World Headlines
Russia to continue testing, start mass producing new ‘Oreshnik’ missile: Putin
State Emergency Service of Ukraine/AFP via Getty Images(MOSCOW) -- Russia will continue testing and start mass producing the new "Oreshnik" missile, an intermediate-range ballistic missile that was used to target Dnipro, Ukraine, this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday."We will continue testing the latest system," Putin said at a meeting with the leadership of the Ministry of Defense and representatives of the military-industrial complex. "It is necessary to establish mass production. We will assume that the decision on the serial production of this system has been made. As a matter of fact, it is practically organized."Putin said Russia will continue testing the new Oreshnik missile system, "including in combat conditions.""The tests were successful, I congratulate you on this. As ... Read More
‘Suspicious package’ found outside US embassy in London
U.S. Embassy in London, United Kingdom (L. Toshio Kishiyama/Getty Images)(LONDON) -- A suspicious package was discovered outside the United States Embassy in London on Friday morning, police said.The London Metropolitan Police immediately closed Ponton Road outside of the embassy in “an abundance of caution,” according to their statement, before they destroyed it in a controlled explosion.“We’re aware of speculation online about an incident in the vicinity of the US Embassy in Nine Elms,” the Met Police said. “Cordons are in place in the area as a precaution while officers investigate a suspect package.”Authorities updated the situation approximately an hour later after reports of a “loud bang” began circulating online.“We can confirm that the 'loud bang' reported in the area a ... Read More
Icelandic volcano previously dormant for 800 years erupting again
ICELAND POLICE DEPARTMENT/Anadolu via Getty ImageA once long-dormant volcano in Iceland is erupting again and impacting activity in a populated region nearby.The volcano, on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwestern Iceland, began erupting at Sundhnukar on Wednesday night and peaked at about 2 a.m. local time Thursday, according to the Icelandic Meteorological Office. It has prompted evacuations at the Blue Lagoon, an iconic tourist destination, and the nearby town of Grindavik.West Iceland's volcano is a rift activity volcano, which involves the earth being pulled apart in two different directions through the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, rather than a cone erupting magma through a central pipe, Thomas Algeo, a professor of earth sciences at the University of Cincinnati, told ABC News. The style of ... Read More
In Pakistan, Afghan journalists face deportation and yearslong waits for humanitarian visas
Asad Zaidi/Bloomberg via Getty Images(LONDON )-- As Jahanzeb Wesa fled toward the Pakistani border in the middle of the night, he wondered if his career defending human rights would help protect him now that he was a refugee himself.A 28-year-old Afghan journalist and women's rights advocate, Wesa said he was attacked by a Taliban fighter while covering a women's rights protest just after the fall of Kabul in August 2021. If he didn't make it across the border, he said, he knew he would likely be killed."We worked for 20 years for a better future for Afghanistan," he recalled thinking. "Why did we lose everything?"But arriving in a new country brought no sense of safety.Following the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, some ... Read More
Ukraine says Russia hit it with ICBM, Zelenskyy says Putin is ‘terrified’
Ukraine State Emergency Service/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images(LONDON and KYIV) -- Russia on Thursday launched what officials in Kyiv said was an intercontinental ballistic missile toward southeastern Ukraine, but a U.S. official told ABC News that Russia launched "an experimental medium-range ballistic missile against Ukraine" near Dnipro.The official said the United States briefed Ukraine and other close allies and partners in recent days on Russia's possible use of this weapon in order to help them prepare. According to the official, Russia likely only possesses "a handful" of these experimental missiles.Two U.S. officials previously told ABC News it was not an ICBM but instead an intermediate-range ballistic missile, or IRBM.The launch raises the prospect of nuclear weapons; IRBMs or ICBMs can both ... Read More
Russia claims it shot down US-made ATACMS missiles and issues nuclear threat
Russian President Valdimir Putin; Photo credit: Sefa Karacan/Anadolu via Getty Images(LONDON) -- The Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that it defeated a Ukrainian ATACMS attack in the western Bryansk region, shortly before the Kremlin updated its nuclear weapons doctrine to allow for nuclear strikes in response to foreign ballistic missile attacks.Two U.S. officials also confirmed to ABC News that Ukraine had for the first time fired ATACMS at targets in Russia.Ukrainian forces fired six "ballistic missiles," the Russian Defense Ministry wrote on its official Telegram page, five of which were downed and the sixth damaged. "According to confirmed data, American-made ATACMS operational-tactical missiles were used," it wrote."ATACMS fragments fell on the technical territory of a military facility in the Bryansk ... Read More
