Vienna has held off Melbourne to retain the top spot on the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Index for 2019, further strengthening its reputation as the world’s most pleasant city, while the ‘gilets jaunes’ protests hurt Paris’ score. The Austrian capital, which attracts tourists for its classical music scene and …
The gunman in a West Texas rampage “was on a long spiral of going down” and had been fired from his oil services job the morning he killed seven people, calling 911 both before and after the shooting began, authorities said. Officers killed 36-year-old Seth Aaron Ator on Saturday outside …
Joe Biden entered the Democratic primary promising “from day one” to reject campaign cash from lobbyists. “I work for you _ not any industry,” he tweeted. Yet hours after his April campaign kickoff, the former vice president went to a fundraiser at the home of a lobbying executive. And in …
Ukraine’s parliament has approved a much-anticipated bill to scrap immunity from prosecution for lawmakers. The move was one of the main campaign promises for comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who won the presidential election by a landslide in April. The parliament, dominated by Zelenskiy’s allies, voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to end …
The U.S. Coast Guard says 34 people are missing after a fire erupted aboard a dive boat off the coast of Southern California. Local media are reporting that several people died in the fire, but the Coast Guard could not immediately confirm any fatalities. Coast Guard officials said five crew …
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson threatened Monday to expel any Conservative Party rebels if they try to block his push for a no-deal exit next month from the European Union. Johnson has only a one-seat majority in the House of Commons. But as parliament returns Tuesday from its summer recess, …
Hundreds of Palestinian women held a demonstration in the West Bank on Monday to demand an investigation into the death of a 21-year-old woman who many suspect was the victim of a so-called honor killing. Israa Ghrayeb, a makeup artist from a village near Bethlehem, died last month after being …
Wall Street stock futures weakened in early trade on Monday, setting a dour tone for Asian markets after tit-for-tat tariffs between the United States and China took effect, reinforcing investors’ gloomy expectations for global growth prospects. The E-mini futures for U.S. S&P500 ESc1 fell as much as 1.06% in early …
The United States and China on Sunday put in place their latest tariff increases on each other’s goods, potentially raising prices Americans pay for some clothes, shoes, sporting goods and other consumer items before the holiday shopping season. President Donald Trump said U.S.-China trade talks were still on for September. …
The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen staged multiple airstrikes on a detention center operated by the Houthi rebels in the southwestern province of Dhamar, killing at least 100 people and wounding dozens more Sunday, officials and the rebels’ health ministry said. Franz Rauchenstein, the head of the Red Cross delegation …
A team of researchers and humanitarian professionals have developed a unique approach to combat domestic violence in the refugee camps of Dollo Ado in Ethiopia. The approach involves the co-creation of a podcast series called Unite for a Better Life, together with Somali refugees living in the camp to target …
Using water cannons, gunshots, batons and tear gas, Hong Kong police pursued protesters through city streets and into subway stations, seeking people who defied and blocked police in several districts on a tense and chaotic Saturday. The demonstrations coincided with the fifth anniversary of Beijing’s denial of free, unimpeded elections …
For more than a century, coal has kept the lights on in the industrialized world. But coal-fired power plants are closing across the United States and Europe. Market forces have shifted to cheaper natural gas and renewables, not to mention the concerns about climate-changing carbon dioxide that the plants produce. …
A Sudanese judge formally indicted former president Omar al-Bashir on charges of possessing illicit foreign currency and corruption on Saturday. Questioned in court for the first time, Bashir said that he had received $25 million from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as well as funds from other sources, but …
The Taliban have launched a new large-scale attack on one of Afghanistan’s main cities, Kunduz, and taken hospital patients as hostages, the government said Saturday, even as the insurgent group continued negotiations with the United States on ending America’s longest war. The militants, who have demanded that all foreign forces …
About two million people living in India’s northeastern state of Assam face the unnerving prospect of becoming stateless as authorities wind down a mammoth process to identify illegal immigrants. Their names did not appear on an updated citizens’ register published Saturday. Human right activists say they would potentially add …
Gavi, the global vaccine alliance that targets developing countries, said Friday that it was appealing for $7.4 billion to immunize 300 million children in 2021-25. Gavi’s latest fundraising drive is its most ambitious to date. Officials said they expected huge returns from what would be the agency’s most comprehensive and cost-effective preventive health package ever. Gavi said the vaccines would …
U.S. President Donald Trump is facing a crowded field of 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. But when the president speaks, it is Barack Obama – his predecessor – who takes the brunt of Trump’s barbs and insults. Trump has criticized the former president on issues ranging from U.S. policy in Syria …
This Monday is Labor Day in the United States — a holiday linked to workers’ rights and wearing white. That may sound strange, but it is true. Many Americans put away their white clothes on Labor Day and do not wear them again until the following May, after Memorial Day. …
Uber, Lyft and DoorDash threatened Thursday to spend $90 million on a California ballot measure if they can’t reach a deal with unions and lawmakers on legislation that would change the rights of their drivers and other so-called gig workers. “We remain focused on reaching a deal, and are …
Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer made well over a billion dollars over the last decade from holdings that not only include the hedge fund he founded, but also investments in Chinese private equity firms, tech startups, pharmaceutical companies and nursing homes, his tax filings show. The California hedge fund founder …
Police have identified another person who was wounded during the mass shooting at a California garlic festival last month. Gilroy police said Thursday that a 58-year-old man had been grazed on his head by a bullet in the July 28 attack, bringing the number of injured to 17. Media reports did not give the victim’s …
Top US military officer said Wednesday it was too early to talk about the future of US counterterrorism forces in Afghanistan, where insurgent violence continues …
An oppressive political climate marked by a lack of rights and freedoms is now a key factor driving emigration from Russia, with more than 1.5 million Russians leaving the country since Vladimir Putin became president, according to the Atlantic Council. …
New York City garbage man Nelson Molina has been seeing value in other people’s garbage for the past three decades. For years he has been saving unique items that their owners threw away. Vladimir Lenski met with the unusual collector. …
A new koala-tracking app and a marsupial hospital are the latest moves to protect one of Australia’s most famous native animals. The furry, tree-dwelling marsupials are in decline in eastern Australia, and authorities hope a multi-million dollar rescue plan will help to save them. The app will help authorities map and …