The Israeli Air Force launched airstrikes early Friday near the Syrian presidential palace in Damascus, in what Israeli officials described as a stern warning to Syria’s leadership following days of intense sectarian violence between pro-government militias and fighters from the Druze minority. The strikes, confirmed by Israel’s military, marked the second attack in Syria this week. They targeted areas adjacent to the residence of President Ahmed al-Sharaa, though specific damage…

Jill Sobule, the trailblazing singer-songwriter best known for her witty pop anthem Supermodel and the pioneering LGBTQ hit I Kissed a Girl, has died in a tragic house fire. She was 66. Sobule’s body was discovered on Thursday in a home in Woodbury, Minnesota. Authorities are currently investigating the cause of the blaze. Her longtime manager, John Porter, confirmed her passing in a statement to The Minnesota Star Tribune, describing…

The United States of America President, Donald Trump, on Thursday, signed an executive order aimed at ending federal funding for National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). He accused both media outlets of lacking neutrality in their reporting. Although NPR and PBS receive some government support through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the majority of their funding comes from private donors. Trump has frequently clashed with…

Nigerian Naira continued to weaken on the parallel market today, as the U.S. dollar sold for ₦1,607.66, reflecting persistent forex volatility and mounting economic headwinds. This rate represents a slight depreciation from ₦1,612.64. recorded on  01/05/2025  indicating a 0.31% drop in value. The widening gap between the official and black-market exchange rates remains a key indicator of Nigeria’s macroeconomic pressures, despite recent policy reforms introduced by the Central Bank of…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a “national emergency” on Wednesday as fast-moving wildfires scorched areas west of Jerusalem, prompting mass evacuations, injuring several civilians, and threatening to engulf the capital itself. Thick plumes of smoke rose above highways as firefighters, soldiers, and emergency personnel rushed to combat the fires, described as the worst Israel has seen in over a decade. Blazes broke out in multiple forested areas near the…

A Palestinian student at Columbia University who was detained by immigration authorities earlier this month was released on Wednesday following a federal judge’s order, amid growing concerns over free speech and political retaliation. Mohsen Mahdawi, a lawful U.S. permanent resident, was taken into custody on April 16 while attending a U.S. citizenship interview. His case drew national attention after his attorneys argued that the Trump administration sought to deport him…

A federal judge in Maryland has slammed the Trump administration for its continued refusal to cooperate in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident wrongfully deported to El Salvador in what the government admits was an “administrative error.” U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis rejected a fresh request from the administration for more time to respond to discovery demands, ordering government officials to fully comply by Monday and setting…

One of Japan’s busiest transportation lifelines came to a dramatic halt on Wednesday evening after a metre-long snake slithered onto a power line along the Tokaido Shinkansen route, shorting the system and bringing all train services between Tokyo and Osaka to a standstill. The unusual reptilian disruption occurred at approximately 5:25 p.m. between Maibara and Gifu-Hashima stations, coinciding with the start of Golden Week, a string of national holidays when…

A Turkish court on Wednesday handed Swedish journalist Joakim Medin an 11 month suspended sentence for allegedly insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan but the reporter remains imprisoned as he awaits trial on a more serious charge of terrorism. Medin, who reports for Swedish newspaper Dagens ETC, was detained on March 27 upon arrival at Istanbul Airport, where he had flown in to cover the widespread protests sweeping the country. He…

The African Union has lifted sanctions against Gabon.

Swedish police detained a 16-year-old on suspicion of murdering three people in a hair salon in the city of Uppsala, prosecutors said. The victims, aged 15-20, were shot dead late on Tuesday afternoon just as Uppsala, a university town 40 minutes north of Stockholm, was gearing up for Walpurgis Night, one of the busiest holidays in the city. “An intensive investigation is underway. We are now gathering information and the…

Barclays booked a stronger than expected 19% increase in first-quarter profit on Wednesday, as trading activity surged in the early months of the U.S. President Donald Trump’s tenure and the bank made progress on boosting its share of the lucrative UK lending market. The British bank’s profit before tax for January-March was 2.7 billion pounds ($3.62 billion), up from 2.3 billion a year ago and above analysts’ forecasts for 2.5…