba to ‘make a deal,’ threatens to cut off Venezuelan oil and cash as Havana pushes back U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday urged Cuba to “make a deal” or face unspecified consequences, warning that the flow of Venezuelan oil and money to Havana would stop — an escalation that follows Washington’s toppling of Venezuela’s leftist leader Nicolas Maduro last week. “There will be no more oil or money going to Cuba — zero!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, without detailing what kind of deal he was…

UK media regulator Ofcom has opened an investigation into X over reports that its Grok AI tool was used to create deepfake sexual images, including sexualised images of children. The probe tests the platform’s compliance with the country’s new online safety regime and could carry fines of up to 10% of global revenue if Ofcom finds breaches and the company fails to comply. “There have been deeply concerning reports of the Grok AI chatbot account on X being used to create and share undressed images of people — which may amount…

Thousands of demonstrators rallied in Minneapolis and cities across the United States after a federal immigration agent fatally shot Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother, in the city this week — a killing that has intensified outrage over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and the tactics of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Organizers said more than 1,000 events were planned nationwide under the slogan “ICE, Out for Good,” a dual reference to the agency and to Good. In Minneapolis, protesters…

More than 500 people have been killed in two weeks of protests across Iran, a U.S.-based rights group said, as Tehran warned it would target U.S. bases and Israel if President Donald Trump follows through on threats to intervene on behalf of demonstrators. HRANA said it has verified the deaths of 490 protesters and 48 security personnel, and more than 10,600 arrests since the unrest erupted on Dec. 28 over soaring prices before expanding into the largest challenge to the clerical establishment since 2022. Iran has not…

Unrest across Iran has killed more than 500 people, a rights group said Sunday, as Tehran warned it would target U.S. military bases and Israel if President Donald Trump follows through on threats to intervene on behalf of protesters. U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it had verified the deaths of 490 protesters and 48 security personnel and recorded more than 10,600 arrests in two weeks of demonstrations that began Dec. 28 over soaring prices before swelling into the largest challenge to Iran’s…

Iran unrest death toll tops 500 as Tehran warns U.S. bases would be targets if Trump intervenes More than 500 people have been killed in two weeks of nationwide protests in Iran, a U.S.-based rights group said, as a senior Iranian official warned that any American intervention would put U.S. military bases and Israel in the crosshairs. HRANA, which compiles reports from activists inside and outside Iran, said it has verified the deaths of 490 protesters and 48 security personnel, with more than 10,600 arrests since…