A heavily mutated variant of the virus that causes Covid-19 appears to be affecting primarily children, scientists say, though it’s not causing more severe disease – in kids or in adults.

Kids may be more likely to get the new ‘Cicada’ variant of Covid-19, scientists say. Here’s what to know about BA.3.2

By Eduardo Baptista BEIJING, April 2 (Reuters) - NASA sent four astronauts on the world's first crewed lunar mission in half a century on Wednesday, in preparation for a first-ever manned landing on

Factbox-China's crewed lunar programme eyes astronaut landing by 2030

The deepening energy crisis triggered by the US-Israel war with Iran has thrust energy security back onto the political stage in European countries.

Energy security rifts widen in Europe

Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates emphasized the "urgent need to refrain from measures" that risk further inflaming tensions on the ground. Eight Muslim-majority countries "strongly condemned" Israel's move to pass a law making death by hanging a default sentence for Palestinian terrorists convicted in military courts, a joint statement released by Pakistan said on Thursday.

Eight Muslim nations condemn Israel's 'dangerous' new death penalty law

The Israeli military said on Thursday it has killed more than 40 members of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon in the last 24 hours. Sources within Hezbollah also reported that dozens of fighters had been killed in close combat with Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon.

Israel says 40 Hezbollah members killed as forces advance in Lebanon

Li Xiong, 41, the former chairman of Huione Group and a core member of what Chinese authorities call the Chen Zhi criminal syndicate, was escorted off a China Southern Airlines flight in Beijing on April 1 – shaven-headed, handcuffed, flanked by officers from China’s Ministry of Public Security. The real ...

Alleged Huione Group Money Laundering Boss Extradited to China

Germany is setting up a council to oversee the return of cultural property and human remains taken from former colonies.View on euronews

Germany to create restitution council to return colonia-era acquired cultural artefacts

Several Muslim countries have strongly criticized Israel's new death penalty law passed by parliament earlier this week. The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Qatar, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates strongly condemn "the imposition of the death penalty in the occupied West Bank and its de facto application against Palestinians," according to a joint statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on Thursday.

Muslim nations condemn new Israeli death penalty law

Human Rights Watch says Capt Traoré, other military leaders and jihadists "may be liable" for the killings.

Over 1,800 killed since junta seized power in Burkina Faso, rights group says

Thousands were killed and wounded during the Battle of Copenhagen, considered one of Adm. Horatio Nelson's "great battles."

Warship sunk by British fleet, remains of sailor found after 225 years

In northern Israel, two men aged 85 and 34 were moderately injured on Thursday morning by shrapnel after a Hezbollah attack, MDA reported. Two infants were lightly wounded by the impact of a ballistic missile's shrapnel after Iranian attacks triggered sirens across Israel four times on Wednesday night.

Two Israeli infants among wounded by shrapnel in overnight Iranian missile barrage

Source: Hezbollah using homes as hiding spots for reconnaissance, launchpads for anti-tank fire • More fighters detained after surrendering to Israeli soldiers The IDF has begun demolishing homes in southern Lebanese villages located along the border with Israel, military sources said on Wednesday morning. According to the sources, the houses targeted by the military were used by the Hezbollah terrorist group as bases to launch anti-tank fire and conduct reconnaissance of Israeli forces.

IDF begins destroying homes used by Hezbollah as forces move deeper into southern Lebanon

The project is developed in collaboration with Orascom Development Egypt and Arabian Peninsula Hospitality.

Accor signs agreement to transform El Gouna resort as Sofitel

A new rule that prohibits Germany's petrol stations from hiking prices more than once day is unlikely to bring down costs for motorists, consumer experts said on Thursday one day after the restriction took effect. "At the moment, it doesn't look as though the new rule will actually make filling up any cheaper," Ramona Pop, head of the Federation of German Consumer Organizations, told dpa.

Consumer experts: German petrol hikes rule won't bring down prices

Following discussions about a proposal for 80% of Syrians in Germany to return home, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani has rejected the idea of forced deporations. He stressed that Syrians in the diaspora "are strategic resources, not a burden.

Syria rejects forced deportations from Germany amid migration debate

After Sri La nka's President Anura Kumara Dissanayake held a press conference in March 2026 on the country's energy shortage caused by the Middle East war, an old video circulated in social media posts falsely claiming it showed his party's secretary Tilvin Silva criticising his response to the crisis. The clip is from 2020 and shows Silva slamming Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the president at the time, over his government's Covid response.

Old video misrepresented as senior Sri Lankan ruling party member criticising president over fuel shortage

Iran and its Lebanese Hezbollah militia proxy on Thursday fired rockets again at Israel, where people are currently celebrating Passover. In the morning, warning sirens sounded repeatedly in northern Israel.

Iran, Hezbollah fire rockets at Israel during Passover celebrations

Mehran Rezvani, who grew up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution, has become a devoted supporter and volunteer for Israel. ‘Truth is stranger than fiction” goes the time-tested saying coined by Lord Byron in 1823.

From Iran to Israel: An Iranian volunteer’s unlikely stand in wartime

Environmental groups have called for a faster move away from oil and gas, arguing that the Iran war and its consequences have exposed Germany's continued dependence on imported fossil fuels. In a joint paper seen by dpa, the organizations said Germany's reliance on fossil fuel imports was fuelling inflation and economic uncertainty, much as it did during the 2022 energy crisis that followed the start of Russia's war against Ukraine.