Investigation into possible sabotage underway after 2 underwater cables cut in Baltic Sea
Stefan Sauer/picture alliance via Getty Images(LONDON) -- An initial investigation into possible sabotage has been launched by four NATO countries -- Finland, Germany, Sweden and Lithuania -- after two underwater telecommunications cables connecting Germany and Finland across the Baltic Sea were cut in two separate incidents in recent days, a European official told ABC News.Sweden is leading the investigation, as both incidents occurred in the Swedish economic zone, a Swedish Ministry of Defense official told ABC News."Against the backdrop of the security situation, the government is following developments very closely and is in close contact with its authorities. It is central that greater clarity is brought to the cause of this event," Swedish Minister for Civil Defense Carl-Oskar Bohlin told ... Read More
Russia says Ukraine’s use of Western rockets could prompt nuclear response
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov is pictured on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, on Oct. 24, 2024. (Maxim Shemetov via Getty Images)(LONDON) -- Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists that new changes to Russia's nuclear weapons doctrine signed by President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday mean "the use of Western non-nuclear rockets by the Armed Forces of Ukraine against Russia can prompt a nuclear response."Peskov's remarks came shortly after three U.S. officials confirmed to ABC News that President Joe Biden had approved Ukraine's use of the long-range American-made MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System -- colloquially known as the ATACMS -- to hit targets in Russia's western Kursk region.The administration hasn't publicly confirmed the policy change. State Department spokesperson ... Read More
Injured Gaza teen arrives in US for medical treatment after arm amputations
KATU(PORTLAND, Or.) -- A teenager who was seriously injured in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war has arrived in the United States for treatment.Diaa Al-Haqq, 15, was injured when an alleged Israeli missile attack hit a café in Gaza, the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund (PCRF) -- the nongovernmental organization that arranged his evacuation -- told Portland, Oregon, ABC affiliate KATU. Diaa's arms were severely injured and he had amputations on both arms below his elbows.Diaa and his sister, Aya, arrived at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on Saturday, the local PCRF chapter in Portland said in a post on Instagram. After a brief layover, Diaa arrived in Portland, where he will be receiving medical care, on Sunday, according to the chapter.Videos ... Read More
Climate and environment updates: Dangerous hurricanes made worse by climate change
SimpleImages/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- The climate crisis is not a distant threat; it's happening right now and affecting what matters most to us. Hurricanes intensified by a warming planet and drought-fueled wildfires are destroying our communities. Rising seas and flooding are swallowing our homes. And record-breaking heatwaves are reshaping our way of life.The good news is we know how to turn the tide and avoid the worst possible outcomes. However, understanding what needs to be done can be confusing due to a constant stream of climate updates, scientific findings, and critical decisions that are shaping our future.That's why the ABC News Climate and Weather Unit is cutting through the noise by curating what you need to know to keep the ... Read More
‘Severe’ toxic smog blankets Delhi, shuttering schools
Javed Sultan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images(LONDON) -- Residents of Delhi woke up to a thick blanket of toxic smog, prompting the city to cancel in-person classes, halt construction and limit traffic, as the Indian capital city's air-pollution levels surged past 60 times the World Health Organization's recommended daily maximum.Government officials warned the 33 million residents of Delhi to stay inside and use air purifiers as the smog increased in severity. The city implemented GRAP 4, the highest stage of pollution-related emergency measures, which kick into effect during "severe" air pollution.GRAP 4 forbids trucks -- except those carrying essential goods -- from entering the city and bans construction and demolition projects. The government may also consider programs where only vehicles with license plates ending ... Read More
Israel-Gaza-Lebanon live updates: ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant
Houssam Shbaro/Anadolu via Getty Images(LONDON) -- The Israel Defense Forces continued its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza -- particularly in the north of the strip -- and in Lebanon, with Israeli attacks on targets nationwide including in the capital Beirut. The strikes form the backdrop for a fresh diplomatic push by the White House ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's return to the Oval Office in January.Tensions also remain high between Israel and Iran after the former launched what it called "precise strikes on military targets" in several locations in Iran following Tehran's Oct. 1 missile barrage.More health workers, patients killed proportionally in Lebanon than anywhere elseThe World Health Organization said Friday that more health workers and patients have ... Read More
