Brandi Carlile kicks off 'historic' 'Austin City Limits' season that spotlights women

Associated Press
German foreign minister says Russia will face consequences for 'absolutely intolerable' cyberattack
German's top diplomat on Friday said Russia will face consequences after accusing its military intelligence service of masterminding an “absolutely intolerable” cyberattack. Relations between the two European countries were already tense, with Germany providing military support to Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Russian state hackers were behind a cyberattack last year that targeted the Social Democrats, the leading party in the governing coalition.
7m ago
AFP
Heatwave swells Asia's appetite for air-conditioning
A record-breaking heatwave is broiling parts of Asia, helping drive surging demand for cooling options, including air-conditioning.With demand surging, dozens of countries last year signed up to the United Nations' Global Cooling Pledge, a commitment to improve the efficiency of air conditioners and reduce emissions from all forms of cooling.
29m ago
Reuters
Turkey inflation up near 70%, highest since 2022
Month-on-month, consumer price inflation was 3.18%, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute, compared with 3.16% in March. The biggest annual consumer price rise was in education, for which prices rose 103.86%, followed by restaurants and hotels at 95.82%. The central bank has hiked rates by 3,650 basis points since June including a 500 basis-point rise in March due to deterioration in the inflation outlook.
38m ago
Associated Press
The Latest | A hostage held in Gaza dies as Israel and Hamas work on a cease-fire deal
Dror Or, a 49-year-old held captive in Gaza, has died, the Hostages Families Forum said Friday. Israel says militants still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others. Dozens of people demonstrated Thursday night outside Israel’s military headquarters in Tel Aviv, demanding a deal to release the hostages.
41m ago
AFP
Markets track Wall St higher as rate hopes rise, eyes on US jobs
Hong Kong led gains across most Asian and European markets Friday thanks to a surge in tech giants, while the yen extended gains against the dollar on revived hopes for US interest rate cuts.The yen extended gains, having soared against the greenback soon after the Fed rate meeting on Wednesday, which led to speculation that Japanese authorities had intervened in the forex market for a second time this week.
58m ago
AFP
States doing less to support press freedom: watchdog
Media watchdog group Reporters Without Borders warned of declining government support for press freedom as it unveiled its annual world rankings on Friday, highlighting Argentina among the countries where the situation has deteriorated.But the watchdog, known by its French acronym RSF, warned that politicians across a wide range of countries were targeting the media.
1h ago
TODAY
Boston woman won’t be charged after 4 babies’ bodies found in her apartment freezer
A district attorney’s office in the Boston area will not file charges against a woman after four infant bodies were discovered in her apartment freezer.
1h ago
Time
Asia Heatwave: Why a Thai Village Paraded a Cartoon Cat
As scorching temperatures and drought batter the region, communities across Asia have resorted to desperate measures and even some superstitions.
1h ago
Reuters
Heatwaves and outages test support for juntas in Chad and Mali
N'DJAMENA/BAMAKO (Reuters) - In Chad's scorching capital N'Djamena, housewife Sylvie Belrangar turned the handle of a tap but nothing trickled out as water shortages and extreme temperatures sweep parts of West and North-Central Africa's Sahel region. Belrangar's plight is echoed elsewhere in the semi-arid Sahel, whose worst heatwave in recent memory exposed in April the struggle of junta-led countries, such as Chad and Mali, to guarantee basic services when the need for water and electricity is most acute. Recent outages have stoked frustration with the Malian and Chadian military authorities in some quarters, increasing social tensions when both countries stand at a political crossroads.
1h ago
Reuters
Factbox-Who are the main candidates in Chad's election?
Chad will on Monday become the first of West and Central Africa's junta-ruled countries to hold a vote since a wave of coups swept over the region. Opposition groups have raised objections and called for boycotts, saying the first-round presidential poll will be rigged. The interim government has said the ballot will return the country to constitutional rule.
1h ago
CNN
Where pro-Palestinian university protests are happening around the world
Demonstrations in solidarity with Palestinians under Israeli siege in Gaza have spread across university campuses in the United States and around the world in recent weeks.
