Category: World

A devastating explosion at an explosives plant in Tennessee, which claimed 16 lives and was felt over 20 miles away, originated in an area where workers were mixing explosive materials in kettles, triggering other nearby explosives, authorities revealed on Friday.
The blast, which occurred on October 10 at the Accurate Energetic Systems factory in Bucksnort, an unincorporated community approximately 60 miles (97 kilometers) southwest of Nashville, completely destroyed the facility.
Officials confirmed that the remains of two victims have yet to be identified.
While the on-site investigation has concluded, determining the precise cause of the catastrophe could still take several months, according to Brice McCracken, the special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives at the National Center for Explosives Training and Research.
In addition to locating victims' remains, the on-site work involved removing and disposing of explosives that didn't..

CloseTrump shows off gold ballroom he claims has been 'wanted for 150 years'President Donald Trump revealed the “friends” who convinced him to walk back on plans to send federal troops to San Francisco.
“I got a great call from some incredible people, some friends of mine, some very successful people, ”Trump said at a roundtable Thursday.
The president spoke of “Marc” and “Jensen”, appearing to reference Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
The president had earlier posted on social media that he was preparing to “surge” troops to the California city Saturday but changed his mind after friends “in the area” asked him to hold off because Mayor Daniel Lurie was “making substantial progress.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom threatened to sue the Trump administration if he sent the National Guard to the state, while former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested that if federal law enforcement violates California law, local police could arrest them.
Before Trum..

As the fragile ceasefire in Gaza continues to hold, Palestinians have been returning to what is left of their lives after two years of relentless bombardment.
But thousands of those who survived Israel’s assault on the enclave face the challenge of life-altering injuries they suffered during the conflict.
There are more than 6,000 prosthetics currently needed in Gaza, many of which are for children, according to the World Health Organisation.
And there are precious few people on the ground who have the expertise to help them.
open image in galleryFive-year-old amputee Sila Abu Aklan uses a walker to move around at her grandmother's house in Gaza CityHeba, from NGO Humanity & Inclusion, is one of just eight prosthetic technicians left in Gaza. She examines people’s amputations, measures their stumps and makes moulds for both leg and arm prostheses.
“We see people living with amputations whose stories of loss are heartbreaking and unimaginable,” the mother-of-two said. “Many of t..

CloseRussia conducts nuclear triad drills involving ground, naval, air forcesDonald Trump has unleashed harsh new sanctions on two of Russia’s largest oil companies, the first such sanctions in his second term as US president.
The Treasury Department said on Wednesday it was sanctioning Rosneft and Lukoil in response to Russian president Vladimir Putin’s “refusal to end this senseless war”.
In a statement, the department lashed out at Moscow’s “lack of serious commitment to a peace process to end the war in Ukraine”.
It said the sanctions would “increase pressure on Russia’s energy sector and degrade the Kremlin’s ability to raise revenue for its war machine and support its weakened economy”.
The decision came after Trump had cancelled a planned meeting with Putin, telling reporters on Wednesday that it “just didn’t feel right to me”.
“Every time I speak with Vladimir, I have good conversations, and then they don’t go anywhere. They just don’t go anywhere,” he said.
Earlier in the da..

As the government shutdown enters its 22nd day, some Republicans in both chambers are floating an idea few in their party had ever even entertained: getting rid of the legislative filibuster to bring an end to the morass.
In recent years, Democrats have floated changing the filibuster. Former senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema blocked attempts to create a carveout to codify a new version of the Voting Rights Act. They hoped to do so again with abortion rights as the Supreme Court planned to overturn Roe v Wade in the Dobbs v Jackson decision, only to fail.
But now, some hard-right Republicans are floating the idea.
“My thought is, is that I'm not willing to see children in my state go hungry, which is literally happening now, over some Senate procedure,” Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) told The Independent.
Hawley came to the Senate in Donald Trump’s first presidency, after then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell torpedoed the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees.
open image in g..