Author: Elizabeth Jenrola Oso

A Moldovan court has sentenced Yevgenia Gutsul, the pro-Russia leader of the semi-autonomous Gagauzia region, to seven years in prison for funnelling Russian money to finance a now-banned political party. The high-profile ruling, delivered on Tuesday, marks a turning point in Moldova’s effort to curtail Russian influence and will likely heighten already strained relations with the Kremlin. Gutsul, 38, was convicted of systematically channelling undeclared funds into Moldova between 2019 and 2022 to support the pro-Moscow Șor (Shor) party, which was founded by Ilan Shor, a fugitive businessman currently living in exile in Moscow. Shor was sentenced in absentia last…

Google has taken a significant step towards the long-term goal of artificial general intelligence (AGI) with the unveiling of Genie 3, a cutting-edge AI system capable of generating realistic virtual environments from simple text prompts. According to Google DeepMind, the company’s artificial intelligence research division, the model is a foundational piece of technology designed to help train robots, autonomous vehicles, and intelligent agents by simulating the real world. Described as a world model, Genie 3 can create immersive, physics-based scenarios such as skiing down a mountain or navigating a warehouse, all generated instantly in response to user instructions. The model…

Rescue teams in Norway have resumed the search for Alec Luhn, a prominent US-born environmental journalist, who went missing during a solo hike in treacherous weather conditions in the remote Folgefonna national park. Luhn, 38, who has reported for The New York Times, The Atlantic, and served as The Guardian’s Russia correspondent from 2013 to 2017, was reported missing on Monday after failing to catch a scheduled flight from Bergen. He had been holidaying in Norway with his family and set out alone on 31 July from Ullensvang outdoor centre, located on the northern fringe of the 550 sq km…

A key Israeli security cabinet meeting expected to deliberate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial call for the “full occupation” of Gaza has been postponed, amid growing tensions and doubts over the plan’s feasibility. As ceasefire negotiations with Hamas remain stalled, Israeli officials had previously briefed both local and international media that Netanyahu was weighing an expansive military offensive aimed at seizing full control of the Gaza Strip. This would mark a dramatic escalation in the 22-month-long war against Hamas. However, the proposal has ignited fierce resistance from senior Israeli military officers and former top commanders, who argue that such a…

Four suspected gunmen, including 19 persons, went on trial in Moscow on Monday over the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack, which left 149 people dead in one of the deadliest assaults in modern Russian history. The attack, which took place on 22 March last year, saw four armed men from Tajikistan allegedly storm the concert venue on the outskirts of Moscow. The assailants opened fire on the crowd before setting the building alight, resulting in hundreds of injuries and widespread panic. The Islamic State affiliate in central and south Asia, ISIS-K, claimed responsibility for the massacre. However, the Russian government…

New Zealand plans to begin charging international tourists to access some of its most iconic natural sites and ease restrictions on commercial use of conservation land, as part of a sweeping and controversial overhaul of its environmental policy. Under the proposals, overseas visitors could be required to pay between NZ$20 and NZ$40 (approximately £9 to £19) per person to enter selected sites. The initial list is expected to include world-famous locations such as Cathedral Cove/Te Whanganui-a-Hei, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, the Milford Track, and Aoraki/Mount Cook. The new fees are likely to be introduced from 2027. Conservation Minister Tama Potaka…

BP has made its most significant oil and gas discovery in a quarter of a century off the coast of Brazil, marking a major milestone in its strategic shift away from renewables and back towards fossil fuel production. The discovery in the Santos basin, located roughly 400km offshore in deep waters near Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, is believed to be the company’s most substantial find since uncovering the Shah Deniz gasfield in Azerbaijan in 1999. It is BP’s 10th oil discovery this year and a key part of its revived upstream strategy. Situated beneath approximately 2,400 metres of…

Switzerland was left reeling following Trump’s decision to lay a 39% tariff on them, one of the highest rates imposed in his sweeping global trade reset. Announced on Friday, coinciding with the country’s National Day holiday, industry leaders warned the move could cost tens of thousands of jobs and tip the Swiss economy into recession. Negotiators in Bern had reportedly believed they were on the brink of securing a 10% tariff after three months of talks with Washington. But a reportedly tense and “disastrous” 30-minute phone call between Trump and President Keller-Sutter on Thursday evening appears to have upended those…

U.S. President Donald Trump has announced he will dispatch his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to Moscow this week ahead of a self-imposed Friday deadline for progress on ending the war in Ukraine. Witkoff is expected to arrive in Moscow on Wednesday or Thursday, according to Trump, who has given Russia until 8 August to demonstrate commitment to peace or face further sanctions. When asked what message Witkoff would be taking to the Kremlin, Trump tersely replied: “Yeah, get a deal where people stop getting killed.” In Kyiv, expectations are low for any major breakthrough. However, officials have expressed cautious optimism…

At least 68 African migrants have died and 74 more are missing after a packed vessel capsized off Yemen’s southern coast, the United Nations migration agency confirmed on Sunday. The boat, carrying 154 Ethiopian nationals, sank in the early hours in the Gulf of Aden, near the coastal province of Abyan. According to Abdusattor Esoev, the head of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Yemen, only 12 people are known to have survived the tragedy. 54 bodies were recovered from the shores of Khanfar district, while a further 14 were taken to a hospital morgue in the provincial capital,…