Since 2012, visitors have scoured Block Island, off the coast of Rhode Island, in search of hidden treasure: hand-blown glass orbs. Correspondent Martha Teichner talks to glass artists Eben Horton and Jennifer Nauck, who create the delicate prizes, and joins other "orbivores" (orb hunters) on the prowl.
Antelmus Paulus, 67, is in despair after the eruption on Tuesday of Indonesia's Ruang volcano rendered his home on Tagulandang island uninhabitable and prompted authorities to evacuate more than 12,000 people. The Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) has also warned of a potential tsunami triggered by volcanic material collapsing into the ocean. Another island resident, Sulce Ansar, said Tuesday's eruption was "worse" than the series of eruptions last month that forced hundreds to evacuate.
Voters went to the polls in England on Thursday for a host of crunch local elections likely to ratchet up the pressure on embattled Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.Voters will also elect police and crime commissioners in Wales and well as England.
Japanese investigators have determined that a collision during a nighttime drill caused the deadly crash last month of two Japanese navy SH-60K Seahawk helicopters, the country's defense minister said Thursday. Kihara ruled out mechanical failure of the SH-60K Seahawks from the Maritime Self Defense Force and announced that the exercises, which were halted following the crash, would resume on Friday.
European stock markets diverged Thursday as investors digested the Federal Reserve interest rate outlook and awaited Apple's latest results on eve of critical US payroll data. Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell warned Wednesday US interest rates would stay higher for longer, after the central bank left borrowing costs on hold once again.
Sales to Chinese smartphone makers jumped 40% in the first half of its fiscal year, the company said on Wednesday, as buyers there gravitate toward higher-priced devices that can accommodate AI chatbots. "Chinese vendors who traditionally relied more on MediaTek, are going to start leveraging Qualcomm's high-end chips more as they push hard into the AI Agenda," said IDC analyst Nabila Popal. "They further represent an upside for Qualcomm because majority of the recovery is also going to be driven by Chinese OEMs this year, coming from a tough last two years."
British oil and gas giant Shell announced Thursday that first-quarter earnings fell but beat expectations in a "strong" performance, and unveiled another bumper stock buyback.Shell had already warned last month that it expected lower natural gas sales in the first quarter after a particularly strong performance in the final three months of 2023.
The number of people who have lost their lives in devastating floods in Kenya since March has risen to 188, with dozens still missing, the interior ministry said on Thursday.The interior ministry said 52 bodies had been recovered and 51 people were still missing after the dam disaster.
A Nigerian court on Thursday adjourned a money laundering trial against cryptocurrency exchange Binance and two of its executives to May 17 after a lawyer for the exchange said he had not been served with documents needed to prepare for the case. Binance and its executives Tigran Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen and head of financial crime compliance, and British-Kenyan Nadeem Anjarwalla, a regional manager for Africa, have been charged with laundering more than $35 million and engaging in specialised financial activities without a licence. On Thursday, Binance's lawyer complained in court that he had not been served with the additional proof of evidence that he would have used to prepare for the case and commence trial.
Hamas on Thursday was considering the latest proposal for a cease-fire with Israel that the United States and other mediators hope will avert an Israeli attack on the Gaza town of Rafah. The stakes in the cease-fire negotiations were made clear in a new U.N. report that said if the war in Gaza stops today, it will still take until 2040 to rebuild all the homes that have been destroyed by nearly seven months of Israeli bombardment and ground offensives in the territory. Hamas has insisted it won’t sign onto the deal without assurances that, if it eventually releases all its hostages, Israel will end its onslaught in Gaza and pull its troops out of the territory.
Rebuilding homes in the Gaza Strip could drag into the next century if the pace follows the trend of previous conflicts, according to a U.N. report released on Thursday. Nearly seven months of Israeli bombardment have caused billions of dollars in damage, leaving many of the crowded strip's high-rise concrete buildings reduced to heaps, with a U.N. official referring to a "moonscape" of destruction. Palestinian data shows that around 80,000 homes have been destroyed in a conflict triggered by Hamas fighters' deadly attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7.
Several flights to Dubai were cancelled and diverted Thursday, airport authorities announced, as heavy rains hit the United Arab Emirates for the second time in a month. An airport authority spokesperson said five inbound flights were diverted overnight, while nine arriving and four departing flights were cancelled. In April, heavy thunderstorms dumped the heaviest rains ever recorded in the UAE in a span of hours, flooding portions of major highways and Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel and a hub for the long-haul carrier Emirates.
Scotland's former deputy first minister, John Swinney, announced on Thursday he would stand to succeed Humza Yousaf as leader of the country's governing Scottish National Party (SNP).The announcement follows Yousaf's announcement on Monday that he would resign as party leader and Scotland's first minister once a successor has been chosen to head the devolved government.
A group of children holding red, yellow and blue balloons – the colors of Colombia's flag – run to the playground of a newly-opened school built and paid for by the Estado Mayor Central (EMC) guerrillas. The new school - which opened last month in a troubled area in the country's south - is just one example of how the group is consolidating control of certain regions, gaining social support and territorial dominance, and potentially stymieing already-fraught efforts by President Gustavo Petro to ink a new peace deal. The 3,500-strong EMC are rebels who rejected a landmark 2016 peace deal with the government that largely put an end to decades of conflict.
Staff and visitors have been left stranded at Kenya’s famous nature reserve, as the death toll in catastrophic flooding rose to at least 188 people.
Taiwan's defence ministry on Thursday said that China had carried out a "joint combat readiness patrol" near the island for the second time in a week. Over the past four years, China's military has significantly ramped up its activities around democratically-governed Taiwan. The ministry said that starting from 4 p.m. (0800GMT) on Thursday it had detected 15 Chinese military aircraft, including Su-30 fighters, carrying out "joint combat readiness patrols" with Chinese warships around Taiwan.
The United States has formally accused Russia of using chemical weapons “as a method of warfare” against Ukraine and imposed sweeping new sanctions on Russian firms and government bodies.
Joshua Dean is the second Boeing-linked whistleblower to have died in the last two months.
Vietnam's legislature approved on Thursday the resignation of its chairman Vuong Dinh Hue, it said in a statement, the latest top official to step down amid an intensifying anti-graft crackdown by the ruling Communist Party. Hue's departure, which had already been announced last week by the party's central committee, leaves Vietnam with no permanent holders for two of its four top leadership positions, after president Vo Van Thuong quit in late March.
(Reuters) -Moderna on Thursday reported quarterly revenue that beat Wall Street estimates but came in dramatically lower than the previous year when demand for COVID-19 vaccines was higher. Sales of Moderna’s COVID-19 shot Spikevax, its only marketed product, dropped 91% from the previous year to $167 million for the quarter but surpassed analysts’ expectations of $97.5 million. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company reaffirmed that it expects to receive approval from regulators for its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine in time for it to be included in this fall's U.S. vaccine campaign.
Danish shipping giant Maersk posted a huge drop in net profit for the first quarter on Thursday as Yemeni rebel attacks force it to avoid the vital Red Sea route.- Costly alternate route - Iran-backed Huthi rebels, who control the Yemeni capital Sanaa and much of the country's Red Sea coast, have launched dozens of attacks on ships since November, claiming solidarity with Palestinians caught up in the Israel-Hamas war.
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