Moscow warns US missile authorization may mark new level of involvement in conflict for Washington
Maxim shipenkov/Pool/Afp via getty images(LONDON) -- Russia would consider the White House's authorization for Ukraine to use U.S.-made longer-range weapons within Russia to be a "qualitatively new round of tensions" between Moscow and Washington, a Kremlin spokesperson said on Monday."Allowing Kyiv to strike deep inside Russia with U.S. long-range missiles, if such permission has actually been given, will mark a qualitatively new round of tensions and level of Washington's involvement in the Ukraine conflict," Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, said at his daily briefing.President Joe Biden authorized the use of the weapons, ATACMS, or Army Tactical Missile System, within the Russian Kursk region, two U.S. officials told ABC News on Sunday. The missiles have a range of about 190 miles.Ukraine ... Read More
Russia launches ‘massive’ nationwide missile attack targeting Ukraine’s energy grid
Tanya Dzafarowa/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC "UA:PBC"/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images(LONDON) -- Russia launched a major missile and drone attack on Ukraine overnight into Sunday targeting power plants and energy infrastructure across the country.The barrage was the largest attack on Ukraine since late August and the third largest so far this year. Missiles and drones targeted cities including the capital Kyiv, forcing people into basements, subway stations and other underground shelters.Ukrainian authorities reported that at least five people were killed.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram early Sunday that the "massive strike" targeted areas in "all regions of Ukraine."Zelenskyy said around 120 missiles and 90 drones were fired into the country, with Ukrainian air defenses downing more than 140 targets.Ukraine's air force ... Read More
World’s largest coral reef discovered off the Solomon Islands
On Thursday, as a National Geographic expedition was exploring the waters around the Solomon Islands, its members spotted something that looked like a shipwreck underwater. Intrigued, they sent a diver down to investigate. The diver came back to the surface with extraordinary news: the object was not a shipwreck but a massive coral – soon confirmed as the biggest coral in the world. Image via National Geographic(LONDON) -- On Thursday, as a National Geographic expedition was exploring the waters around the Solomon Islands, its members spotted something that looked like a shipwreck underwater. Intrigued, they sent a diver down to investigate.The diver came back to the surface with extraordinary news.The object was not a shipwreck but a massive coral -- ... Read More
What we know about the shooter
WASHINGTON (AP) — The man identified as the shooter in the apparent assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump was a 20-year-old from a Pittsburgh suburb not far from the campaign rally where one attendee was killed. Investigators were working Sunday to gather more information about Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, who they say opened fire at the rally before being killed by Secret Service days before Trump was to accept the Republican nomination for a third time. An FBI official said late Saturday that investigators had not yet determined a motive. Two spectators were critically injured, authorities said. Relatives of Crooks didn’t immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press. His father, Matthew Crooks, told CNN late ... Read MorePrayers for Trump also pour in from political rivals
Prayers for the former president are also coming from his political opponents. “I am horrified by what happened at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania and relieved that former President Trump is safe. Political violence has no place in our country,†said Sen. Chuck Schumer in a statement. “We should all condemn what happened today and I am hoping for the health of the former president and everyone else at the rally,†Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy posted on the social platform X. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a post on X that his “thoughts and prayers are with former President Trump†and expressed thanks “for the decisive law enforcement response.†... Read MoreWikiLeaks founder facing pivotal moment in long fight to stay out of US court
LONDON -- The host of a news conference about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's extradition fight wryly welcomed journalists last week to the “millionth†press briefing on his court case. Deborah Bonetti, director of the Foreign Press Association, was only half joking. Assange’s legal saga has dragged on for well over a decade but it could come to an end in the U.K. as soon as Monday. Assange faces a hearing in London's High Court that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The outcome will depend on how much weight judges give to reassurances U.S. officials have provided that Assange's rights won't be trampled if ... Read More
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