World News

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s space agency says its new flagship H3 rocket will have a second test flight on Saturday, two days later than an initially planned liftoff that was postponed due to a bad weather forecast at the launch site in southwestern Japan. The liftoff was originally scheduled for Thursday but was postponed due to thunder and strong wind …

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Powerful winds have killed a man and brought widespread destruction across Australia’s second-most populous state, leaving 530,000 homes and businesses without power and fanning fires that razed homes and injured five firefighters, officials said on Wednesday. Winds of up to 157 kph (98 mph) toppled six electricity transmission towers on Tuesday and caused one of the …

SEREBRYANSKY FOREST, Ukraine (AP) — As the radio crackles with enemy communications that are hard to decipher, one Russian command rings out clear: “Brew five Chinese tea bags on 38 orange.” A Ukrainian soldier known on the battlefield as Mikhass, who has spent months listening to and analyzing such chatter, is able to quickly decode the gibberish. It means: Prepare …

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Lawmakers in Greece opened a two-day debate Wednesday on a landmark bill to legalize same-sex marriage. It would be the first Orthodox Christian country to do so. The Valentine’s Day session in parliament follows vocal opposition and protests from the church but also a shift in public opinion which is narrowly supportive of the change. Lawmaker …

CARACAS (AP) — La Fiscalía General de Venezuela rechazó el miércoles las denuncias sobre supuestas violaciones al debido proceso y la presunta desaparición forzada de la abogada y activista de derechos humanos Rocío San Miguel, detenida luego de vincularla con una presunta trama para atentar contra la vida del presidente Nicolás Maduro. Organizaciones de derechos humanos, sus abogados y familiares …

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa’s government said Tuesday it had lodged an “urgent request” with the U.N.’s International Court of Justice to consider whether Israel’s military operations targeting the southern Gaza city of Rafah are a breach of provisional orders the court handed down last month in a case alleging genocide. South Africa said it asked the …

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia accused the West on Monday of sabotaging agreements that would have prevented the war in Ukraine – but the U.S. and its allies put the blame squarely on Moscow, saying there is no escaping that President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of its smaller neighbor. Days before the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion on Feb. …

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Ibrahim Hasouna trudged over the rubble of the destroyed house, pointing out where family moments had taken place — where his mother and sister-in-law used to sleep, where he played with his 5-year-old nieces, where he helped his 1-year-old nephew take his first steps. His entire family was now dead — his parents, his two …

BERLÍN (AP) — La jefa de la seguridad alemana dijo el martes que facilitará el rastreo de los fondos de los extremistas de derecha y creará una “unidad de reconocimiento anticipado” para detectar las campañas de ultraderecha y desinformación extranjeras lo más temprano posible. Las propuestas de la ministra del Interior, Nancy Faeser, vienen a la zaga de grandes protestas …

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The whereabouts of a prominent human rights attorney, her daughter and ex-husband remained unknown Monday, three days after Venezuelan authorities detained her at the airport near the capital as she and her adult child awaited a flight to Miami, setting off condemnation inside and outside the South American country. Attorneys for lawyer and activist Rocío San …