(BBC News) Russia's economy shrank last year by less than had been expected given its invasion of Ukraine, figures suggest.
The economy contracted by 2.1%, according to the country's statistics agency, but this was less than an earlier prediction of a 12% fall.
While questions have been raised about the reliability of the data, many commentators have been surprised at the Russian economy's resilience.
High oil prices and military spending have helped to support the economy.
After the...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) North Korea launched a long-range ballistic missile into the sea off Japan’s west coast after warning of a strong response to upcoming military drills by South Korea and the United States.
Japanese authorities said the missile plunged into waters today (Saturday) inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), more than an hour after it was launched, suggesting the weapon was one of Pyongyang’s largest missiles.
“North Korea fires an unidentified ballistic missile into (the) East...
(BBC News) Five former Memphis police officers charged with murder over the death of Tyre Nichols have pleaded not guilty in their first court appearance.
Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III, and Justin Smith were involved in the arrest of Nichols on January 7.
They were fired after an internal investigation by the Memphis Police Department.
Nichols' death sparked protests against police brutality in the U.S.
The judge confirmed the five defendants had pleaded...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) At least 18 people have been found dead in Bulgaria in an abandoned truck near the capital Sofia, officials said.
The truck was transporting timber and carrying refugees and migrants hidden in a compartment, the country’s interior ministry said in a statement on Friday.
Health minister Asen Medzhidiev said 34 survivors, including five children, were rushed to hospitals in Sofia and some were in critical but stable condition.
“There has been a lack...
(British Medical Journal) High drug prices are not justified by industry's spending on research and development (R&D), argue experts in The BMJ today.
Aris Angelis and colleagues point out that from 1999 to 2018, the world's 15 largest biopharmaceutical companies spent more on selling, general, and administrative activities (which includes marketing) than on R&D, and that most new medicines developed during this period offered little or no clinical benefit over existing treatments.
By refocusing their spending, they say drug...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) United States legislators have subpoenaed top tech executives for documents and communications as part of a Republican bid to show collusion between Silicon Valley and Washington to suppress the free speech of conservatives.
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee, led by Ohio Republican Jim Jordan, wrote to the chief executives of Google, Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft today (Wednesday) demanding documents, including any White House communications related to the regulation of content,...
(BBC News) The U.S. has shot down another unidentified flying object, this time over Lake Huron near the Canadian border, in what is the fourth such incident this month.
It was downed by Air Force and National Guard pilots on Sunday, Michigan Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin said.
"Great work by all who carried out this mission," she wrote on Twitter.
Washington has been on high alert since its military destroyed a suspected Chinese spy balloon on February 4.
U.S. fighter...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has denounced “enemies” for sparking unrest in the country and the region during a ceremony to mark the 44th anniversary of the 1979 revolution that birthed the Islamic republic.
In a televised speech to crowds at the Azadi (Freedom) Square in Tehran today (Saturday), the president remained defiant in the face of criticism by the West, specifically the United States, on the establishment’s response to protests that began...
(BBC News) U.S. President Joe Biden ordered a fighter jet to shoot down an unidentified "high-altitude object" off Alaska on Friday, the White House says.
Spokesman John Kirby said the unmanned object was "the size of a small car" and posed a "reasonable threat" to civilian aviation.
The object's purpose and origin were unclear, Kirby said.
It comes a week after the American military destroyed a Chinese balloon over U.S. territorial waters.
Speaking at the White House on...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) Shares of Google’s parent company lost more than $100 billion in market value today (Wednesday) after its Bard chatbot advertisement showed inaccurate information and analysts said its AI search event lacked details on how it will answer Microsoft’s ChatGPT challenge.
Reuters was the first to point out the error in Google’s advertisement, which debuted Monday, about which satellite first took pictures of a planet outside the Earth’s solar system. Shares of...
