World News TheFOXposts

A prominent journalist in Belarus has been sentenced to six years in prison, the latest step in a years-long crackdown on opposition figures, independent journalists and human rights activists TALLINN, Estonia -- A prominent journalist in Belarus was sentenced Wednesday to six years in prison , the latest step in a years -long crackdown on opposition figures, independent journalist s and human rights activists. On trial in the city of Grodno in western Belarus, Pavel Mazheika, 45, was found guilty of “complicity in extremist activity” for covering the activities of the political opposition. He was accused of working for news outlets including Belsat TV, which broadcasts in Belarusian from its base in neighboring Poland. The Belarusian authorities have labeled Belsat as “extremist.” Lawyer Yuliya Yurhilevich also was sentenced to six years in prison after she was accused of giving Mazheika information on Belarus’ political prisoners, notably on dissident artist Ales Pushkin who died...

Britain’s top diplomat, James Cleverly, has begun a long-awaited visit to China as the two countries attempt to stabilize ties that have frayed in recent years BEIJING -- Britain’s top diplomat , James Cleverly, began a long-awaited visit to China on Wednesday as the two countries attempt to stabilize bilateral ties that have frayed badly in recent years . The trip is the first by a United Kingdom foreign secretary to China in more than five years, underscoring the downturn in relations over Beijing’s curbing of civil liberties in Hong Kong, a former British colony, abuses against Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang region, China’s support for Russia and Britain’s close security ties with the United States. Cleverly met first with Vice President Han Zheng, who said the visit will “further promote the sound and stable development of bilateral relations.” Cleverly will meet later in the day with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, who is both the ruling Communist Party's top official ...

Mutinous soldiers are claiming that they have seized power in Gabon and have put the president under house arrest, hours after he was declared the winner in an election extending his family’s 55-year rule in the oil-rich Central African nation LIBREVILLE, Gabon -- Mutinous soldiers claimed to have seized power in Gabon on Wednesday and put the president under house arrest, hours after he was declared the winner in an election extending his family’s 55-year rule in the oil-rich Central African nation. In a video apparently from detention in his residence, President Ali Bongo Ondimba called on people to “make noise” to support him. But the crowds who took to the streets of the capital instead celebrated the coup attempt against a dynasty accused of getting rich on the country’s resource wealth while many of its citizens struggle. “Thank you, army. Finally, we’ve been waiting a long time for this moment,” said Yollande Okomo, standing near soldiers from Gabon’s elite republican guard, one...

A Dutch court has sentenced a former Pakistani cricketer to 12 years in prison over allegations that he had offered a reward for the death of firebrand anti-Islam Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- A Dutch court on Monday sentenced a former Pakistani cricket er to 12 years in prison over allegations that he had offered a reward for the death of firebrand anti-Islam Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders. The suspect, identified by Wilders as Khalid Latif, is accused of offering a bounty of about 21,000 euros ($23,000) to anybody who killed Wilders. Latif did not appear in the high-security courtroom near Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport for the trial and he was not represented by a lawyer. He is believed to be in Pakistan, which has no extradition agreement with the Netherlands. Prosecutors did not name Latif, but said in a statement that a video posted online in 2018 showed a famous Pakistan cricket er offering the money for killing Wilders. The lawmaker , who was present for ...

Two years after the Taliban banned girls from school beyond sixth grade, Afghanistan is the only country in the world with restrictions on female education ISLAMABAD -- Two years after the Taliban banned girls from school beyond sixth grade, Afghanistan is the only country in the world with restrictions on female education. Now, the rights of Afghan women and children are on the agenda of the United Nations General Assembly Monday in New York. The U.N. children’s agency says more than 1 million girls are affected by the ban, although it estimates 5 million were out of school before the Taliban takeover due to a lack of facilities and other reasons. The ban triggered global condemnation and remains the Taliban's biggest obstacle to gaining recognition as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan. But the Taliban defied the backlash and went further, excluding women and girls from higher education, public spaces like parks, and most jobs. Here’s a look at the ban on girls’ education: The ...

Major cities around the world have experienced alarming temperature increases in recent years, new research shows. Major cities around the world have experienced alarming temperature increases in recent years, new research shows. Average temperatures in several major cities in OECD countries have risen by more than 10% since 2019 alone, which could indicate amplified effects of climate change in the last decade, according to the Global Temperature Index report by Utility Bidder, a U.K.-based energy consulting firm. A tourist uses a fan to shade her face from the sun while waiting to watch the Changing of the Guard ceremony outside Buckingham Palace, during hot weather in London, July 18, 2022. Matt Dunham/AP, FILE The report found "exemplified changing weather patterns that are the prime example of global warming," James Longley, managing director at Utility Bidder, said in an emailed statement to ABC News. MORE: 2023 on track to become warmest year on record: Copernicus repo...

