The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has denied the latest bid by conservationists and tribal leaders to block construction of a huge lithium mine already in the works along the Nevada-Oregon line

Derivative contracts with a notional value of about $7.5 billion traded in Singapore will shift to India as

Australia batsman Usman Khawaja was left to rue a "frustrating" ball change which he believed played a key role in England's fightback to win the...

Heavy snowfall and strong blizzards in Romania and Moldova have left one person dead and hundreds of localities without electricity as well as forcing the closure of some national roads

'Stranded With My Mother-In-law' Season 1 is set to premiere on Netflix on Monday, October 9

New York’s highest court has upheld a New York City law that forbids police from using chokeholds or compressing a person’s diaphragm during an arrest

A suspected “kamikaze drone” attack targeted resort city Sochi where Vladimir Putin spends his summer holidays and led to a massive fuel tank going up in flames, said officials. This is the first suspected drone strike made on the Russian president’s resort city during the course of his full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Mr Putin has also hosted the 2014 Olympic games in the city. Drone and missile attacks deep inside Russia and on Russia-controlled territories have shot up in recent months. News of the latest attack comes amid Russia claiming it downed several drones near Sevastopol in Crimea, that Mr Putin had illegally annexed in 2014, as well as drone strikes over the Belgorod and Oryol oblasts. The fire in Sochi was extinguished shortly after it began early Wednesday and no casualties were recorded, mayor Alexei Kopaigorodskyi said on his Telegram channel, adding that the cause is being investigated. More than 60 firefighters were deployed to bring the blaze under control in the Adler district of the Black Sea resort town, the official said. Locals reported the fire erupted after an explosion around 5am in the morning. The fire radius was reported to be around 96 metres. Russian Telegram channel SHOT said the blaze was seen on a tank with 1,200 tons of fuel. Security and surveillance footage of the diesel fuel tanker on fire on several local telegram channels showed a massive explosion at 5.16am. After the explosion, the fuel facility was covered in a huge cloud of billowing smoke and in what was suspected to be tons of fuel burning for hours. The visuals also captured some officials trying to bring the fire under control while another staff present at the site was picking up fragments of a drone from the site. One official was seen holding what appeared to be the wing of a damaged drone as he was walking out. Telegram channel Baza, related to Russia’s security services that has a following of over a million, said the cause behind the fire in Sochi was a “drone attack”. It claimed a kamikaze drone crashed into a tank with diesel fuel, as per preliminary reports. “Judging by the video, the characteristic sound of a UAV was heard before the explosion,” the Telegram channel said in a post. Another video of the attack from a residential area captured a thundering blast around the same time. Other videos of the oil depot taken in the morning of the tourism hotspot showed heavy flames engulfing the facility. The explosion took place near the Sochi airport, but authorities there continued operating as normal, the press service of the airport told Russian news agencies. Read More Ukraine-Russia war – live: Zelensky faces showdown with Lavrov after warning ‘evil’ Putin ‘cannot be trusted’ Zelensky tells UN to not do deals with ‘evil’ Russia: ‘Ask Prigozhin whether Putin can be trusted’ Moscow court refuses to hear appeal by detained US journalist Evan Gershkovich Zelensky urges Trump to ‘not waste time’ and share proposal on ending Russian invasion of Ukraine Drones shot down over Russian cities near Ukraine border in overnight attack

European Union antitrust enforcers have slapped Intel with a fresh $400 million fine in a long-running legal fight that the chipmaker appeared to have won last year

