World

[ad_1] WASHINGTON: The FBI said on Monday it opened a criminal probe into the collapse of a Baltimore bridge in March when a ship crashed into a bridge support, while local officials confirmed the recovery of a fourth body from the incident. FBI agents boarded the cargo ship Dali to conduct court-authorized law enforcement activity regarding the crash, an FBI spokesperson said. The spokesperson said there was no other public information available and the bureau would have no further comment. The body of a fourth victim was recovered on Monday after divers spotted what they believed to be a missing…

[ad_1] The people of the Solomon Islands are set to vote for their next government on April 17, in an election that could have repercussions for the rest of the Asia Pacific region due to the country’s close relationship with China. The Pacific state’s 760,000 citizens are spread across its 900 islands and 28,230 square kilometres (10,900 square miles) of territory, making this one of the most logistically challenging elections in the world. It will take several weeks to collect all the ballots and then wait for the country’s 50 MPs to form a government before they choose the next…

[ad_1] SYDNEY: Australian police on Tuesday said a knife attack on an Assyrian church bishop and some followers in Sydney was a terrorist act motivated by suspected religious extremism, as the country reeled from a second stabbing incident in three days. At least four people were wounded in the attack, including Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel of the Assyrian Christ The Good Shepherd Church, when a man lunged at him with a knife during a service live-streamed on Monday. The incident at the western Sydney suburb of Wakeley triggered clashes outside the church between police and an angry crowd of the bishop’s…

[ad_1] JERUSALEM: Israelis awaited word on how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would respond to Iran’s first-ever direct attack as international pressure for restraint grew amid fears of an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. Netanyahu on Monday summoned his war cabinet for the second time in less than 24 hours to weigh a response to Iran’s weekend missile and drone attack, a government source said. IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said Israel would respond. He provided no details. “This launch of so many missiles, cruise missiles, and drones into Israeli territory will be met with a response,”…

[ad_1] CEO Elon Musk says in memo that job cuts will leave firm ‘lean, innovative and hungry for the next growth phase cycle’. Electric carmaker Tesla plans to lay off more than 10 percent of its global workforce, according to a memo sent to employees by CEO Elon Musk. Musk told staff in an email on Monday that the cuts were necessary due to the “duplication of roles and job functions in certain areas”, which had followed the company’s rapid global expansion. “As we prepare the company for our next phase of growth, it is extremely important to look at…

[ad_1] A New Mexico state judge cited Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s apparent lack of remorse in her decision to impose the sentence. The weapons supervisor for the film Rust has been sentenced in the United States to 18 months in prison for her role in the fatal on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armourer on the film, received the maximum possible sentence at Monday’s hearing in Santa Fe, New Mexico, after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter on March 6. The state judge who handed down the sentence, Mary Marlowe Sommer, said Gutierrez-Reed had a responsibility to keep the set…

[ad_1] So it begins. On Monday, history was made as former United States President Donald Trump appeared in a New York courtroom for the start of his trial over charges of falsifying business records. He became the first US president, past or present, to stand trial on criminal charges. Monday was the start of what is expected to be a six-week-long process, according to Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the case. The trial is also the first of four separate criminal trials Trump faces. It comes in the midst of his 2024 bid for the presidency. Prosecutors hope…

[ad_1] Saint-Urbain-Premier, Quebec, Canada – In clear safety glasses and heavy beige overalls, Jean-Francois Touchette is in his element. All around him are pipes, tubes, temperature gauges and various humming instruments: all the machinery needed to turn tree sap into maple syrup. Touchette’s syrup operation is a small one, run out of a modest, two-storey wooden building at the end of a long dirt driveway in rural Quebec. But as winter turns to spring, Touchette — like thousands of other maple growers in the Canadian province — faces pressure to collect, boil and bottle his harvest. “It’s a small factory.…

[ad_1] Washington, DC – Ninety lawmakers in the United States Congress have urged House Speaker Mike Johnson in a letter to immediately advance a foreign funding bill that includes $14bn in assistance to Israel. The letter, sent on Sunday and made public on Monday, followed Iran’s unprecedented attack over the weekend, in which it fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel to retaliate for a deadly attack early this month on its consulate in Syria’s capital, Damascus. “Time is of the essence, and we must ensure critical aid is delivered to Israel and our other democratic allies facing threats…

[ad_1] Beverly LaHaye, the founder and former chairman of Concerned Women for America (CWA), has died. She was 94 years old. The conservative Christian activist started the organization in San Diego, California in 1979 to give women a platform to uphold values that included faith and family.  “Mrs. LaHaye championed the forgotten women of this country, whose voices were not being heard in Washington and in the culture,” said Penny Nance, CEO and President of CWA. “Her life is a testament to the impact one woman with a vision and mission can have on the course of history.” In loving…