World

“The current phase has Darfur as a killing field. The Sudanese protagonists have sorted out somewhat the areas each controls. Still, on the political front, both are committed to eliminating the other in a fight to the finish,” United States Ambassador to Sudan during the George W. Bush administration, Cameron Hume, tells The Cipher Brief. “There may be agreement on …

China has indicated plans are under way for a next-generation nuclear-powered aircraft carrier armed with futuristic energy weapons including a rail gun, an electromagnetic weapon that the United States tried to develop but abandoned. “China’s future nuclear-powered aircraft carrier can be equipped with more advanced defensive weapons, such as [a] high-energy laser weapon and electromagnetic rail gun,” said Liang Fang, …

St Petersburg, Russia, has been cut off from the internet after a major outage, according to user reports. Residents have reported that banks, messaging services, delivery apps, websites and taxis are all unavailable. Only government services are reported to be still functioning, while all other internet access is down. 130,000 people have reported problems with their internet connection in the …

The carnage in the Sudanese city of El Fasher has become so severe that the blood stains can be seen from space. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) — which attacked the capital of Khartoum two years ago, kicking off a brutal civil war — finally took over El Fasher last week. The RSF’s capture of the stronghold follows an …

Demands for a ceasefire reflect a growing desperation among Kiev and its backers, according to UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia The West has begun to realize that defeating Russia by using Ukraine as a tool is “impossible,” Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, has said. Speaking with RIA Novosti, the diplomat stated that the ongoing conflict “isn’t so …

Renowned Hong Kong filmmaker Peter Chan Ho-sun has escaped injury after his luxury SUV crashed into roadside railings in the city’s Southern district when he reportedly swerved to avoid a dog. The incident occurred at around 12pm on Tuesday while the 62-year-old director was driving his Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV along Island Road in Deep Water Bay towards Stanley. Chan told …

Hannibal Gaddafi had been held in Beirut since 2015 in connection with the disappearance of a Lebanese cleric in 1978 The Lebanese authorities have released Hannibal Gaddafi, the son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, on bail after nearly ten years in custody over allegations he withheld information about a missing cleric. Hannibal’s release on Monday followed a court …

Hotels should do more to warn British tourists about the dangers of the ocean, a Canary Islands maritime safety organisation has said. Three people died and 15 were injured on Saturday in Tenerife after being swept out to sea by high waves.   Most were tourists, with the worst incident in the northern port city of Puerto de la Cruz resulting …

The southern Thailand coastal province of Trang boasts lush islands and an emerald cave but has long been overshadowed by neighbouring foreign tourist hotspots Phuket and Krabi. The government, as part of an effort to stimulate the economy, wants to change that by providing tax incentives to jump-start domestic travel, particularly to second-tier provinces. Sagging foreign visitors to Thailand is …

(AUSTRALIA OUT) Robert Farquharson at Geelong magistrates court. 14th August 2006. THE AGE NEWS Picture by JASON SOUTH (Photo by Fairfax Media via Getty Images/Fairfax Media via Getty Images via Getty Images) (Image: Fairfax Media via Getty Images) In a chilling incident, a father  drove his three children into a dam on Father’s Day, claiming he had suffered a coughing …