Russian minister dies by suicide hours after getting fired by Putin, officials say

Former Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoit died by suicide on Monday, just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin fired him from the job, officials said. Starovoit was dismissed by Putin on Monday morning. The decree announcing his dismissal was published on the official Kremlin website, with his deputy Andrey Nikitin appointed acting minister. Asked by […]

Eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki volcano sends ash 11 miles high

Indonesia’s rumbling Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki erupted Monday, sending a column of volcanic materials as high as 18 kilometers (11 miles) into the sky and depositing ash on villages. The volcano has been at the highest alert level since last month and no casualties were immediately reported. Indonesia’s Geology Agency recorded an avalanche of searing […]

Calls are mounting to ban Germany’s far-right AfD party – despite it being more popular than ever

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is now Germany’s largest opposition group and even topped several opinion polls – briefly putting it ahead of now-Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s center-right party – in the weeks after February’s federal election. At the same time, the AfD is facing growing calls for an outright ban, most recently from another […]

Two arrested over ‘Chinese blessing scams’ targeting elderly Asian women in Australia

Two alleged fraudsters accused of swindling an elderly woman out of tens of thousands of dollars in cash have been arrested by Australian police investigating a spate of “Chinese blessing scams.” Chinese blessing scams have been reported worldwide for the last 25 years or so, including in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and […]