A longtime Republican lawmaker, in rural Louisiana, is facing national backlash following his tie-breaking vote to kill a bill that would ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender youths in the state. State Sen. Fred Mills told The Associated Press Friday that he stands by his decision. But state Attorney General Jeff Landry — who is a GOP gubernatorial candidate — and the Republican Party of Louisiana are pressing lawmakers to resurrect the bill and pass it. Mills’ decisive vote Wednesday poises Louisiana to be one of the few southeastern states that hasn’t enacted a ban or restrictions on gender-affirming care. Proposals are pending in North Carolina and South Carolina’s legislatures, and federal judges have temporarily blocked bans in Arkansas and Alabama. “While the topic of transgender rights is immensely complicated and socially polarizing, the bill before me was not,” Mills, a pharmacist, said in a written statement Friday. Mills is also the chairman of the Senate’s Health and Welfare Committee, where the bill was debated for nearly three hours. He added that he relied on “science and data and not political or societal pressure.” With Mills’ vote, the bill — which would have prohibited hormone treatments, gender-affirming surgery and puberty-blocking drugs for transgender minors in Louisiana — was deferred, 5-4. In the hours after, backlash mounted with anti-transgender activists taking to social media, including conservative political commentator Matt Walsh, who tweeted to his nearly 2 million followers that Mills would “regret” his decision and that it is “the biggest mistake of his political career.” In recent years, Republicans who blocked proposed transgender care bans have faced political fallout. In Arkansas, former Gov. Asa Hutchinson angered fellow Republicans in 2021 when he vetoed a similar ban. The GOP-led Legislature moved quickly to override Hutchinson’s veto and enact the ban, which has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge. At the time, former President Donald Trump criticized Hutchinson over the veto, calling him a “RINO,” or “Republican in Name Only.” Hutchinson, who signed into law other restrictions on transgender youth, argued the medical ban went too far. The Republican said he would have supported a prohibition that focused only on surgery. The deferral of Louisiana’s proposed ban marked a rare victory for LGBTQ+ advocates this legislative session, who continue to fight against multiple bills — from a bill critics call “Don’t Say Gay," to mandates regarding pronoun usage, to restrictions on access to library books deemed “sexually explicit,” which advocates fear would target the queer community. But, with two weeks left in the session, conservatives are hastily seeking and pursing ways to revive the legislation. “I don’t think you are going to see the last of it,” Mills said Friday. Already, House lawmakers added a poison pill amendment to Mills’ own bill — related to telehealth — that would bar that legislation from becoming law unless the ban on gender-affirming care also becomes law. Additionally, lawmakers can opt to discharge the failed bill from committee, meaning it can receive a vote on the GOP-controlled Senate floor despite failing in committee. This tactic is uncommon and rarely succeeds, but there is growing pressure from political forces outside of the Legislature to do so. “As attorney general for 8 years I have worked hard to protect our children. I urge the full Senate to take up and pass HB 648,” Landry tweeted Friday. “As governor, I would immediately sign this bill into law. Pediatric sex changes should have no place in our society.” In a press release, the Republican Party of Louisiana also urged the Senate to override the committee vote and debate it on the floor “where all senators will have the chance to weigh in on this pivotal piece of legislation.” The bill had already been passed in the House, mainly along party lines, 71-24. Proponents of the legislation argue the proposed bans would protect children from life-altering medical procedures until they are “mature enough” to make such serious decisions. Additionally, they fear the state could draw minors from surrounding states — where there are bans — seeking gender-affirming health care. Opponents of Louisiana’s bill argue that gender-affirming care, which is supported by every major medical organization, can be lifesaving for someone with gender dysphoria — distress over gender identity that doesn’t match a person’s assigned sex. Research suggests transgender children and adults are prone to stress, depression and suicidal thoughts, and advocates for the LGBTQ+ community fear that without the care, transgender children could face especially heightened risks. So far, at least 18 states have enacted laws restricting or prohibiting gender-affirming care for minors, and all three of Louisiana’s bordering states have enacted bans or are poised to. —— Associated Press writer Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas, contributed to this report. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide New York City mayor signs ban on weight and height discrimination Phoenix faces dueling lawsuits over homeless crisis as advocates scramble for more shelter Oregon, awash in treatment funds after decriminalizing drugs, now must follow the money

Australia’s outgoing central bank chief Philip Lowe proved to be a convenient scapegoat for public anger over surging

By Deborah Mary Sophia (Reuters) -Procter & Gamble topped market expectations for quarterly sales and profit on Wednesday, benefiting from

Nepal’s prime minister has held talks with his Indian counterpart as India and its rival China bid for influence in the tiny Himalayan nation as part of a greater regional power struggle