Police in London are offering a “substantial reward” for information regarding the death of a man whose body was found in the basement freezer of a disused wine bar. LONDON -- Police in London are offering a “substantial reward” for information regarding the death of a man whose body was found in the basement freezer of a disused wine bar. Roy Bigg went missing in Feb. 2012 for more than nine years until it was discovered in Oct. 2021 by construction workers who had been working on the premises of the site in northeast London. MORE: Police looking for little boy at center of pizza gift card scam to support his baseball team “Just over two years ago, on October 15 2021, police were called to the basement of a building that was formerly Simpson’s Wine Bar on Romford Road in Forest Gate where Roy Bigg’s remains had been discovered,” according to a statement from the Metropolitan Police Press Office on Friday. “We believe that his body may have been in the freezer for a number of years, ...

A 31-year-old dog in Portugal that had been ranked as the world's oldest dog ever, has died LISBON, Portugal -- A 31-year-old dog in Portugal that had been ranked as the world’s oldest dog ever has died, his owner said Monday. The guard dog, called Bobi, died over the weekend in a veterinary hospital, Leonel Costa told The Associated Press. Bobi lived on a farm in the village of Conqueiros in Portugal with Costa and four cats. He was born on May 11, 1992, when his owner was just 8 years old. In an interview earlier this year, Costa told the Associated Press that Bobi's secret to a long life was good food, fresh air and lots of love. “Bobi eats what we eat,” said Costa. What’s more, Bobi had never been put on a leash. Bobi claimed the Guinness World Record from Bluey, an Australian cattle dog, who died in 1939 aged 29 and had held the record for almost a century. Officials at the Guinness World Records on Monday said they were “saddened to learn of the death of Bobi, the world...

Hamas, the militant group that rules the Gaza Strip, shocked Israel and other countries on Saturday with an unexpectedly complex and deadly attack Hamas, the Islamic militant group that controls the Palestinian territory of Gaza, on Saturday launched an unexpectedly complex and deadly attack on Israel that officials said included waves of rocket launches and hundreds of invaders. The assault has so far left more than 700 dead in the country, according to Israeli health officials, and is expected to engender a fierce response from the Israeli military, which has been involved in clashes with Palestinian militants in the occupied West Bank throughout the year. Already, more than 400 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Health Authority. More than 5,000 people have been injured total. Here's what to know about Hamas. What is Hamas Hamas has a membership of between 20,000 and 25,000, according to the U.S. government, and was founded in 1987 as an offshoot of th...

Singapore has executed a man for drug trafficking and is set to hang a woman on Friday KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Singapore executed a man Wednesday for drug trafficking and is set to hang a woman Friday — the first in 19 years — prompting renewed calls for a halt to capital punishment. Mohammed Aziz Hussain, 56, was hanged at Singapore's Changi Prison and has been buried, said activist Kirsten Han of Transformative Justice Collective, which advocates for abolishing the death penalty in Singapore. A citizen of the city-state, he was sentenced to death in 2018 for trafficking around 50 grams (1.75 ounces) of heroin, Han said. Saridewi Djamani, a 45-year-old Singaporean woman , is due to be hanged Friday after she was convicted and sentenced in 2018 for trafficking around 30 grams (1.05 ounces) of heroin, the group and other human rights organizations said. Han said the last woman known to have been hanged in Singapore was 36-year-old hairdresser Yen May Woen, also for drug traff...

The U.S.-led United Nations Command is trying to secure the release of an unidentified U.S. soldier who entered North Korea from the South Korean side of a border village SEOUL, South Korea -- The U.S.-led United Nations Command is trying to secure the release of an unidentified American soldier who entered North Korea from the South Korean side of a border village. It’s not immediately clear what motivated the soldier to cross into North Korea during a time of high tensions as the pace of both the North’s weapons demonstrations and U.S.-South Korean joint military training have intensified in a cycle of tit-for-tat. There have been cases of Americans cross ing into North Korea over the past years , including a small number of U.S. soldiers. Some of the Americans who crossed were driven by evangelical zeal or simply attracted by the mystery of a severely cloistered police state fueled by anti-U.S. hatred. Other Americans were detained after entering North Korea as tourists. In one tra...

A man who spent 13 years in prison in Germany for the death of an elderly woman has been acquitted in a retrial by a court that determined the supposed murder victim had died in an accident BERLIN -- A man who spent 13 years in prison in Germany for the death of an elderly woman was acquitted in a re trial on Friday by a court that determined the supposed murder victim had died in an accident. Manfred Genditzki, 63, was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison in 2010 by a Munich court. Judges ruled then that he had hit an 87-year-old woman on the head in October 2008 after an argument at her apartment in the upscale Bavarian lakeside town of Rottach-Egern and then drowned her in a bathtub. Genditzki, who worked as a caretaker at the complex where the woman lived, always insisted that he was innocent and appealed unsuccessfully against the original verdict. A federal court ordered a retrial, which resulted in him being convicted again in 2012. He fought for years to get ...