Friday, April 25, 2025

BIG Wrap

Car bomb kills senior Russian general near Moscow

(Al Jazeera Media Network) A senior Russian general has been killed after a home-made explosive device ripped through a parked car in the town of Balashikha, east of Moscow, according to the Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes in the country. Authorities named Lieutenant-General Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy head of the main operational directorate of the military’s General Staff, as the victim of Friday’s attack, which appeared to be similar to previous attacks on Russians linked to Moscow’s...

Ex-congressman George Santos sentenced to seven years in prison

(BBC News) Former Republican congressman George Santos has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. The 36-year-old pleaded guilty to the federal charges in New York court last August. Prosecutors had asked for 87 months – over seven years – in prison, while Santos's attorneys had requested he serve two years, the minimum sentence for aggravated identity theft. The sentencing marks the final step in the downfall of...

Al-Shabab battles Somalia’s army for strategic military base

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Al-Shabab fighters have battled Somali troops and allied forces for control of a strategic army base in southern Somalia, according to the government and a military official. Capturing the base in Wargaadhi town in the Middle Shabelle region, which houses soldiers, special forces and clan fighters, would enable the al Qaeda-linked group to sever a crucial road between the capital Mogadishu, 200 km to the southwest, and the central Galmudug State...

Kennedy announces ban on artificial dyes in food and drinks

(BBC News) The US will ban eight commonly used artificial food dyes in a bid to help Americans "know what's in their food," Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr announced on Tuesday. Officials said two petroleum-based synthetic dyes would be phased out in the coming weeks, and others by the end of 2026. Experts have linked the dyes — which are found in dozens of foods, including cereals, candy, snacks and beverages — to neurological problems...

Gunmen kill at least 26 in Indian-administered Kashmir, say police

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Armed men opened fire on a group of tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir, killing at least 26 people, according to Indian police, in one of the deadliest attacks there in recent times. Police said multiple tourists received gunshot wounds in the “terror attack” on Tuesday while they were visiting Baisaran meadow, some 5 km from the disputed region’s resort town of Pahalgam. “This attack is much larger than anything we have seen directed...

‘A man of the people’ – leaders throughout the world react to death of Pope Francis

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Pope Francis, the first Latin American pontiff in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, has died aged 88, the Vatican says. His death on Monday came shortly after a bout of double pneumonia that kept him hospitalised for five weeks at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital. Just a day earlier, the pontiff made what would be his final major appearance as he greeted thousands of Easter worshippers from an open-top Popemobile in St Peter’s Square and...

DR Congo suspends ex-president Kabila’s party over alleged M23 links

(Al Jazeera Media Network) The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has suspended the political party of former President Joseph Kabila and ordered the seizure of his assets, accusing the 53-year-old of high treason over alleged ties to the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group. In a statement late on Saturday, the country’s Interior Ministry said Kabila’s People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD) was suspended for its “ambiguous attitude” towards the M23’s occupation of DRC territory. The...

Trump says U.S. will ‘pass’ on Ukraine peace talks if no progress soon

(BBC News) Donald Trump has said the US will "take a pass" on brokering further Russia-Ukraine talks if Moscow or Kyiv "make it very difficult" to reach a peace deal. The US president told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday that he was not expecting a truce to happen in "a specific number of days," but he wanted it done "quickly". His comments came hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that the...

Google has illegal advertising monopoly, judge rules

(BBC News) A US judge has ruled tech giant Google has a monopoly in online advertising technology. The US Department of Justice, along with 17 US states, sued Google, arguing the tech giant was illegally dominating the technology that determines which advertisements should be placed online and where. This is the second antitrust case Google has lost in a year, after it was ruled the company also had a monopoly on online search. Google said it would appeal...

Chemical traces found 124 light-years away that on Earth are only produced by living beings

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Astronomers have found the clearest evidence yet that life might exist beyond the solar system, from the atmosphere of a planet 124 light-years away from Earth, setting off rare excitement – tinged with caution – in the global scientific community. Using the James Webb Space Telescope, researchers led by astronomers at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom have found chemical signatures of two compounds that on Earth are only...