Former British finance minister Alistair Darling, a central figure in the U.K.’s response to the 2008 financial crisis who later helped organize the campaign against Scottish independence, has died. He was 70.Darling had been treated for cancer and died in a hospital in Edinburgh, his family said in a statement…

Visitors to the Edinburgh Zoo had their final chance to see and bid farewell Thursday to a pair of popular giant pandas who are returning home to China after more than a decade in Scotland.Yang Guang and Tian Tian are leaving in early December after a 12-year stay. They have…

Russia’s Supreme Court has banned LGBTQ+ activism, labeling it an extremist organization and banning it in response to a lawsuit filed by the Justice Ministry.The ruling follows a series of anti-LGBTQ+ laws in Russia, including the “gay propaganda” law in 2013 and constitutional reforms outlawing same-sex marriage in 2020.The exact…

An alternative healer who advocates a technique known as “slapping therapy” was charged Thursday over the death of a woman at one of his workshops in England seven years ago.Hongchi Xiao was charged with manslaughter by gross negligence in the October 2016 death of Danielle Carr-Gomm, Wiltshire Police said.British police…

One of the first Israeli hostages to have been freed by Hamas is now saying she confronted the terrorist group’s Gaza leader in a tunnel underneath the territory during her time in captivity. Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, told the Israeli newspaper Davar that Yahya Sinwar paid the hostages a visit and “was…

The United Nations will investigate sexual violence Israel claims Hamas terrorists committed against Israeli women and girls during their invasion on Oct. 7, satisfying a long-requested plea from Israel.U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said Wednesday that such reports of rape and sexual assault “must be vigorously investigated,” breaking weeks of silence…

Japan has suspended all flights by its Osprey aircraft after a U.S. Air Force Osprey based in Japan crashed into the sea during a training mission on Wednesday, killing at least one of the eight crew members.A senior Defense Ministry official in Tokyo, Taro Yamato, told a parliamentary hearing on…

Powerful North Korean official Kim Yo Jong claimed Thursday that her nation was not even considering meeting with the U.S. face to face on any issues.Yo Jong released a harsh statement in reaction to U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who joined representatives of many other nations in condemning…

A shooting at a bus station near Jerusalem on Thursday morning left three Israelis dead and 11 others with various injuries.According to Israeli police, the shooting was carried out by two Hamas terrorists who drove to the Givat Shaul junction on the outskirts of the Holy City in an armed…

A 15-year-old boy has been arrested in Western Germany on suspicion of planning a possible attack on a Christmas market, authorities said Wednesday.The teenager was detained Tuesday during a search at his home, prosecutors in Duesseldorf said. A court in nearby Leverkusen ordered him kept in custody Wednesday on suspicion…