1h ago
Associated Press
Stock market today: Asian shares advance ahead of US jobs report
Asian shares were mostly higher Friday ahead of a report on the U.S. jobs market, while several major markets including Tokyo and Shanghai were closed for holidays. Oil prices and U.S. futures were higher. The Japanese yen strengthened slightly against the U.S. dollar amid signs of heavy central bank intervention to tamp down the dollar’s advance.
1h ago
Reuters
Ethiopia's Amhara militia says resettlement plan 'beats war drum'
Leaders of a militia in Ethiopia's Amhara region accused the administration in neighbouring Tigray of "beating a war drum" over plans to return hundreds of thousands of Tigrayans to territories Amhara fighters captured during a civil war. The future of the disputed territories in northern Ethiopia has remained a flashpoint between Tigray and Amhara since the end of a 2020-2022 civil war, in which Amhara militiamen fought alongside the federal government against Tigrayan rebels.
1h ago
Reuters
Hungary to tweak price formula imposed on fuel traders, PM Orban says
Hungary's government has decided to tweak a formula imposed on fuel traders to curb prices, excluding some central European countries from the basis of comparison, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told public radio on Friday. Orban's government said last week it was giving fuel traders two weeks to adjust their prices to the central European average, as part of a wider government price-setting intervention following last year's inflation surge. However, in an apparent step back from the pressure applied on fuel traders, Orban said the government was now focused on bringing prices in line with those in neighbouring countries, excluding Poland, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria.
2h ago
Associated Press
Pro-Palestinian protesters set up encampments at universities in Australia
Pro-Palestinian protesters were camped on university campuses across Australia on Friday, with some scuffling with pro-Israel protesters in Sydney, mirroring similar events in the United States. Students have set up encampments at universities in major Australian cities over the last two weeks to protest Israel's offensive in Gaza.
2h ago
Associated Press
Sanctions and a hobbled economy pull the rug out from under Iran's traditional carpet weavers
The historic Kashan bazaar in central Iran once sat on a major caravan route, its silk carpets known the world over. With fewer tourists coming and difficulties rising in making international transactions, Iranian rugs are going unsold as some weavers work for as little as $4 a day.
2h ago
Associated Press
UK's governing Conservatives suffer big losses in local elections as Labour appears headed for power
Britain's governing Conservative Party is suffering heavy losses as an array of election results pour in Friday, piling pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ahead of a U.K. general election in which the main opposition Labour Party appears increasingly likely to return to power after 14 years. Labour won control of councils in England it hasn't held for decades and was successful in a special by-election for Parliament that if repeated in a general election in coming months, would lead to one of the Conservative's biggest-ever defeats. Its only negative for Labour has been in some areas with large Muslim populations, such as Oldham in northwest England, where the party's candidates appear to have suffered as a result of leader Keir Starmer 's strongly pro-Israel stance in the conflict in Gaza.
2h ago
CNN
‘None go forward without the others.’ US mega-deal would tie together the futures of Saudi Arabia, Israel and Gaza
Saudi Arabia and the United States are finalizing the details of a landmark deal to strengthen bilateral trade and defense – but an agreement will not be reached if the kingdom and Israel do not establish diplomatic relations, US officials said.
2h ago
Reuters
Iran says crew of Israel-linked ship freed
Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized the container ship MSC Aries, with a crew of 25, in the Strait of Hormuz on April 13, days after Tehran vowed to retaliate for a suspected Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus. Iran had said it could close the crucial shipping route. “The seized ship, which turned off its radar in Iran's territorial waters and jeopardized the security of navigation, is under judicial detention,” Amirabdollahian said, according to a foreign ministry post on X late Thursday night.
2h ago
CNN
Russian forces are operating at same base as US troops in Niger
Russian and US troops have been operating out of the same military base in Niger for at least several weeks, a US defense official and another source familiar with the matter told CNN, putting the two militaries in close proximity to each other at a time of heightened tensions over the war in Ukraine and as the country’s ruling junta has made clear it wants US forces to leave.
3h ago

Latest Stories