World

NEW DELHI,  (Reuters) – The second-highest official in India’s election commission resigned abruptly yesterday, days ahead of the expected announcement of the date of the country’s general election.

(Reuters) – Armenia is considering applying for European Union membership, foreign minister Ararat Mirzoyan said on Friday, as it seeks to forge closer ties with the West in the face of tensions with traditional ally Russia.

MOSCOW,  (Reuters) – Russia and China are considering putting a nuclear power plant on the moon from 2033-35, Yuri Borisov, the head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos said on Tuesday,  something he said could one day allow lunar settlements to be built.

DUBLIN,  (Reuters) – Irish voters have rejected proposals to replace constitutional references to the makeup of a family and a mother’s “duties in the home” in a significant defeat for the government.

(Reuters) – Private U.S. company Stratolaunch yesterday said it had successfully completed the first powered flight of its Talon-A reusable hypersonic vehicle, but did not give precise details.

MADRID, (Reuters) – Thousands of Spaniards marched through the centre of Madrid today to protest against an amnesty bill for Catalan separatists involved in a failed 2017 independence bid.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday it was up to Hamas to agree to a ceasefire that would allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza and pave the way for talks on an “enduring resolution” to the conflict.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate narrowly averted a partial government shutdown yesterday, as the chamber approved spending legislation for several government agencies just hours before current funding was due to expire.

MEXICO CITY, (Reuters) – Guy Philippe, who helped lead a coup in Haiti in 2004 and returned to the Caribbean island last year after serving a prison sentence in the U.S.,

(Reuters) – Heavy gunfire was seen yesterday near Haiti’s national palace in its capital of Port-au-Prince, according to reports by news agency EFE, in the midst of political turmoil sparked by Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s absence.

(Reuters) – Last October, an Idaho farmer using a backhoe punched a hole into a 22-inch (56-cm) pipeline buried under a field, sending more than 51 million cubic feet of natural gas hissing into the air.

(Reuters) – A federal judge in Texas yesterday rejected a challenge by Republican-led states to a Biden administration program that allows hundreds of thousands of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to apply for emergency entry into the United States.

GENEVA,  (Reuters) – Switzerland’s first full trial of crimes against humanity concluded this week, with the defendant, a former Gambian minister accused of rape and murder, giving a defiant closing speech in which he claimed to be a victim of racism and lies.

CAIRO,  (Reuters) – Hamas yesterday left Gaza ceasefire talks in Cairo where there was no sign of progress just days before the start of Ramadan, while the U.S.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – President Joe Biden assailed former President Donald Trump for kowtowing to Russia, failing to care about COVID-19 and papering over the Jan.

HAVANA,  (Reuters) – Cuban authorities yesterday said they are investigating recently sacked Economy Minister Alejandro Gil over committing “grave errors” in his former role, rattling the highest ranks of Cuba’s ruling Communist Party and its hermetic politics.

WASHINGTON/STOCKHOLM,  (Reuters) – Sweden joined NATO in Washington yesterday, two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced it to rethink its national security policy and conclude that support for the alliance was the Scandinavian nation’s best guarantee of safety.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – Ocean temperatures hit a record high in February, with the average global sea surface temperature at 21.06 degrees Celsius (69.91 degrees Fahrenheit), the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said on Thursday.

CAIRO/RAFAH, Gaza Strip, (Reuters) – The U.S. said yesterday that talks on a ceasefire and release of hostages in Gaza could still reach an agreement between Hamas and Israel as the enclave’s humanitarian crisis prompted South Africa to ask the World Court for new emergency measures.

LAGOS, (Reuters) – Nigeria needs to ensure that Shell SHEL.L safely dismantles its old infrastructure or pays to remove them from the Niger delta before its exit, says a report on the environmental impact of the activities of multinational companies.