Two explosions killed nearly 100 people and wounded scores at a ceremony in Iran on Wednesday to commemorate commander Qassem Soleimani who was killed by a US drone in 2020, Iranian officials said, blaming unspecified "terrorists." Iranian state television reported a first and then a second blast after 20 minutes during a crowded fourth-anniversary event at the cemetery where Soleimani is buried in the southeastern city of Kerman. No one claimed responsibility for the blasts. A senior

At least 103 people were killed in Iran Wednesday as two bombs in quick succession struck a crowd commemorating slain general Qasem Soleimani on the anniversary of his killing, state media reported. The blasts, which state television called a "terrorist attack," came with tensions running high in the Middle East a day after Hamas number two Saleh al-Aruri -- an Iran ally -- was killed in drone attack on a Beirut southern suburb which Lebanese officials blamed on Israel. The blasts st

After delays from renovations, natural disasters and general construction, there are a number of big-name travel destinations set to open in 2024. From the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo to the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure attractions at Disneyland in Anaheim, California and Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, here are five travel spots to visit in the new year. Notre Dame Cathedral in France Notre Dame is slated for a December 2024 reopening, which means people have already started booking

Tsunami waves over a meter high hit central Japan on Monday after a series of powerful earthquakes that damaged homes, closed highways and prompted authorities to urge people to run to higher ground. A major 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck the Noto region in Ishikawa prefecture around 4:10 pm, the US Geological Survey said. Japan's weather agency reported a succession of 21 quakes of 4.0 magnitude or stronger hitting the nation's central region in just over 90 minutes. Tsunami waves as

Fierce Israeli tank fire and aerial bombing struck Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip on Friday night, local time, residents said, after nearly 200 people were reported killed in 24 hours in Israel's campaign against Hamas militants. Planes also carried out a series of air strikes on the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, according to medics and Palestinian journalists. Israeli forces have been pounding Khan Younis in preparation for an anticipated further advance into the main southern city, swathe

BEIJING — China says it is banning a United States research company and two analysts who have reported extensively on claims of human rights abuses committed against Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups native to the country’s far northwestern region of Xinjiang. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning was quoted as announcing late Tuesday night that Los Angeles-based research and data analytics firm Kharon, its director of investigations, Edmund Xu, and Nicole Morgret, a human ri

MOSCOW -- Russia has redirected its oil exports from Europe to China and India, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Wednesday, almost two years after Moscow was hit by Western sanctions over the Ukraine conflict. After President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022, Western countries hit Russia with a slew of sanctions including a European Union embargo on its seaborne oil deliveries. "We previously supplied a total of 40 to 45 percent of oil and oil products to Eur

The head of the WHO said Tuesday the world needs to properly prepare for future pandemics after finally ending three years of COVID-19 "crisis, pain and loss," In his end-of-year message, World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said 2023 had marked a turning point in fighting major health challenges but had also brought "immense and avoidable suffering." Tedros called for ramped-up relief efforts for the Gaza Strip and urged nations to seal a &qu

US President Joe Biden's administration on Tuesday declined to veto a government tribunal's decision to ban imports of Apple Watches based on a complaint from medical monitoring technology company Masimo. The US International Trade Commission's order will go into effect on Dec. 26, barring imports and sales of Apple Watches that use patent-infringing technology for reading blood-oxygen levels. Apple has included the pulse oximeter feature in its smart watches starting with its Ser

The health ministry in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip said Tuesday at least 20,915 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since the war with Israel broke out on Oct. 7. The ministry said another 54,918 people have been wounded in more than 11 weeks of fighting. (AFP)

European Union leaders agreed to open membership talks with Ukraine, in a historic political win for Kyiv as it grapples with uncertainty over future financial aid from the US and Europe. European Council President Charles Michel announced the move on Dec. 14. He said the bloc also agreed to open accession talks with Moldova and granted candidate status to Georgia. While Kyiv still faces hurdles in clinching funding from both the EU and US, the country’s progress on joining the bloc will

PRAGUE -- "Hey, you fucker, here I am, shoot here!" screamed a Czech reporter trying to distract a gunman who killed 14 people at a university building in Prague on Thursday, helping people to flee the country's worst mass shooting. Jiri Forman, a reporter for a small security-focused news outfit who said he had experience in war zones, evaded fire from the gunman who was perched on a balcony on the top floor of Charles University's Faculty of Art. While ducking behind a corn

  The deadly violence erupted on Thursday afternoon in the philosophy department building of the Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Czech Republic’s capital city. Police said the gunman, identified only as a 24-year-old student in the philosophy program, opened fire on classmates and faculty before he died by suicide on the balcony of the building. Vondrášek described the shooter as an excellent student with no criminal record. He said authorities are also investigat

The toll from China's deadliest earthquake in years rose to 148 on Friday, state media reported, as authorities turned their attention to resettling thousands of people displaced by the disaster. The quake, which struck northwest China just before midnight on Monday, has killed at least 117 people in Gansu province and 31 in neighboring Qinghai, the official Xinhua News Agency said. More than 139,000 people have been moved to emergency shelters across the two provinces, according to state b

  Douglas fir These soft needles are dark green or blue-green in color and are about 2-3 centimeters in length. The Douglas fir’s needles radiate in all directions from the branch. When crushed, these needles have a sweet fragrance. They are one of the top Christmas tree choices. Balsam fir These trees exhibits a relatively dense, dark green, pyramidal crown with a slender spirelike tip. On lower branches, needles generally occur as two-ranked (two rows along sides of the branch), a