Regional news

Videos garnering tens of millions of views show customers licking utensils or soy sauce bottles, or touching plates of sushi that later are picked up by other customers.

In Europe, interest in geothermal projects has grown in recent years as officials search for ways to decarbonise their energy systems.

Israel has a complicated relationship with Russia, which is cozying up to Iran but letting Israel freely target Iran-linked operations in Syria.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has alleged that his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro actively participated in planning for his supporters to storm government buildings.

Iran has blamed Israel for the attack in Isfahan last week, threatening to again raise tensions in the region.

The Golden State will struggle to stop mass shootings and protect citizens until uniform federal laws on firearms are signedThe recent mass shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay have brought devastation, outrage and shock to Californians. As the state grieves the loss of 19 residents, one question continues to arise: how could this happen in the state with some of the strongest gun laws in the US?California’s gun laws include bans on the military-style assault weapons and large-capacity magazines that have been used in many mass shootings. It is one of just two states, along with New Jersey, to receive an “A” rating from the gun safety group Giffords, based on the strength of its firearm regulations. Continue reading...

Justice secretary facing a number of bullying claims says Miller’s allegations are ‘baseless and malicious’ Steve Montgomery, chair of the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators, told Sky News this morning that negotiations with Aslef are “going backwards” and “the talks have not moved on as quickly as we’d like”. He said:We all understand that we want to give our staff a pay increase, [it’s] naturally important, particularly in these economic climates.But drivers’ average wages are £60,000 at this moment. We are offering up to £65,000 over two years. That’s quite a significant increase for people. Continue reading...

Prosecutor general presses charges; second day of talks as Ukrainian president says pace of sanctions has slowedRussia-Ukraine war at a glanceMaria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, has posted to Telegram, responding to the Ukrainian president’s comments about the slowing down of western sanctions on Russia.She quotes the media saying “Zelenskiy complained that the pace of sanctions in Europe has slowed down, and Russia has become faster to adapt to restrictions” and goes on to write:Western Europe, falling into recession, having long lost the habit of survival, is sinking, with Ukraine tied to its feet.At night, the Russian military attacked the Barvinkove community in the Kharkiv region. A private house was destroyed and a 70-year-old man was rescued from the rubble. Two men died.Also at night, the Russian army shelled Kherson. They hit one of the shopping centres, a fire started there. People were not injured. Nikopol in the Dnipropetrovsk region also came under fire. There are no dead or injured. Continue reading...

Officials say balloon has been watched for a few days but decided not to shoot it down for safety reasonsThe Pentagon has said it is tracking a Chinese spy balloon flying over the US but decided against shooting it down for safety reasons.Defence officials said the balloon has been watched since it entered US airspace at high altitude a couple of days ago. It has been monitored by several methods including crewed aircraft, and has most recently been tracked crossing Montana, where the US has silo-based nuclear missiles. Continue reading...

Tyre Nichols’ death reopens wounds felt by family of Steven Askew, who died 10 years ago at hands of Memphis police. Plus, wave of ‘sushi terrorism’ grips JapanGood morning.More than 200 miles away from Memphis, as Tyre Nichols’ family mourned the beating to death of their son at the hands of police, Sylvia Askew was at home, taking care of her ailing husband in Nashville, writes Edwin Rios and Oliver Laughland.What happened to Steven? On the night he was killed, Steven was parked outside an apartment complex, waiting to pick up his girlfriend, when he fell asleep in his car. Two Memphis police officers, Matthew Dyess and Ned Aufdenkamp, responded to an unrelated noise complaint nearby and approached Steven’s vehicle, saw him asleep in the driver’s seat and spotted a firearm. Seconds after Steven woke, the officers opened fire, hitting Steven nine times, including six times in the back.Why did they say they shot him? They said they spotted a firearm inside the vehicle, and claimed as Steven woke he picked it up and pointed it. As the evidence would later show, their accounts were inconsistent and unreliable.What does Shah say about the work he has to do? “I hold myself to outcomes. I don’t hold myself to best efforts. I feel like there’s a lot of people who are like, ‘Well, I gave it my best.’ And I was like, ‘Well, I mean, that’s not enough. You either have reduced climate emissions or you haven’t.’ Continue reading...

Former pop star was jailed in 2015 for sexually abusing three schoolgirlsGary Glitter has been freed from prison after serving half of his 16-year sentence for sexual abuse crimes, it has been reported.The former pop star, who had a string of chart hits in the 1970s, was jailed in 2015 for sexually abusing three schoolgirls. Continue reading...

Get ready to have AI features on your email as Google wants to remind people it's been using AI longer than the Microsoft-ChatGPT alliance existed.