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A fire that engulfed the French medieval cathedral of Notre-Dame has been fully extinguished after over nine hours of fighting, the Paris Fire Brigade has announced. “After more than 9 hours of fierce fighting, nearly 400 firefighters from Paris extinguished the appalling fire. 2 policemen and a firefighter were slightly …

Heathrow airport has announced increased passenger numbers for the 29th month in a row – but traffic to and from Asia dropped by 2 percent, and to the Middle East by 11 percent. More than 6.5 million passengers passed through the UK’s busiest airport in March, an average of 210,000 …

Chinese authorities have seized 7.48 tons of smuggled ivory tusks, the biggest haul in recent years, as Beijing steps up a campaign against illegal wildlife trafficking. The seizures came during the last week operation against an international criminal gang “that has long been specializing in smuggling ivory,” the customs administration …

A peaceful protest in London to demand more protection for the environment has turned violent as activists say they are frustrated with government’s inaction on the escalating ecological crisis. British media reports showed parts of London had effectively been blocked by climate protesters as thousands joined the action that coincided …

An outbreak of measles has killed more than 1,200 people on the island of Madagascar. The country is facing its largest measles outbreak in history, with the number of recorded cases growing beyond 115,000. Measles cases are rising in the US and elsewhere, with New York City battling to halt …

Donald Trump has claimed he could fix the Boeing 737 MAX after the aircraft was involved in two fatal crashes. In a tweet posted at 6.29am, the president said: “What do I know about branding, maybe nothing (but I did become President!), but if I were Boeing, I would FIX …

A California woman pleaded guilty and has been smacked with jail time for assaulting a McDonald’s manager because she did not receive enough ketchup with her order. On April 12, Mayra Berenice Gallo was sentenced to 18 days behind bars and 15 days of community service for the October 2018 …

The world’s largest aircraft took off over the Mojave Desert in California on Saturday. The carbon-composite plane was built by Stratolaunch Systems Corp. The white airplane called Roc, which has a wingspan the length of an American football field and is powered by six engines on a twin fuselage, took …

The massive storm system that killed several people from Texas to Mississippi is now barreling east, threatening to spawn tornadoes and other catastrophic weather from New England to the Gulf Coast. About 90 million people are under the gun for destructive weather Sunday, meteorologist Haley Brink said. While Sunday’s storms …

One man has been killed and three others wounded in a shooting outside a popular nightclub in the Australian city of Melbourne. Three security guards from the Love Machine venue and a man queuing outside were shot in the incident on Sunday. “It would appear that shots have been discharged …

A World War Two-era US bomb has been detonated in a river in Frankfurt, causing water to spurt high into the air, German media report. Some 600 people were evacuated from parts of the city as bomb disposal experts got to work at about 08:00 local time (06:00 GMT) on …

The Seychelles president has gone below the surface of the Indian Ocean to call for better protection for the world’s seas. Danny Faure said that a healthy ocean was “crucial for the survival of humanity” in a broadcast made 124m (406ft) below sea level. He had joined a British-led expedition …

Tens of millions of Indonesians will vote in presidential and parliamentary elections this week after campaigns focused on the economy, but with political Islam looming ever larger in the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation. President Joko Widodo, a former furniture salesman who launched his political career as a small-city mayor, is …

Iranian officials are warning that even though floodwaters have been receding in most parts of the country, several provinces remain under a flood warning due to renewed heavy precipitation. Vast expanses of the country are experiencing a new spell of rainfall, Ahad Vazifeh, an official with Iran’s Meteorological Organization, was …

Officers opened fire in west London on Saturday morning while responding to reports of a car collision, the Metropolitan Police has said. The Ukrainian embassy said its ambassador’s car was “deliberately rammed” as it sat parked outside the building in Holland Park. When officers arrived on the scene, a vehicle …

In a meeting with top national security advisors this week, US President Donald Trump discussed potentially increasing US military involvement at the United States-Mexico border to build migrant tent camps. As reported by NBC News, President Trump also enquired if the military could run the camps once migrants arrived. This …

A fertility doctor accused of illegally using his own sperm to inseminate patients has been found to be the father of at least 49 children. Jan Karbaat, who died two years ago, impregnated their mothers at his clinic near Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. None of the women were aware he …

Forces loyal to renegade field marshal Khalifa Haftar have deployed warplanes to hit Western-backed government positions in Tripoli, forcing more civilians to flee the Libyan capital. Warplanes bombed the camp of a force allied to the Government of National Accord (GNA), administered by Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj, near the town …

Iraq says negotiations are underway with Iran and Syria to develop a transnational railway line linking the three countries. Iraqi Republic Railways Company chief Salib al-Hussaini said a summit will be held between the countries to further discuss the matter. The comments made on the sidelines of the joint Syrian-Iraqi …

Britain’s high commissioner to India laid a wreath on Saturday on the 100th anniversary of the Amritsar massacre, one of the worst atrocities of colonial rule for which London is still to apologies. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, as it is known in India, saw British troops fire on thousands of …