Top World News
‘Bullet wounds are common’: crime rife in DRC’s rebel-besieged city of Goma
Robberies, shootings, extortion and rapes have surged since the Rwandan-backed M23 militia cut off the eastern Congolese capitalIn broad daylight on 16 April, three armed and uniformed men held up a city centre mobile phone shop.Threatening staff, they helped themselves to about £700 worth of goods, before making off on a motorbike, disappearing into the busy streets of Goma, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Continue reading...
China to cut mortgage rates as part of plan to prop up property market
Local authorities will be allowed to turn unsold homes from developers into affordable housingChina will cut mortgage rates and allow local authorities to turn unsold homes from developers into affordable housing, in a series of drastic measures by Beijing aimed at propping up the country’s faltering property market.The People’s Bank of China said it would scrap the minimum rate of interest and reduce down-payment ratios to 15% for first-time buyers and 25% for second homes. It will also create a 300bn yuan (£32.8bn) facility to support local state-owned companies to buy homes at reasonable prices, it said in a series of statements on Friday. Continue reading...
Israeli army finds bodies of 3 hostages in Gaza killed at Oct. 7 music festival
The Israeli military said Friday its troops in Gaza found the bodies of three Israeli hostages killed by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attack, including German-Israeli Shani Louk.
Haiti is seeking a new prime minister. Dozens of candidates jostle for the key job
A weeklong search for a new prime minister has flooded the inboxes of a transitional presidential council with dozens of candidates jostling to become Haiti’s next leader
New Caledonia riots: parts of territory ‘out of state control’, French representative says
Days of unrest in the French Pacific territory – sparked by a plan to change voting rules – have left five deadTensions remained high in Nouméa, the capital of New Caledonia, on Friday after days of riots as the French government’s representative said areas of the Pacific territory have “escaped” state control.Louis Le Franc, high commissioner of the Republic in New Caledonia, announced new security deployments. The number of police and gendarmes on the island will rise to 2,700 from 1,700 by Friday evening. Continue reading...
The U.S. ambassador to Japan visits southern islands at the forefront of China tension
TOKYO (AP) -The U.S. Ambassador to Japan stressed Friday the importance of increased deterrence and his country's commitment to the alliance with its key ally as he visited two southwestern Japanese islands at the forefront of Tokyo's tension with Beijing.
Ukraine's president signs two laws to enable prisoners to join the army's ranks and to increase fines for draft dodgers
Ukraine's president signs two laws to enable prisoners to join the army's ranks and to increase fines for draft dodgers
English fishing village told to boil water after outbreak from parasite sickens over 45 people
A scenic fishing village in southwest England was under instructions to boil its tap water for a third day on Friday after a parasite sickened more than 45 people in the latest example of Britain's troubled water system.
South Africa ends rescue efforts at collapsed building and revises figures: 33 dead, no more missing
An exhaustive rescue operation to find missing construction workers trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building in South Africa ended Friday after nearly two weeks, as authorities released a major revision of their figures and said they now believe that no one else is missing.
Hezbollah introduces new weapons and tactics against Israel as war in Gaza drags on
Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group is introducing new tactics and weapons against Israel as the war in Gaza drags on and Israeli troops enter parts of the southern city of Rafah
Putin says Russia wants a buffer zone in Ukraine's Kharkiv but has no plans to capture the city
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Moscow's offensive in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region aims to create a buffer zone but has no plans to capture the city, as Ukraine will allow prisoners to join the army's depleted ranks and approved a fivefold increase in fines for draft dodgers.
German parliament approves plans to relax strict restrictions on family names
The German parliament on Friday approved plans to relax strict restrictions on family names - clearing the way, among other things, for couples to take double-barreled surnames and pass them on to their children.
