New York City has been named the “rattiest” city in the US for 2024, according to pest control company Terminix. The ranking is based on the number of new rat treatment requests, including residential and public spaces. Following NYC, the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Washington also made the top five. Rodents are more likely to breed in cities because they can easily find food and warmth, and tend to inhabit densely populated areas. It was also noted that,

US President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and other officials marked the first anniversary of the Hamas militant group's deadly attack on Israel on Monday, mourning the death of victims and calling for the return of hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza. They issued separate statements, taking stock of what has happened since Hamas militants killed more than 1,200 people, including 46 Americans, and took over 250 people hostage, including 12 Americans, in the Oct. 7 attack. "One

The Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine was awarded Monday to Americans Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for their discovery of microRNA, tiny pieces of genetic material that alter how genes work at the cellular level and could lead to new ways of treating cancer. The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute, which awarded the prize, said the duo's discovery is “proving to be fundamentally important for how organisms develop and function." “Their groundbreaking discovery r

KISELJAK, Bosnia (Reuters) -- At least 14 people died in floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday and many others were missing as torrential rain and landslides destroyed homes, roads and bridges across the center of the country, officials said. The municipality of Jablanica, about 70 kilometers southwest of the capital Sarajevo, where the deaths were reported, was completely cut off after road and railway links were destroyed. Bosnia's inter-ethnic presidency -- a Bosniak, Serb and Croat

BEIRUT (AP) -- Israel carried out a series of massive airstrikes overnight, hitting suburbs of Beirut and cutting off the main border crossing between Lebanon and Syria for tens of thousands of people fleeing Israeli bombardment. The blasts in Beirut's southern suburbs sent huge plumes of smoke and flames into the night sky and shook buildings kilometers away in the Lebanese capital. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on what the intended target was, and there was no informati

JERUSALEM (AFP) -- The Israeli army said Monday its forces "eliminated" Hamas's leader in Lebanon in the latest strike targeting senior members of Iranian-backed militant groups in the neighboring country. "Overnight ... the IAF (air force) struck and eliminated the terrorist Fatah Sherif, head of the Lebanon branch in the Hamas terrorist organization," the military said in a statement. Fatah Sharif Abu al-Amine "was responsible for coordinating Hamas' terror a

BEIRUT -- Israel hit a Beirut apartment block on Monday, killing three members of a Palestinian armed group in its first strike on the city center since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza nearly one year ago. Israel has turned its focus from Gaza to Lebanon in recent days, carrying out attacks on Iran's regional allies. Strikes on Hezbollah targets killed the Iran-backed group's leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday. Monday's drone attack targeted a "flat belonging to Jamaa Islamiya,&

Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has been named the highest-paid celebrity on Instagram, according to a survey by British data analyst Hopper HQ. Ronaldo can earn up to $3.43 million per post. Following closely behind is Lionel Messi, while Selena Gomez, Kylie Jenner and Dwayne Johnson round out the top five. Hopper HQ reveals how much your favorite celebrities are earning from sponsored posts this year, using internal data, agency rates and publicly available information. Notably, all four membe

In the wake of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's killing, Hezbollah faces the enormous challenge of plugging the infiltration in its ranks that allowed its arch enemy Israel to destroy weapons sites, booby-trap its communications and assassinate the veteran leader, whose whereabouts had been a closely guarded secret for years. Nasrallah's killing on Friday came barely a week after Israel's deadly detonation of hundreds of booby-trapped pagers and radios. It was the culmination of a rapid

Israel said Saturday that it killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, dealing its most significant blow to the Lebanese militant group after months of fighting. There was no immediate confirmation from Hezbollah. Nasrallah becomes the latest, and by far the most powerful, target to be killed by Israel in weeks of intensified fighting with Hezbollah. The army said that several top Hezbollah commanders were killed along with Nasrallah in a powerful airstrike Friday. The military said it carried o

The Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut on Friday in a series of massive explosions that targeted the leader of the militant group and leveled multiple high-rise apartment buildings. At least six people were killed and 91 were wounded, Lebanon’s health ministry said. It was the biggest blast to hit the Lebanese capital in the past year and appeared likely to push the escalating conflict closer to full-fledged war. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was t

South Korea on Friday pledged to continue its cooperation with Japan's incoming government in order to maintain "positive momentum," following the ruling party's election of former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba as leader, setting him up to become the country's new prime minister. "We will continue to work closely with the new Japanese cabinet to ensure the positive flow of South Korea-Japan relations," said a senior presidential official, who spoke on the c

US President Joe Biden announced more than $8 billion in military assistance for Ukraine on Thursday to help Kyiv "win this war" against Russian invaders, using a visit by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to make a major commitment. The aid includes the first shipment of a precision-guided glide bomb called the Joint Standoff Weapon, with a range of up to 81 miles. The medium-range missile gives Ukraine a major upgrade to the weapons it is using to strike Russian forces, allowing the Ukra

DPA -- Same-sex marriage will be legal in Thailand from January after Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn signed the law on Tuesday, making the country the first in South-East Asia to legalize it. The upper and lower houses of the Thai parliament had already passed the legislation months ago, both with large majorities. Now that the king has signed the law, it will enter into force in 120 days. While Thailand is the first country in South-East Asia to allow for same-sex marriage, it is the third in al

A recent study reveals that the world generates 52 million metric tons of plastic pollution each year, with a significant portion coming from countries in the Global South. This staggering amount could fill New York City’s Central Park to the height of the Empire State Building. The study, led by the University of Leeds, examined waste production across more than 50,000 cities and towns globally. More than two-thirds of this pollution comes from countries with poor waste collection servi