Author: News Desk

At least one person was killed after a powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck off Vanuatu’s coast on Tuesday, causing damage in the capital, Port Vila, leaving at least one dead. The jolt was followed by a magnitude 5.5 aftershock near the same location. Michael Thompson, a resident, told AFP that the ground floor of a building housing the US, French and other embassies had been crushed under higher floors. “That no longer exists. It is just completely flat. The top three floors are still holding but they have dropped,” Thompson said. “If there was anyone in there at the time, then…

We are all the same.” Kate writes it down on a piece of paper with disarming innocence, while drawing leaning against the kitchen table. For her, who is just eight years old, having two mothers is not at all unusual. And neither is the fact that, just over two years ago, he addressed one of the two with the nickname “dad”. “Before we were husband and wife, now we are two wives and we love each other. And our children call us mothers” https://www.repubblica.it/cronaca/2024/12/17/news/modern_family_marito_moglie_transizione_mamme-423891142/?rss

French President Emmanuel Macron says he will visit Mayotte in the coming days in the aftermath of Cyclone Chido that has ripped through the French Indian Ocean territory, causing major damage in its path, with hundreds feared dead. ADVERTISEMENTFrench President Emmanuel Macron says he will soon visit Mayotte in the aftermath of Cyclone Chido that has slammed the French overseas territory.The French president gathered key government officials for an emergency meeting at the French Interior Ministry’s crisis centre, to discuss an action plan for the devastated island, hit by the worst storm in almost a century.In a post on social…

The EU has issued an updated list of airlines considered unsafe and banned from flying in the EU. The latest update adds Air Tanzania to the list due to safety concerns identified by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, while suspensions previously imposed on Pakistan International Airlines were lifted.  Currently, 129 airlines are banned from EU skies: 100 airlines certified in 15 countries, due to inadequate safety oversight by their national aviation authorities 22 airlines certified in Russia, as well as 7 airlines from other countries, based on serious safety deficiencies EU’s commitment to safe flying Flying is one of…

  The steps that are being taken by the Department for the Economy to design a new renewable electricity support scheme for Northern Ireland have been welcomed by all in the industry. This scheme will encourage investment in renewables and it is hoped that it will be the key driver in achieving the 80% by 2030 renewable electricity consumption target set out in the Climate Change Act (Northern Ireland) 2022. But the electricity licence exemptions regime must also now be updated to reflect the modern technologies used in the electricity industry if we are to ensure that investment in renewables…

Trafficking of children is increasing in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic, according to a global report, which also shows at least one person has been trafficked into Ireland for illegal removal of their organs.In the three years between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2023, 140 victims of human trafficking have been detected in Ireland, including at least 10 children. The breakdown reveals there are 77 people brought into Ireland for sexual exploitation and 50 for forced labour.The statistics are contained in the 2024 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, published by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.“Child…

French prosecutors on Monday, December 16, sought jail terms of between one and 16 years for eight people on trial over the 2020 beheading of a school teacher by an Islamist radical that shocked France. The harshest sentence was reserved for a defendant accused of joining a terrorist enterprise helping to prepare the murder of Samuel Paty, after the teacher showed cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in class. Charges of “complicity in terrorist murder” against two of the men on trial were dropped. Prosecutors told the court that Naïm Boudaoud, 22, and Azim Epsirkhanov, 23, a Russian of Chechen origin,…

The Cinémathèque française, Paris, February 15, 2013. JACQUES DEMARTHON/AFP There was no screening as planned of Last Tango in Paris (1972), by Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci (1941-2018), on Sunday, December 15, at La Cinémathèque Française. The cinema establishment in Paris, which had scheduled it as part of a retrospective devoted to American actor Marlon Brando (1924-2004), canceled the screening the night before. The lack of mediation around the film, which shows a rape scene shot without the consent of actress Maria Schneider (1952-2011), had provoked protests all week from film personalities and feminist associations. “In a bid to calm spirits…

The solidity of the majority that has supported Pedro Sánchez in the last year will undergo a new test this Tuesday. The left’s proposal to limit temporary rentals of homes and rooms returns to the plenary session of Congress this Tuesday, after having caused an uncomfortable episode for the Government last September, when Junts decided at the last minute to vote against it and force its rejection. The text has been retouched to attract the support of Carles Puigdemont’s party, which has not anticipated its position, although it has shown itself willing to allow its processing if it is respectful…

The businessman in the plot expands the names of members of the Sánchez Government and politicians who, according to his testimony, contacted the corrupt network. Read Reyes Maroto joins the "influence peddling": five designated ministers and Ábalos "spoke with Armengol directly"