World

  ISLAMABAD — Pakistani officials reported Saturday that a suicide bomber targeted a security checkpoint in a volatile region near the border with Afghanistan, killing at least eight people and injuring several others. The attack occurred in the town of Mir Ali in Pakistan’s militancy-hit North Waziristan district. At least two soldiers, four police officers and two civilians were said to be among the dead. Multiple area security officials confirmed the casualties, reporting that the bomber detonated a motorbike rickshaw filled with explosives at the checkpoint. The explosion also injured five security personnel, with local hospital sources describing the condition of some of them as “critical.” Militants allied with the banned Tehrik-i-Ta...

  FILE - This undated handout photograph released by Singapore's national water agency PUB on July 14, 2021 shows an aerial view of Sembcorb energy company's new floating solar power farm at Tengeh reservoir in Singapore. Singapore — Singapore is a step closer to importing solar energy from Australia via a huge undersea cable, after giving the green light to an ambitious project that could provide a solution to other countries that are trying to make the shift to renewables. Australian company Sun Cable plans to build a 4,300-kilometer subsea cable which will supply the Southeast Asian city-state with just under 10 percent of its energy needs. Solar energy will be sourced from a 12,400-hectare solar farm in Australia’s Northern...

  FILE - A man walks by a house hit in fighting in Khartoum, Sudan, an area torn by violence between the military and the notorious paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, April 25, 2023. United Nations — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for “decisive action” on Monday to end the 18-month-long civil war in Sudan, where millions face starvation and have been displaced from their homes. “We have consistently appealed to both sides to end the fighting and come to the negotiating table,” he told a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Sudan. “But instead of lowering tensions, they are escalating military action.” The warring parties are led by rival generals, Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) chief Abdel-Fattah al Burhan, and...

  FILE - The Adidas logo is pictured during celebrations for German sports apparel maker Adidas' 70th anniversary at the company's headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany, August 9, 2019. London — Adidas has reached an out-of-court settlement with rapper Ye to end all legal proceedings between them, the sportswear brand said on Tuesday, adding that no money changed hands in the agreement. Adidas and Ye had been embroiled in multiple lawsuits for the past two years, since the German company ended a partnership with the rapper previously known as Kanye West over antisemitic comments he made. FILE - Kanye West arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar party on Feb. 9, 2020, in Beverly Hills, Calif. "There isn\'t any more open...

  A campaign poster for Uzbekistan's legislative elections is seen at Tashkent's Chorsu Bazaar, Oct. 27, 2024. Polls closed in Uzbekistan\'s parliamentary election Sunday that featured no real opposition to the Central Asian country’s strongman president, despite a recent overhaul of the electoral system and years of reform that have included economic liberalization and easing censorship. Shavkat Mirziyoyev retains a tight grip on power in the country of 37 million. Since taking office in 2016, he has enjoyed broad support for a slew of political and economic reforms that relaxed the repressive policies of his predecessor, longtime dictatorial leader Ismail Karimov. Over 71% of voters had cast their ballots by 5 p.m. (1200 GMT)...

  General view of the venue as Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud attends the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Oct. 29, 2024. Riyadh — Global business leaders gathered in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for a glitzy investor forum as conflict shakes the region and skepticism mounts over the Gulf kingdom\'s most ambitious development projects. The Future Investment Initiative (FII) debuted in 2017 as a showcase for de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman\'s dream of diversifying the economy of the world\'s largest crude exporter away from oil. This year\'s three-day event is expected to draw more than 7,000 delegates including TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew and the chief executive...

  A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child in a school in Karachi, Pakistan, Oct. 28, 2024. Islamabad — Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan simultaneously launched fresh vaccination campaigns against polio Monday amid a resurgence in cases in the only two countries globally where the virus continues to be endemic and paralyze children. The World Health Organization reported 64 polio infections this year: 41 from Pakistan and 23 from Afghanistan, up from six each in both countries in 2023. Pakistani officials said the weeklong house-to-house nationwide campaign that was rolled out Monday enlists 400,000 polio workers, who aim to vaccinate over 45 million children under five against the paralytic disease. “This is Pakistan’...

  Umbrella for Democratic Change activists gather for a rally after their failed protest in Gaborone, Botswana, Oct. 26 2024. (Mqondisi Dube/VOA) Gaborone, Botswana — Botswanan opposition activists took to the streets of capital Gaborone over the weekend ahead of general elections set for this Wednesday. They wanted to march to Zimbabwe’s embassy with a petition that voiced concerns the neighboring country is conspiring to help Botswana’s ruling party extend its 58-year hold on power. But the marchers did not reach their destination. The weekend march was organized by a coalition of opposition parties under the Umbrella for Democratic Change, or UDC. But police, wielding guns, batons and shields pushed back the marchers and barricaded roa...