Environmental groups urge Germany to cut oil and gas dependence

More than 200 years after being sunk by Adm. Horatio Nelson and the British fleet, a Danish warship has been discovered on the seabed of Copenhagen Harbor by marine archaeologists.  Working in thick sediment and almost zero visibility 15 meters (49 feet) beneath the waves, divers are working against the clock to unearth the 19th-century wreck of the Dannebroge before it becomes a construction site in a new housing district being built off the Danish coast.  Denmark’s Viking Ship Museum, which is

Danish warship sunk by famed British admiral discovered after 225 years

Nepal Police’s Central Investigation Bureau reportedly found the years-long scam generated thousands of dollars for the alleged scammers involved

Mount Everest Climbers 'Poisoned' by Guides Prompting Mass Helicopter Rescues in $20 Million Insurance Fraud Scheme, Police Say

Now electricity lights her home and powers the small shop she runs from her veranda.  Hundreds of kilometers (miles) from Nairobi in Sori, western Kenya, fisherman Samuel Oketch tells a similar story.

New funding transforms lives by expanding electricity access across Africa

An earthquake in Indonesian waters set off small tsunami waves Thursday morning, killed at least one person and damaged houses and buildings, officials said.  The magnitude -7.4 earthquake was centered in the Molucca Sea at a depth of 35 kilometers (22 miles), the U.S. Geological Survey said.  Tsunami waves were recorded at several monitoring stations less than half an hour later, including in Bitung with a height of 20 centimeters (8 inches) and in West Halmahera with a height of 30 centimeters

Earthquake in Indonesia kills at least 1 person and sets off small tsunami

(Bloomberg) -- Western Australia invoked emergency powers to force fuel suppliers to provide detailed information on their supply chains, as the nation seeks to manage an ongoing shortage spurred by panic-buying in the wake of the war in Iran.The state government activated the powers under the Fuel, Energy and Power Resources Act after several companies failed to provide specific data and information on fuel shipments, it said in a statement on Wednesday. Western Australia is a major global expo

Australian State Triggers Emergency Powers Amid Fuel Crisis

SYDNEY, April 2 (Reuters) - Australia will provide up to A$1 billion ($693 million) in interest-free loans to critical ‌businesses, including transport operators and fertiliser producers, Prime Minister Anthony ‌Albanese will say on Thursday, as they grapple with surging fuel costs. The support package ​comes as the Iran war disrupts global fuel supplies, driving up prices and fuelling concerns of availability as Australia imports more than 80% of its fuel.

Australia to offer businesses $693 million in cheap loans to ease fuel cost pressure

The Israeli Air Force struck dozens of military facilities in Iran's capital Tehran, the Israeli military said on Wednesday. "Overnight, the Israeli Air Force, acting on intelligence, completed a broad wave of strikes against dozens of military infrastructure sites of the Iranian terror regime in the heart of Tehran," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) posted on Telegram.

Israeli military says it hit dozens of military facilities in Tehran

Police in Delhi, India, have arrested a man accused of smuggling alcohol into the city using camels to avoid tax checkpoints, CBS News reported Tuesday. Authorities said they seized 1,938 containers of illegal liquor and took custody of two camels used in the operation. The arrests were made Monday following an investigation into cross-border smuggling […]

Authorities Bust Camel Booze Smuggling Operation, Seize Nearly 2,000 Containers of Illegal Alcohol

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The first foreign troop tied to a new gang-suppression force backed by the United Nations has arrived in Haiti to help quell ongoing violence, according to a statement issued Wednesday.  A team from the central African country of Chad are in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, as is Jack Christofides, the force’s special representative, who was deployed at the request of the Haitian government, according to an official statement posted on the new force's X account.  The

First foreign troop in new gang suppression force lands in Haiti to replace previous mission

Initial reports suggest that approximately 10 ballistic missiles were fired in the past few minutes, marking one of the most significant barrages from Iran in recent weeks. The IDF said Wednesday afternoon that missiles were launched from Iran toward Israeli territory, as air defense systems moved to intercept the incoming threat.

Iran fires one of largest barrages in weeks ahead of Passover

A ship operated by a group founded by anti-whaling activist Paul Watson collided with an industrial krill trawler in Antarctica in what the ship's Norwegian owner said was a “deliberate attack” that endangered its crew and could've caused a disaster in the same environmentally sensitive waters the activists claim they want to protect.  A two-minute video provided to The Associated Press by the Aker QRILL Co. shows the moment Tuesday when the M/V Bandero, operated by the Captain Paul Watson Found

Activist vessel collides with krill trawler in Antarctic confrontation

A new rule to limit fuel price hikes took effect in Germany on Wednesday, limiting petrol station to raising prices no more than once a day in a bid to bring down costs for motorists amid a surge in oil prices caused by the Iran war. Under the new restrictions, petrol stations are only allowed to raise prices once at midday to limit price fluctuations and ensure greater transparency.

German petrol stations hike prices as once-a-day rule takes effect

The United Nations has warned that freedom of expression is under threat in many countries across the Middle East due to the war. Volker Türk, the UN human rights chief, reported on Wednesday that around 3,000 people have been arrested since the start of the war.

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